In Monday’s Q4 earnings call hosted by Cumulus Media, CEO Mary Berner noted that the company podcasting effort, organized in the Westwood One Podcast Network, earned topline revenue of $12-million in 2018. Click through for the chief executive’s remarks. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Vulture shares podcast insights. Qualcomm plans future smart speaker chip upgrades. Deloitte finds “subscription fatigue” for video. Continue Reading
MIDiA Research has released an executive summary of its subscriber report with a forecast for the global music industry from 2018 through 2026, and the analysis shows that streaming will continue to be critical to the sector’s success. By 2022, the report anticipates that streaming revenue is set to exceed the music industry’s total revenue from 2018. Continue Reading
Groove Music has formally been out of commission since 2017, and Microsoft is eliminating some of the few remaining routes for accessing the music platform. Groove Music began as a rebrand of Microsoft’s Xbox Music app. Continue Reading
Another new podcast platform is joining the increasingly-crowded startup scrum. The latest project is called Brew, a subscription-based app backed by the Y Combinator startup accelerator that is highlighting new or up-and-coming podcastors. Including the $150,000 from Y Combinator, Brew has raised $400,000 to date. Continue Reading
France’s music trade group SNEP reported that the nation’s digital revenue surpassed physical revenue last year. Overall, the French market posted 1.8% growth for its recorded music market in 2018, reaching €735 million. Continue Reading
Anghami, an on-demand streaming platform centered in the Middle East and North Africa, has expanded its content offerings to include podcasts. The company has added more than 250 podcasts to its library, including a blend of regional and international creators. Continue Reading
Google Podcasts and PRX announced plans for a second round of their podcast creator program. The pair introduced their plans to launch an accelerator project for aspiring creators in October. Continue Reading
At the RAIN Podcast Business Summit on March 5, keynoter Zack Reneau-Wedeen (Founder and Head of Product, Google Podcasts) spoke with Steve Pratt (Principal and Co-owner, Pacific Content) about doubling worldwide podcast listening — Google’s podcast mission. Click through to hear the conversation. Continue Reading
Podtrac has posted its ranker of the top 20 podcsats in February 2019. The chart has a few new appearances, with The Ron Burgundy Podcast on iHeartRadio debuting at No. 6. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s International Radio Trends is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: A collection of features and data points related to radio listening on smart speakers. More action in the UK with Bauer. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Voice assistants struggle with discovery. The new journey for indies. What if Google buys UMG? Continue Reading