The Salem Media Group, a media holding company comprising radio, book publishing, and digital media, has announced the start of a new podcast network. The focus will be conservative content across its definitional “Christian and conservative media landscape.” Continue Reading
RedFM is the largest private broadcast group in India. Triton Digital announces today that RedFM has selected Triton’s suite of podcast delivery and monetization for the group’s podcasts. The podcast network is called Red Podcasts, and we see a robust portfolio of 31 shows. Continue Reading
There are many ways to measure a hit podcast. Audience reach. Downloads. Number of reviews. Star rating. Another is to observe how persistent the back catalog is in charts. We looked at Apple’s top-200 Episodes chart in the U.S., in the Comedy category — with a goal of discovering which shows hold the most chart placements. Click through for the results. Continue Reading
Guest columnist Eric Nuzum offers an insightful analysis and prediction. In this view, 2020 was better than you might think, and the future could be more challenging than you assume. This is a must-read piece. Continue Reading
The deal is not yet closed, but the agreement is. As rumored, Amazon will acquire Wondery, the last of the major creative networks in podcasting’s resurgent era to lose indie status. Amazon positions the company as joining Amazon Music, where Amazon’s podcast directory lives, but we see a future in Audible Originals for wondery’s creative production. Founder/CEO Hernan Lopez will step down to manage his new foundation; COO Jen Sargent will take over. Click through for quotes and context. Continue Reading
by Matt Deegan
In his inaugural guest column in RAIN, Folder Media’s Matt Deegan describes the challenges, opportunities, and potential futures of audio in four categories: Heritage broadcast radio, digital linear channels, music services, and podcasts. It’s a terrific analysis and outlook for the upcoming new year. Continue Reading
Talk about diversifying. In the most startling rumor of a streaming music acquisition, merchant payment enabler Square is reportedly considering an acquisition of HiRez, musician-owned Tidal. This Rumor Fact(ory) is based on the usual “unnamed sources” who spoke with Bloomberg. Click through for more context on Dorsey and Tidal. Continue Reading
Podcast advertising intelligence company Magellan AI released its “Spenders, Movers & Shakers” list for November. Bank of America and McDonald’s take the #1 and #2 spots for increased podcast ad spending. Bank of America jumped from $128,000 in October to 1.9-million in November. Mcdonald’s jumped from $174,000 to $1.7-million. Click through for context and the full list. Continue Reading
Spotify has announced its intention to expand to South Korea in the new year. The announcement doesn’t include a more specific timeline, but does try to establish Spotify’s cred in Korean pop music. Indeed, the service’s K-Pop portal is rich with discovery. Competition awaits in South Korea. Click through for details and screenshots. Continue Reading
Leading performance rights organizations (PROs) ASCAP and BMI have jointly announced the launch of Songview, a searchable database of music ownership rights. Better organization and transparency in the tangled field of music ownership has long been needed, according to nearly all experts in the field, to more accurately and quickly direct royalty payments to the proper creators. Continue Reading
Magellan AI released an end-of year State of Podcast Advertising report — a look back at various 2020 metrics, and notes looking ahead to 2021. Following are a few of the many data explorations covered in the free doc. Continue Reading
Over 176 different songs surpassed 1 billion video views on micro-video platform TikTok. That from the company’s first annual music report. Over 70 artists have broken on the platform, and landed major label deals. While major surveys put YouTube as a leading music discovery environment, TikTok seems determined to build recognition for its role in finding and sharing songs. Continue Reading