RAIN Notes: Wednesday, September 1
Jottings of Note
— What If…? (Chris Peterson)
— Commitment to Diversity (Audacy / Urban One)
— Best Case (The Progress Network)
SiriusXM launches SoundCloud Radio, celebrating a history of breaking hip-hop acts
SiriusXM is launching a pop-up station called SoundCloud Radio, with a focus on hip-hop music and artists. That emphasis is aligned with SoundCloud’s history as an influential showcase for new hip-hop artists. It has a one-month run, starting today. Continue Reading
Mixcloud Live Studio from a browser seeks to fix live streaming for DJs
Mixcloud, a platform for creating and listening to DJ music shows, has released a breakthrough new feature for its Pro-level creators: Live streaming from a web browser. The company describes why this is a step into the future. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Tuesday, August 31
Jottings of Note
— Virtually Live (Greenroom)
— Where’s That Voice? (Clubhouse)
— Lots of Learning (James Cridland)
Podcast listeners over-index in categories important to advertisers (Westwood One)
U.S. Podcast listeners exceed national medians in several categories which advertisers value, such as employment, income, and education. These just-released numbers come from Chief Insights Officer Pierre Bouvard on the Westwood One blog. “The podcast audience profile is exceptionally attractive,” Bouvard writes. Continue Reading
Apple acquires Primephonic classical streamer; will shut it down next week; plans new service
Good news for classical lovers in Apple Music, bad news for Primephonic subscribers: Apple has bought Primephonic and will shut it down a week from today. Primephonic subscribers get put into Apple Music. The company will make a new classical streaming experience from Primephonic assets. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s International Radio Trends: The People Who Don’t Listen To Radio On A Radio
by James Cridland
James Cridland returns with a richly informative newsletter about radio around the world. In this edition: Few radios, but more receivers. Nine Radio financials in Australia. A metric from Edison Research. An ironic RIP. Continue Reading
As Jon Stewart prepares his Apple TV+ show, a companion podcast is announced
“Why would I go back to a visual medium?” the 58-year-old Jon Stewart wonders aloud after being startled by his image in the dressing room mirror. “I could have done a podcast.” Turns out, it will be one. Click for a video and details. Continue Reading
Film/TV documentary studio XTR vaults into podcasting
In an example of podcasting’s growing allure across media categories, the film and television documentary studio XTR has opened a podcast division, and is announcing its first production. The new division is called Radio XTR — an interesting call-back to broadcast for a new media outfit. Continue Reading
Early-stage startup Marbyl promises “inside-out” podcast discovery via AI
Marbyl, a nascent podcast discovery solution created by audio startup Tree Goat Media, seeks to solve a particular problem: Topics people want are buried inside of long listening experiences. The AI-powered app promises to surface and socialize topics within podcast conversations, broadening audiences and facilitating surprising new discoveries. Click through for much more about how it works, illustrations, and how the founders plan to monetize. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Friday, August 27
Jottings of Note
— DIY (Steven Bartlett)
— Ranker (Triton Digital)
— Tackling a Podcast (Jay Cutler)
Head gestures: A soon-to-be interactive audio ad format?
If reaching for the screen is too much for advertisers to ask of streaming audio listeners, voice-response ad technology is available. If saying “yes” or “no” is a bridge too far, how about ads which respond to a nod or headshake? That’s the premise of Head Nod Detection, a new piece of ad tech from podcast analytics company Backtracks. Continue Reading