When Spotify acquired Chartable and Podsights last month, it was clearly stated that Chartable would be integrated with Spotify-owned hosting and monetization platform Megaphone. Today we learn of progress in that integration. Chartable is winding down its attribution work and throwing it over to former competitor Podsights. Continue Reading
Spotify has announced what is, by our count, the third Sound Up program of podcast creation mentoring. This time the field is Kids & Family shows that will compete. At stake is what the company describes as “an immersive week of in-person training at our Spotify offices in Los Angeles, to be followed by a series of virtual workshops and classes, and finally production of a podcast pilot episode.” Click through for lots of detail. Continue Reading
In an ambitious and consequential grab, Spotify has acquired two pillars of podcast advertising attribution, Chartable and Podsights. The additions fortify Spotify’s inceasingly formidable podcast tech stack, at the center of which is the Megaphone hosting and ad-tech platform. Continue Reading
While the Joe Rogan controversy appeared to push SPOT stock sharply downward this week, the company’s reported Q4 2021 financials (released earlier this week) draw a less troubled picture with lots of green ink. Click through for a simple breakdown of quarterly and annual comparisons in user growth and revenue growth. Continue Reading
Spotify released quarterly earnings last night. In the investor call, the Q&A session began as many observers probably guessed it would: “Our first question today is going to come from Rich Greenfield on Joe Rogan.” CEO Daniel Ek treated it as a non-emergency, with careful answers. Meanwhile, podcasting contributed to higher gross margins. Continue Reading
Spotigate? Roganomics? Today we learn that Spotify and its headline podcaster Joe Rogan are maneuvering to get in front of apparent accelerating damage resulting from a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience which created public outcry over statements about Covid vaccines. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek clarified and disclosed; Rogan apologized and promised. Click for more. Continue Reading
The latest turn in the Neil Young vs. Joe Rogan drama on Spotify shifted from a musician to a star podcaster on Saturday afternoon when Dr. Brene Brown announced on Twitter that she would cease production on her two Spotify-exclusive podcasts, Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead. Continue Reading
Spotify has acquired Australian podtech company Whooshkaa. The company says it will integrate Whooshkaa’s platform technology into Spotify subsidiary Megaphone. One important piece of that technology is an easy way for radio broadcasters to turn their content into on-demand podcasting. Continue Reading
A day after Spotify’s end-of-year Wrapped product, the company releases Wrapped for Publishers. It offers podcast listening metrics in 2021. It is stuffed with growth in double-, triple-, and even quadruple-digit percentage increases. Click through for details and a link to Spotify’s PDF. Continue Reading
After weeks of anticipatory promotion, Spotify unleashed its annual “Wrapped” feature yesterday. Unfortunately, the package is available only in the mobile app, and the video presentation requires memory and operating system resources that are unavailable on some phones. The result is a wave of social media complaints that the Wrapped experience crashes quickly, and closes the Spotify app. We present Spotify’s tech requirements, without providing a universally accessible format. We also review the Wrapped personalized playlists, which are quite enjoyable and don’t have special requirements. Continue Reading
The Infinite Dial, globally recognized as a singular authoritative consumer survey and reference for how people consume digital media, will be extended to the UK next month. The annual American edition has been produced for 24 years, resulting in exceptionally valuable trend lines illustrating consumer uptake of streaming audio and podcasting. The brand has expanded to Canada, Australia, Germany, and South Africa. The December 2 release of a UK version will be Edison’s first for that region, and is supported by Bauer Media and Spotify. Click for the registration link. Continue Reading
Bad Robot, the film/TV firm founded and run by J.J. Abrams, whose franchises include Star Trek and Cloverfield movies, has jumped into audio with the creation of a podcast unit. Abrams pulled Christina Choi away from Audible to head the venture. The whole thing is tied up with Spotify. Continue Reading