Only 6,868 new podcasts were launched in December, a 13-month low point. That marker continued a four-month slide as new-show production diminished toward the end of 2021. However, 2021 as a whole produced the second-highest number of new podcasts in 12 years (over 687,000 of them). Click for charts. Continue Reading
Jottings of Note, smart speaker edition
— Ad Infotainment (Acast)
— Oopsamatic (The Verge)
— PRX Raids BSO (PRX)
The U.S. recorded music industry is projected to exceed a 48-year revenue record set in 1999, according to RAIN’s examination of reports from the RIAA. The historical revenue high point was set in 1999 at $14.6-billion in recorded music revenue. Based on a persistent trend of H2 revenue exceeding H1 revenue, we project a new high water mark driven by streaming, the most lucrative channel for music labels. Click through for details and infographics. Continue Reading
RAIN’s most-read articles of 2021. Some news items have import that goes beyond the moment — so it is that two of our top five were posted in 2020. On another note, hurrah to RAIN’s stellar lineup of guest columnists. Two of them landed in the 2021 top five. Continue Reading
The Podscape, a graphic representation of the podcast business landscape created by Magellan AI and Sounds Profitable, has been revised, again. The revision brings the detailed and useful infographic do date with podcast industry acquisitions made since the previous version. Continue Reading
Jottings of Note, smart speaker edition
— Waning? (Alexa)
— Meanwhile… (Google)
— Unifying the Brand (Nesting the Mini)
Video/audio podcast production platform Riverside has announced a video-clip-building feature. It’s a clever move for a podcast creation platform which is already distinguished by its fluency in video. Continue Reading
Jottings of Note
— Stability (Triton Digital)
— Who Bought Whom (Sounds Profitable)
— Not So Fast (Dave Hanley)
Venerable streaming music service AccuRadio sent around a notice that it has curated what the company describes as the world’s largest playlist of holiday songs. We won’t argue — this juggernaut of holiday cheer contains 17,000 tracks, and would require over five weeks of uninterrupted streaming to hear them all. Click through for details and links. Continue Reading
We don’t often receive news from Bulgaria, and today we learn that the country’s largest radio group, Fresh Media Bulgaria, has signed Triton Digital to leverage Triton’s streaming tech stack, services, and network. The imperatives are to increase ad revenue, build audience, and streamline day-to-day operations on the streaming side. Continue Reading
BBC Sounds, the listening app launched in June, 2018, released listening growth metrics for 2021. Overall listening was up 8% from last year, while podcast listening grew 25%. Altogether, 1.3-billion plays were initiated in the app. The organization’s announcement identifies three main content types. Continue Reading