James Cridland returns with a richly informative newsletter about radio around the world. In this edition: Homage to Phil Valentine. A new and significant hire at Global. Research about female voices in audio. And a chuckle-worthy clip from BBC Radio 4. Continue Reading
In Magellan AI’s latest monthly report of top podcast advertisers, tracking July activity, we see many of the same brands that have populated the Top 15 Spenders list for the last several months. We compare the past four monthly reports to identify newcomers — there are only two amid lots of repeaters. Click for details and charts. Continue Reading
LiSTNR, the audio app from Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), the Australian entertainment company, has announced an executive appointment and new hire, both intended to burnish the music playlists furnished in the apps. ONe is a promotion; the other music curation expert comes to the company from YouTube Australia and New Zealand. Continue Reading
Triton Digital released its U.S. Podcast Report for July, ranking top podcast networks and shows. In the Top 15 Networks ranker based on average weekly downloads, there are no additions to last month’s report. The Top Podcasts list is also overwhelmingly the same shows with some shifting of order. Click for details. Continue Reading
Spotify has posted a baffling explanation of why it makes some of its podcasts exclusive to the platform, even though exclusive distribution is a standard business maneuver for customer acquisition and retention. We don’t know why this was necessary, or how it managed to be so confusing. Continue Reading
Jottings of Note
— Bungling (The Verge / Apple)
— Global View (TuneIn)
— New Stoop (Radiotopia)
Riverside, the video+audio podcast creation platform, has formally launched Riverside 2.0. We have tested most of the announced features in past weeks, and they have been public-facing, so we see this announcement as a formal launch and attention-getting splash. Here, we run down the most differentiating features. Continue Reading
Triton Digital released the Netherlands Podcast Report for July. While Dutch networks and podcasts dominate, some brands and shows familiar to the English-speaking audience are placed highly. Continue Reading
Global podcast company (HQ in Sweden) reported second-quarter financials this morning. Sales growth and content enlargement resulted in net loss — not an uncommon financial scenario for digital audio platforms. Click for key financials and other announced metrics, and a link to statements. Continue Reading
Audio search and discovery platform Audioburst has introduced a podcast player called Finder, which offers search and discovery of keywords and topics within a podcast episode. We test it and are impressed. The company says it’s “one step closer to solving the challenge of audio discovery.” Click for details and a screenshot. Continue Reading
Jottings of Note
— Paying it Forward (NPR)
— The Winners Are… (AudioUK)
— Podcast Blog (Audry)
As we noted a few weeks ago, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) appears to be installing a twice-a-year podcast upfront schedule. Following the first-ever spring presentation in May, the full schedule for Podcast Upfront on September 9-10 has been released. Click for details. Continue Reading