Spotify has hired Courtney Holt as the new head of its Studios and Video departments. He replaces Tom Calderone, the former VH1 exec who departed the company earlier this month. Calderone spearheaded the development of Spotify’s programming in video and podcasts. Continue Reading
Podcast company Acast has hired Henrik Isaksson to head up its operations in Australia. Isaksson joins the audio and podcasting platform from a programmatic mobile advertising service called Amobee, but his resume also includes work at Spotify, where he began in sales and progressed to become a country manager. Continue Reading
In the Q2 iHeartMedia earnings call yesterday, President, COO, and CFO Rich Bressler held forth on company vision. Not unpredictably, he evangelized iHeart’s dominant reach as the largest U.S. radio company, with particular comparisons to the Entercom/CBS Radio merger. He also made an interesting comparison. Continue Reading
Host and distributor audioBoom posted its mid-year financial report with results for the six months ending May 31. Revenue rose 460% over the year-ago period to more than £1.84 million. CEO Rob Proctor added some insight to the numbers. Continue Reading
In a sign of podcasting’s evolution from cottage industry to a maturing advertising category, Nielsen has announced an agreement with Slate-owned Panoply’s Megaphone hosting platform. The venture hopes to meet advertiser demand for audience targeting of podcast commercials and sponsorship messages. Continue Reading
Triton Digital announced a new deal to integrate its a2x audio advertising exchange with RTBiQ, a digital advertising solutions business with a mobile-first DSP platform. This partnership will grant RTBiQ’s advertisers the ability to add online audio from top broadcasters and streaming music services to their programmatic, omni-channel buys. Continue Reading
AdExchanger profiled Shazam and its use of mobile advertising. The identification app has shifted from a business model of affiliate iTunes links to one centered on advertising. Chief Revenue Officer Greg Glenday said that half of Shazam’s inventory is sold programmatically across both private and open exchanges. It also works directly with some clients for more involved, custom campaigns. Continue Reading
In an initiative to streamline the market for digital audio advertising, Triton Digital is introducing a new platform for audio publishers, called Yield-Op, which the company says is built from the ground up for audio. Optimization, cutomization, and reach are three values Triton is evangelizing with the new software. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia has entered a partnership with Fox Networks Group to create Smart A/V Audiences, a suite of data-driven advertising products across both audio and video segments. Smart A/V Audiences will allow the creation of customized audiences by targeting for specific interests, then delivering video and audio ads to those individuals. The project builds on iHeartMedia’s SmartAudio programmatic ad tool. Continue Reading
Programmatic technology company Jelli announced an expansion for its offices. It has opened two new offices, one in New York City and one in Boise, Idaho. Jelli also hired streaming advertising veteran Eric Ronning, to run operations in NYC as its new vice president of strategic accounts. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Podcast preservation initiative at UW-Madison. Interviews about NPR shaping the direction of podcasting’s future. Continue Reading
Dozens of audio buyers from Chicago ad agencies joined online audio influencers from 52 companies at RAIN Digital Audio Advertising Summit at the legendary House of Blues. The audience packed the main floor and spilled into the two side bar areas. The streamlined, four-hour event featured 20 speakers and six staged sessions. Continue Reading