NPR has updated its Smart Audio Report with a post-holiday survey conducted by Edison Research. The headline result is that 16% of American adults (about 39-million people) now own a smart speaker. Smart speaker adoption is growing at the pace of smartphones several years ago. AM/FM radio listening is being replaced at a greater rate than any other activity. Continue Reading
PodcastOne SportsNet is partnering with AP to provide listeners with reports from athletic events. The partnership will kick off with coverage of the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. The deal promises real-time access to sports programming, and expands PodcastOne’s existing roster of shows centered on athletics and athletes. Continue Reading
Michael Huppe has signed a contract to remain the CEO of SoundExchange. He has been in the top role since 2011, and will stay in that position for another four years under the newest contract. The group’s annual collections have grown by more than 150% since Huppe took over. Continue Reading
Gimlet Media has hired Jenny Wall as its new chief marketing officer. Wall will be responsible for marketing and audience growth for the podcasting business, including its adaptations into film and television projects. Continue Reading
American Public Media and Putney Student Travel are hosting an immersive podcast program aimed at high school students. The Summer Podcast Institute is a two-week educational program in St. Paul, Minn., for students interested in podcast and audio production. Continue Reading
Cabana, the podcast and digital audio division of audio ad company AdLarge, has released an eight-page online brochure for advertisers, evangelizing the podcast opportunity. It seeks to be comprehensive and concise, and succeeds in our view. Continue Reading
The Consumer Technology Association has released new projections for tech sales in the U.S. Retail revenue from the consumer technology industry in 2018 is estimated to reach $351 billion, up 3.9% from the previous year. The report, released ahead of this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, also examined some product segments of interest, such as streaming and smart speakers. Continue Reading
The Google Assistant voice control platform is getting integrated with Android Auto. The interactive car dashboard previously had Google Voice support, but now it will have the full feature set available from Google Assistant. It will still offer the more common functions that Android Auto owners have likely already been using, such as pulling up music or driving directions. Kia has also added Google Assistant support. Continue Reading
Several U.S. music industry organizations have voiced their unified support for three pieces of proposed legislation. More than 20 groups issued a joint press release to endorse the Music Modernization Act of 2017, the CLASSICS Act, and the AMP Act. Continue Reading
Mike Reznick’s Reznick Media is leveraging CES to announce that he is partnering with Frequency, a “dynamic audio” provider to audio advertisers, part of audio ad agency F Sharp. Mike Reznick was formerly EVP, Advertising Sales at Triton Digital. Continue Reading
Smart speakers are projected to reach 56.3 million global shipments this year, according to research by British firm Canalys. Amazon Echo and Google Home devices are expected to stay at the top of the field, but more products will likely enter the competition. The United States is expected to be the top market with an estimated 38.4 million units in 2018 and will likely remain at the top through 2020. Continue Reading
Facebook has landed a licensing agreement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing. This deal allows users of the social media network to post videos with music from Sony/ATV’s catalog in the background. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed, but the companies said that Sony/ATV’s songwriters will have the chance to earn royalties when their compositions are used on Facebook or Instagram. Continue Reading