Spreaker AdHub launches — for podcasters, not advertisers

Spreaker has launched a new self-serve tool called AdHub. If it sounds like another do-it-yourself way for marketers to buy dynamically inserted commercials, it’s not. AdHub is directed toward Spreaker podcasters, who can place targeted ads  for their podcasts into other Spreaker podcasts. Click through for deets. Continue Reading

Kast Media goes with Triton Digital for podcast management, money, and measurement

Kast Media, the #11 podcast publisher in Podtrac’s monthly Top 20 Podcast Publishers list for December, has loaded its podcast business into  Triton Digital’s delivery, measurement, and monetization products. Kast Media publishes 51 podcasts (according to Podtrac) across many categories. In December the group served over 28-million downloads and streams to an audience of nearly 5-million unique listeners. Continue Reading

SoundCloud (unsurprisingly) picks AdsWizz for exclusive ad-repping in 14 Euro markets

AdsWizz is trumpeting a major get — Berlin-HQ’d global streamer SoundCloud has chosen the U.S.-HQ’d global ad-tech company AdsWizz to exclusively represent digital audio ad sales in significant European markets. This deal has an in-house feeling; AdsWizz is a subsidiary of Pandora, which is owned by Sirius XM, which also owns 30% of SoundCloud.  Continue Reading

24% of Cumulus radio streams are on smart speakers; and interesting ad campaign results

“Smart speaker ownership soars and brings AM/FM back into the home,” writes Pierre Bouvard in a new Westwood One blog post. A key statistic from the parent company backs this up: 24% of stream listening to Cumulus radio stations happens on smart speakers. Cumulus booked an interesting smart speaker preroll campaign with a consortium of Ford dealerships. Click through for more context, a chart, and link to more. Continue Reading

On MLK Day, a dramatic and exhaustive manifesto to solve institutional racism in public media

A loose organization of 200 public media professionals, including some of NPR’s most illumined leaders, has been organized by public radio veteran Celeste Headlee. A months-long collaborative effort to remedy institutional racism is brought into public view today. It is a 6,500-word roadmap for structural corrections in public media related to diversity, equality, and the very conception of journalism. Continue Reading

Descript raises $30M Series B, plans to expand enterprise tools

Descript gets a cash pile of $30-million to further its audio/video production business. The plan is to expand from a consumer service targeting amateur creators, adding a new focus on enterprise tools for the internal communication needs of companies. Currently, Descript markets to independent creators, amateur, semi-pro, and professional, with smart tools that record, transcribe and edit audio and video combined. Click through for details. Continue Reading

Podchaser raises $4M; plans new features

Podchaser, a podcast database company and social network of sorts for podcast listeners, announces today that it has raised $4-million from lead investor Greycroft, plus a slewe of additional investors and participating angels. The service plans to build gamification and discussion features into an environment that self-describes as “The IMDb of Pdcasting.” Continue Reading

AdLarge Media goes with TPX for exclusive ad-rep in Canada

AdLarge Media is announcing its agreement with TPX (Toronto-based The Podcast Exchange) for exclusive representation of AdLarge’s digital audio inventory. The cabana division of AdLarge is where that inventory resides, and is mostly podcasts. This initiative represents AdLarge’s first entry into a non-U.S. market.  Continue Reading