If you don’t live in northern Colorado you’ve possibly not heard of NoCo FM, a digital media outlet featuring regional musicians. After expansion to include some California voices, the company has rebranded as Loudspeaker. It’s a three-pronged strategy: Podcast network, streaming music/talk platform, and a live event on Halloween. Click through for more info. Continue Reading
“Think of your favorite drive-time radio show,” Spotify says in an announcement. That is the only mention of “radio,” but it is telling. The company has launched a new listening product which jabs an arrow straight into radio’s underbelly, or apparently aspires to. This new product is (oddly) unnamed, but it mixes music and commentary similar to radio and enables users to become public DJs within the Spotify app. Click through for details, commentary, and how to find it. Continue Reading
From the start, the defining event of The Podcast Academy was going to be an awards program. Now, with a membership of over 500 podcast producers and hosts, the Podcast Academy is announcing The Ambies to celebrate excellence in podcasting. It’s next March in LA, and will include 24 categories voted on by Academy membership. Continue Reading
Southern Cross Austerio (SCA) has released a basket of bragging-rights metrics for key streaming properties. SCA’s live streaming audience has grown 58% year-over-year, and the company says that digital audio is its fastest growing advertising platform. The combined streaming for SCA networks reached an audience of 1.5-million in September. The total digital audio network includes the two main broadcast networks, Hit and Triple M, and also Soundcloud Radio. Click through for graphs and links. Continue Reading
The Spoken Word Audio Report 2020, produced by Edison Research and NPR, is out. One broad and important finding: 75% of the U.S. population (18+) listens to spoken word audio monthly. Daily, it is 43%. AM/FM is paying the price for increased listening to other platforms of spoken word audio; the trend is clear from 2014 to 2020. Click through for much more, and graphics, and a link to the download. Continue Reading
Cadence13 is helping to unleash the Fiasco podcast from Luminary’s exclusive subscription service. The three-way partnership involves Cadence13, Luminary, and Prologue Projects, the last of which is the show’s producer. Season 1 will be released via public RSS, containing six episodes. Seasons 2 and 3 remain exclusive to Luminary. Continue Reading
In a blockbuster domain acquisition which indicates strategic purpose, Amazon has acquired the domains podcast.com and podcsting.com, we learned from Podnews. The domains lead to the Audible landing page for podcasts. Audible does not distribute public podcasts via RSS, but it does create originals. This is a land grab by Amazon-owned Audible, and it seems like the company is creating a unique category definition and experience of audio storytelling. Continue Reading
RAIN is delighted to introduce the first piece from guest columnist Sam Harris of Hook Research in the UK. In this inaugural column, Harris explores the state of the kids spoken word content market in the UK and contemplates the benefits for brands operating within it. Plenty of research and quotes here, plus an overview of the child-oriented podcast and audiobook markets. Continue Reading
The main story in this week’s newsletter from James Cridland involves World Radio Swizterland, which is seeking investors. Also: Caital Dance launch in the UK, Australian DAB+-only ratings, and YouGov data. Continue Reading
If users search for online content based on keywords, why shouldn’t advertisers purchase marketing campaigns the same way? In fact, they can do that within Google’s ad ecosystem. Now, podcast advertisers have an avenue for keyword-based targeting within the Acast marketplace, according to an Acast announcement. The initiative is based on proprietary technology, and an interesting view of the future. Continue Reading
Podcast host and technology company Spreaker has launched the Spreaker Campaign Manager, a tool which allows podcasters to have a more direct relationship with advertisers while increasing the podcaster’s control over ad placement. It is geared to shows where advertisers are “knocking down your organization’s door to be included in your catalog of podcasts,” Spreaker says. Continue Reading
AdLarge digital audio division cabana is today releasing its Podcast Buying Guide V3.0 — the third annual tutorial for prospective podcast advertisers and agency buyers. As with past editions, this document is admirably coherent, concise, and clarifying. We got an early look. Continue Reading