Smart speakers have been dominating sales and headlines, and so far, customers are pleased with them. That’s the takeaway from a lightweight survey by Loup Ventures, which found that 89% of owners were satisfied with their smart speaker purchases — but there might be a reason for that. Continue Reading
Audio app Anchor has released a third iteration of its service, a move that further double down on its new identity as a fast and simple podcast creation system. The company began as a social audio and new-radio app which allows users to record short voice clips for instant sharing and audio replies. It has since been building out tools to serve as a basic podcast platform. Continue Reading
“I’ve now been at Pandora for almost five months,” CEO Roger Lynch stated to open yesterday’s Q4 earnings call. It was the first earning summary for the still-new chief executive with a full quarter of leadership behind him. “Having had a chance to dig in, I’m even more excited about the opportunity.” Key finance metrics, and a focus on the subscription services. Continue Reading
XAPPmedia has debuted a new self-service offering called Voice Cast for Podcasts for creating custom skills for Amazon Alexa. The service is now available to all podcasters and supports all English language markets. XAPPmedia shared the pertinent details directly with RAIN News. Continue Reading
IAB Australia has released its latest audio advertising report. The top takeaways point to continuing growth in the digital audio ad space, an interest in exploring new formats in streaming audio and podcasts. “With the explosion of podcasting at both a content & consumer levels, I expect to see more brands stepping in but the opportunity is in brand integration and not spots and dots,” IAB Australia CEO Vijay Solanki said. Continue Reading
Triton Digital has entered a partnership with Platform 161, a demand-side provider for advertisers, agencies, and publishers. Under this arrangement, Triton’s a2x programmatic audio advertising marketplace will be integrated with Platform 161, which is headquartered in Amsterdam. Continue Reading
RadioPublic introduced a Paid Listens program at the beginning of the month, and the podcast company is expanding its resources in this campaign to ensure more podcasters generate revenue. The business has added a calculator to its website that lays out the arithmetic behind potential Paid Listen earnings. Continue Reading
In the December report of Triton Digital’s Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker, overall stream listening remained steady from the previous month. The three leaders — Pandora, Spotify, and iHeartRadio — each gained a single percentage in Average Active Sessions (Triton’s AAS metric). Spotify continued its chase of Pandora. Continue Reading
Deezer has partnered with telecom Singtel in Singapore. The streaming service will make its premium tiers available for a steep discount in the first two months of year-long contract. Listening to Deezer will not count against Singtel customers’ data plans. Continue Reading
Entercom has hired Jim McCloud as executive vice president of national business development. McCloud will be responsible for maintaining relationships with existing Entercom partners and building a team to identify and cultivate new potential partners. Continue Reading
Facebook has secured a licensing deal with pan-European online rights hub ICE. The multi-territory agreement provides the social media network with use of the rights hub’s catalog for Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and Oculus. Continue Reading
Two Australian podcast companies have announced a merger. Placard Media, a platform for connecting podcasters and advertisers, has joined forces with Nearly, a podcast network that launched in August 2017. Continue Reading