Edison Research has announced a webinar for next week — Thursday, May 21 — titled Podcasting: Connection and Community During Quarantine. Start time is 1:00pm ET. It is part of Edison’s Lunchtime Webinar Series. Tom Webster will host. Click through for registration link. Continue Reading
As we noted in last month’s coverage of Triton’s Webcast Metrics report: “Next month’s March report will be extremely interesting.” Stream listening slumped in March compared to February, perhaps unsurprisingly. The numbers come from Triton Digital’s Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker, and RAIN’s monthly tracking of the Ranker over 10+ years. The year-over-year view showed an unusually large 8% decline. As we said last month: March was a jolting Covid-19 month for all kinds of measured media. Continue Reading
In the Q1 earnings report from Cumulus Media, digital and podcasting took starring roles even as Covid-19 damaged quarterly results for the company as a whole. The Westwood One Podcast Network is part of Cumulus. CEO Mary Berner defines the business as “audio-first media company.” Digital is driving growth. Podcasts are soaring. Continue Reading
The Gracie Awards, produced by the Alliance for Women in Media, have announced this year’s honorees. Podcasting plays a part in this in nine categories for 2020. Click through for podcast winners. Continue Reading
The Edward R. Murrow awards have recognized excellence since 1971. There are two waves of awarding — Regional and national. There are 14 regional divisions, carving up the U.S. by groups of states, plus one International region. The regional awards are out today. Click through to see all podcast winners. Continue Reading
While Zoom is servicing new virtual gathering applications every day, and at least one live concert promoter is selling highly distanced seats in a brick-and-mortar concert venue, here is something new from Europe. A quickly-built drive-in concert venue in Denmark sold out 500 tickets to entertainment-starved music-lovers in minutes. Continue Reading
Podtrac is continuing to share weekly updates of U.S. podcast listening, both in downloads and audience, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Its latest data is for the week of April 27-May 3. A few other interesting trends are emerging out of Podtrac’s download growth charts for different categories. Continue Reading
If genius is in the details, Super Hi-Fi is celebrating a moment of genius success: one-billion “audio stitches” — transitions between songs, mainly. The company’s AI tech creates smart and smooth segues between songs, meant not only to eliminate gaps in listening, but to create what Founder/CEO Zack Zalon calls “tapestries of emotional listening.” Continue Reading
The JACK brand, one of the few remaining independent commercial radio groups in the UK, is announcing a deal with Targetspot which will allow advertisers to access JACK’s digital audio inventory programmatically for the first time. Continue Reading
Pod Drop features new, interesting, and returning podcasts. Today, new podcasts from Frequency Machine, Los Angeles Times, and American Public Media. Continue Reading
Stitcher, a top podcast network, enjoyed first-quarter revenue of $17.1-million, a 13% jump year-over-year from Q1 2019 ($15.1-million). (As a timely but random point of comparison, PodcastOne just sold to LiveXLive last week for $18-million.) Projecting across the year, it might be feasible to consider Stitcher a $68-million topline business. Continue Reading
In iHeartMedia’s Q1 earnings call, Chairmand and CEO Bob Pittman laid out his company’s revenue trendlines, a review of strategic decisions, and his views of a hopeful future. In simple coronavirus strokes: Listening is up, advertising is down, and digital initiatives are providing the best result and will propel future recovery. Continue Reading