Spotify Q1 2023 earnings: Podcasting and new categories
After Spotify’s Q1 earnings report this week, we review the company’s responses to investor questions about podcasting and future new audio categories. Continue Reading
Spotify Q1 2023 earnings: The financials
Publicly traded Spotify held its Q1 earnings report this week. As of the first quarter, Spotify serves more than a half-billion total users, of which over 200-million are paying subscribers to the Premium tier. In this post we look at the finances. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Tuesday, April 25
— Millions of Reasons (Westwood One)
— The Opportunity (Coleman Insights)
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Acast targets audience segments with new advertising platform feature
Global podcast company Acast is announcing a new podcast audience targeting capability, enhancing the value of its self-serve ad platform. Called Audience Segments, the feature enables marketers to address audiences defined by characteristics such as Business Leaders, High Income Earners, Tech Enthusiasts, Travelers, Parents, and Pet Owners. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Monday, April 24
Smart speakers and station apps fill in for disappearing in-home radios (Jacobs Media)
As radios continue a long-term trend of disappearing from homes, radio listeners lean into smart speakers tuned into radio station streams, and dedicated station mobile apps. The info comes from Jacobs Media, which will reveal its full TechSurvey results this week during the All Access Audio Summit. Click for the data graph. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Friday, April 21
— Mission Accomplished (Ari Shohat)
— Evolution (Idil Miriam Cakim)
— Excitement (A.J. Feliciano)
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Four shows enter March Triton Digital Podcast Report; top ten shows the same
Only four newcomers cracked Triton Digital’s Podcast Report for March, , which ranks the top 100 podcasts by average weekly downloads. The top-10 cohort remained the same with some order shuffling. Click for lots of detail. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Thursday, April 20
— Crime and More Crime (iHeartPodcasts)
— Playing Ball (Tom Webster / Sounds Profitable)
— Removals (AI music)
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Audioboom 2022 financials: Double-digit growth in revenue, downloads, advertisers
Global podcast company Audioboom released its Annual Report & Financial Statements for 2022. In it, we see double-digit growth in several key metrics. Click through for metrics and insights. Continue Reading
WideOrbit launches ad sales tool to unify radio, TV, and cable selling
Media sales tech company WideOrbit has launched WO Fusion, which the firm describes as “a next-generation sales platform that creates a scalable application for broadcast TV and radio, as well as cable and broadcast network sales teams.” Continue Reading
UMG tries to block AI-generated music in 25-year flashback
Major label Universal Music Group (UMG) has asked Spotify, Apple, and other streaming platforms to block AI-generated music. Based on reporting (HERE and HERE), this is not a legal action, but an urgent request. For now, the news is framed as a request from UMG to streaming services. That stage of protest is reminiscent of major-label protests of Napster and other file-sharing platforms in the late 1990s. That tumultuous period eventually led to label lawsuits against Napster users, meant to both punish individuals and demonstrate purposeful intent to everyone. We see a significant likeness harking back to the 1990s file-sharing epoch. Click through for key facts and RAIN’s speculation. Continue Reading