Jottings of note:
New Stacks
Audio-as-a-service company SoundStack lets us know of a new partnership with three major public radio groups: KCRW, WBGO, and KUT. (SoundStack calls them “venerable.”) SoundStack’s functionality is rooted in the SoundStack Engine, which the company describes as “a content delivery network (CDN) featuring real-time, global audio orchestration with nine, global points of presence, and an array of automation for simple streaming management.” There is also SoundStack Insights, which generates historical and real-time listening data and heat mapping of listenership. “SoundStack is a gift from the gods of digital technology,” effuses Steven A. Williams, CEO of WBGO.
A New Realm
Top-200 podcast Something You Should Know has moved its ad representation to Realm, an audio-first digital media company and global podcast network. Realm delivers 12-million monthly downloads. Something You Should Know, founded in 2016, has delivered 9.2 million downloads in the last year and 80-million downloads overall. It was started, and continues to be hosted, by Mike Carruthers. (See RAIN’s video interview with Mike HERE. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHe83712ubE
Record Duo
Nielsen and Edison Research have partnered to create a new quarterly report of audio listening behaviors and share of average daily usage of ad-supported audio in the U.S. It’s called The Record. The first iteration of this exercise has been released (HERE) with a smattering of info. We learn that consumers spend over four hours a day with audio. Nearly 70% of their daily listening time is spent with radio, and 20% listening to podcasts. The remaining time was divided among streaming music services and satellite radio. This info represents Q1 surveying. Both companies announced today; see Nielsen HERE and Edison HERE.
August 9, 2024
