RAIN Notes: August 5
— Retracting The Recoil (Spotify)
— Seeing The Audio (Washington Post)
— Speaking The Grit (iHeartPodcasts)
— Retracting The Recoil (Spotify)
— Seeing The Audio (Washington Post)
— Speaking The Grit (iHeartPodcasts)
A new look; better targeting; new ad formats. Those are the chief attributes of Spotify’s relaunch of its self-serve audio advertising platform. Oh — and a new name. BEFORE: Spotify Ad Studio. NOW: Spotify Ads Manager. (See RAIN’s coverage of… Continue Reading
“I said that while many believe that Spotify has a great product, we needed to prove that we could also be a great business. I think we’re really starting to show this now.” (Daniel Ek, CEO, Spotify) That’s from Spotify’s Q2 earnings release. Click for numbers and charts.
Continue Reading
Wondery grabs Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard from Spotify in comprehensive sales, distribution, development, merchandise deal. Click for details. Continue Reading
National news organizations are headlining Spotify news this morning: The international streaming giant will raise its premium subscription price. One national publication puts the pricing decision in the context of “Streaming Inflation Continues.” Spotify raised its subscription rates a year ago; before that was a 12-year stretch of stable pricing. Continue Reading
Spotify’s announced discontinuation of its Car Thing interface, a dedicated device for streaming Spotify in-car, has been met by owners with disappointment, bafflement, requests, and anger. We sample the disappointment and outrage. Continue Reading
Spotify has placed a limit on free song lyrics which appear to the ad-supported, no-pay version of the app. Meant as an inducement to upgrade membership, and possibly succeeding to some extent, the shift is generating predictable upset. We review the outrage. Continue Reading
In what is seemingly a statement of global self-sufficiency, Spotify is no longer represented on the IAB’s list of compliant podcast companies. The movement feels momentous in its abruptness, absence of presage, widespread reaction, and inherent implication. Click for details. Continue Reading
— All The Ears (Spotify)
— The More Things Change… (MIDiA Research)
— Crossing Borders (Acast)
“Podcasts and video shows are surging on the platform,” Substack asserts in a promotional post which seeks to reset the common perception of the platform as a distributor of written articles. There is a business rationale behind the pitch, which positions Substack as an added revenue source — subscriptions — to podcasting’s traditional advertising model. Continue Reading
Whether or not because of recent staff layoffs, Spotify is leaning less on human-powered playlist creation, and more on AI. The latest innovation is “AI Playlist,” a playlist creative algorithm which takes descriptive prompts from the listener to build unique and personalized playlists. UK and Australia only for now. Continue Reading