Pierre Bouvard, Chief Insights officer at Westwood One, is back at it in the company blog, divulging results of the subscription Share of Ear consumer survey conducted by Edison Research. One of Bouvard’s key points in this latest blog post is the time-spent leadership of podcasting over ad-supported Spotify Free and Pandora. Click through for that infograph, and more. Continue Reading
Five years ago today we reported that The New York Times created an audio division. Today the Times produces the most popular podcast in the U.S. (according to Podtrac), owns Serial Productions which launched the podcast resurgence in 2014, and also owns Audm. Click for the April 5, 2016 article. Continue Reading
Evergreen Podcasts is announcing a partnership with IndustryPods, a young network specializing in making podcasts from virtual conference recordings. Through the arrangement, Industry Pods can distribute to a wider audience and cross-promote relevant interest. Continue Reading
Masima Radio, the largest radio network in Indonesia with 18 stations, has selected Triton Digital for the delivery, monetization, and measurement of its streaming audio and podcast content. Continue Reading
Jottings of note:
— Sounds like calisthenics (Univison)
— Segmenting the radio audience (Edison & NPR)
— Directing traffic (Spotify)
— The winner will be… (The Ambies)
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by Steve Goldstein
In this guest column, Steve Goldstein delivers a list of eye-catching, thought-provoking stats from the podcast realm. As far as we can tell, not a single one is April Foolery.
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AccuRadio, one of the two leading brands of pureplay online radio in the U.S., has stunned the online audio business community by announcing that it is switching to broadcast radio distribution. The change will occur on April 5. In an aggrieved press release the company cites high royalty costs, and says it can find greater profitability in AM radio “playing up to 22 minutes of commercials per hour.” Continue Reading
Spotify has announced its acquisition of Betty Labs, a tech startup which build Locker Room, a live audio conversation space for sports fans. The company says the grab will “accelerate Spotify’s entry into the live audio space.” Other remarks from Spotify sound like a plan to eat Clubhouse’s lunch. Continue Reading
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), the government-appointed and regulated agency for collecting and distributing blanket compulsory mechanical license for digital music services, has hired three new executives. The MLC was formed from the Music Modernaization Act of 2018. Last month the unit received a first stash of $424-million in royalty payments from Apple, Spotify, Google, Pandora, and 15 other streaming entites for distribution. Continue Reading
In December the Interactive Advertising Bureau announced a new annual schedule for its Podcast Upfront event, formerly in the fall. Going forward it would be a springtime event, planned for May 11-13 in 2021. Today the trade organization revealed its presenters. Continue Reading
Audacy, the new branding of both Entercom radio group and its RADIO.COM listening app, is pushing its new identity into the public sphere today by announcing the two new podcasts from subsidiary Pineapple Street Studios. The shows will enjoy exclusive full-series binge listening on Audacy, while outside podcast apps will distribute normal RSS feeds on a weekly cadence. Continue Reading
Libsyn, one of the world’s largest podcast hosting companies, announces today that it will acquire AdvertiseCast, a podcast ad planning and buying platform. The purchase is supported by $25-million in funds that the publicly traded company raised privately. While this funding is apparently motivated chiefly to enable the AdvertiseCast purchase, the investment is also intended “to provide Libsyn with additional capital for other strategic acquisitions.” Continue Reading