Several studies have explored the power of podcasts to forge personal connections with listeners, and a new investigation takes a closer look at how that applies to branded podcasts. BBC StoryWorks, the branded content division of the BBC Global News, commissioned a study by Neuro-Insight researchers into the power of sponsored shows to connect with listeners and achieve business goals. Continue Reading
TuneIn announced a new partnership with Apple that will see new distribution channels for the audio company’s content. Under this arrangement, TuneIn’s more than 100,000 global radio stations will be available through the Apple Music streaming service. Continue Reading
Audius is a new company positioning itself as a direct competitor to SoundCloud, aiming to attract emerging artists with a free platform and zero takedowns. The startup has $5.5 million in venture capital funding, and is being supported by notable DJ talents such as Deadmau5, who is on Audius’ advisory board. Continue Reading
Spotify made two announcements this week, one for listeners and one for artists. The streaming service introduced two additions to its suite of personalized playlists and rolled out an update to the mobile Spotify for Artists app. Continue Reading
Podtrac released its podcast ranker for August 2019. The month saw a critical shift in the company’s publisher chart, and iHeartRadio accompanied its new lead with three shows appearing on the podcast chart. Continue Reading
Podfund, the venture capital podcast incubator launched by RadioPublic, announced three new additions to its portfolio. The new investments are for DIVE Studios, Osiris Podcasts, and Domino Sound. Continue Reading
The IFPI has released its Music Listening 2019 report, a snapshot of the current global audio habits and trends. The organization found that time spent listening to music in a week rose from an average of 17.8 hours in 2018 to 18 hours in 2019. That breaks down to a daily average of more than 2.6 hours of listening. Continue Reading
Apple Music now offers real-time lyrics to its listeners on mobile. With the iOS 13 update, Apple has added an option to display the words to a song in real time. The lyrics display can also be used as a navigation tool. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Video helped the podcast star. Case study of podcasts driving subscriptions. The clickbait mindset in music creation. Continue Reading
Google announced new privacy policies around how it handles recordings made with its voice AI platform. Under the new default for Google Assistant, the company will not retain user recordings. Customers can opt into Google’s Voice & Audio Activity program when they set up the AI. Continue Reading
YouTube is still updating its on-demand streaming platform to have the same feature sets as its more established competitors. The latest new feature at YouTube Music is a playlist called Discover Mix. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s International Radio Trends is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: A savvy video about defining radio in the Netherlands. Examining the role of 5G in radio’s future. Continue Reading