Cumulus Q1 earnings: Digital and podcasting exhibit sharp growth

In the Q1 earnings report for Cumulus Media, overall revenue increased 15% year-over-year, representing the fifth consecutive revenue gain. In that broad picture, local spot revenue, the traditional radio revenue metric, increased 13%, and digital revenue grew 18%. Naturally, digital revenue received a lot of attention during the call. Click for details and quotes. Continue Reading

Warner Music Group launches podcast network for “breadth of voices and perspectives”

Warner Music Group (WMG) today unveiled its new podcast network, Interval Presents, which will produce multi-format, culture-forward audio content at the intersection of music, pop culture, and social impact. The initiative marks the first major music label to follow in Sony Music’s lead; Sony entered the podcast arena five years ago in May, 2017. Click for show details. Continue Reading

James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: Radio on the Telly

by James Cridland

In this week’s guest column, James reviews the newly launched TalkTV to start. It went well until technical problems interrupted a call-in critical of the show. “As a way to run TV and radio output as one service, it works very well,” James says. Then, the BBC fixes technical problems with its Radio 4 interviews. And more.
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Spotify opens Video Podcasts out of testing with subscriptions, “backgrounding,” and integration with Riverside

In a significant product evolution, Spotify has announced the release of its Video Podcasts product from testing, making it available to all creators in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the U.K. It is an exceptionally mature launch, startlingly packed with features helpful in production, monetization, audience engagement, and analytics. Click for lots of detail. Continue Reading