Brad Hill
- Metrics & Research
- October 15, 2020
- 0 views
Stream listening dipped in August (Triton Digital Webcast Metrics)
U.S. stream listening slipped about 3% month-over-month in August, according to the Triton Digital Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker. The two leaders, Pandora and iHeartRadio, each slipped a bit from the month before. Click through for other details and RAIN’s unique long-term Webcast Metrics tracker.
- Metrics & Research
- September 17, 2020
- 1 views
Stream listening dipped in July (Triton Digital Webcast Metrics)
U.S. stream listening slipped about 3% month-over-month in July, according to the Triton Digital Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker. The two leaders, Pandora and iHeartRadio, each slipped a bit from the month before. Click through for other details and RAIN’s unique long-term Webcast Metrics tracker.
- Advertising & Monetization , AM/FM/HD/Satellite
- September 8, 2020
- 0 views
Pandora is part of SiriusXM’s NFL 2020 coverage plan, and sponsor pitch
Continuing the cross-channel programming and monetization which has been part of the SiriusXM/Pandora merger from the start, a pR is circulating today which advertises the sponsorship opportunities around the upcoming NFL 2020 season, which will be assertively covered by both platforms. Pandora will carry some curated analysis originating on the SiriusXM NFL Channel, and also program game-time music playlists.
Pandora releases playlists to illustrate a connection of sound and color
In what should be a treat for synesthetes, Pandora has released seven interesting playlists intended to demonstrate a relationship between sound and color. Unsurprisingly to those who know of his work, Steve Keller (Sonic Strategy Director at Pandora) is involved in the project and authored an explanatory blog post. Keller invokes Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, who asserted that music and color could not be separated. Keller’s thesis is that Kandinsky wasn’t being metaphoric — there is a scientific basis to tyiong together these two sensual perceptions. Click through for a link to the playlists.
- Metrics & Research
- August 19, 2020
- 0 views
June webcast streaming was mixed; several upward trends within overall flatness
Stream listening in June was a mixed story: A lift of only one percent month-over-month for the entire cohort, but 12 brands experienced month-over-month gain of 5% or more. Steady leader Pandora, whose stream volume sways the entire report, was almost exactly flat from May to June. The second-ranked entity, iHeartRadio, enjoyed an upward spike of five percent. The percentage leader in June was AccuRadio, up 11%.
- Advertising & Monetization , Tech
- August 18, 2020
- 0 views
Google advances its programmatic audio buying tools
Google has raised its game in programmatic audio. Google’s broad digital advertising platform, Ad Manager, is getting audio programmatic for the first time. Additionally, Google’s DV360 is enhancing its existing tools. DV360 is the abbreviated brand name of Display & Video 360, formerly called DoubleClick. The systems stumbles over RSS feeds, perhaps slowing adoption ion podcasting, though independent distribution platforms like Spotify and Pandora work fine.
- AM/FM/HD/Satellite
- August 5, 2020
- 0 views
Pandora launches two new “Thumbs” playlists, one of them for SiriusXM broadcast
In an example of SiriusXM’s cross-platform strategies, the satellite company will broadcast one of Pandora’s new weekly “Thumb” playlists. Alongside that announcement Pandora is also pushing a top-100 playlist to be refreshed each week. A “Thumb” playlist is informed by Pandora users’ thumb-up actions on individual tracks. The company takes the entire thumb-up database across all listeners during the week, and makes a top-100 list out of it. Using the same method, a top-20 list is also manufactured and is broadcast on the Pandora Now channel on siriusXM.
SiriusXM: Streaming, acquisitions, and the uncertainty of podcasting
In its recent Q2 earnings call, Sirius XM discussed streaming, its multiple acquisitions, and podcasting in some detail. Remarks about podcasting are quite interesting, somewhat shading the industry as young and largely immature, while evangelizing the production and marketing power of SiriusXM. Click through for many quotes.
- Podcasting
- August 3, 2020
- 0 views
Pandora adds podcast controls to Alexa skill
Pandora is announcing that its Alexa “skill” set now includes podcast listening and controls. In addition to the basic hook-up between Alexa and Pandora’s podcasts, the new skill set includes a request for a specific episode (“Alexa, play the latest episode of Ted Talks Daily”), requesting an episode by topic (“Alexa, play the Ted Talks Daily episode about procrastination”) and using playback controls for hands-free podcast control while in the skill.
Pandora puts interactive voice ads into beta
“Voice-activated tech is proliferating,” says Pandora, and the company has extended that aspect of digital lifestyle into responses to streaming audio ads. This week, Pandora is launching interactive Voice Ads to beta, following an alpha launch in December. The company asserts this as a first-to-market ad format in streaming audio, and the plan is to scale voice features to both listeners and select advertisers.
Pandora takes concert series virtual
Pandora is announcing its new live series of concerts, COVID-era style as virtual events. A sign-up process has started, for the first live-virtual event — Kane Brown on July 28. parent company SiriusXM will rebroadcast selected concerts. Sponsors are getting creative to foster fan engagement with their products. Click through for the RSVP link and more details.
- Metrics & Research
- July 20, 2020
- 0 views
May webcast streaming rose from April; Pandora bump
Stream listening rose 4% in May compared to April, thanks mostly to a two percent bump in Pandora listening during the month. In recent months we have observed public radio entities in Triton’s list gaining in stream listening during the COVID period of March and April. The May numbers show a sudden drop-off.
