by Jeff Umbro
In this week’s column, Podglomerate CEO Jeff Umbro unleashes an epic list of lists — 32 media brands which released end-of-year “best podcasts of 2020” roundups. From Esquire to Vanity Fair. From Town & Country to Teen Vogue. Dive in now; thank Jeff later. (Or blame him; your choice.) Continue Reading
U.S. stream listening in September was steady as a month-over-month metric following August, according to Triton Digital’s Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker. While group leader Pandora dipped by about one percent, gains for iHeartRadio, RADIO.COM, and ESPN helped keep the overall ship on an even keel. Click through for RAIN’s long-term trend chart from 2009 to present. Continue Reading
Digital audio ad platform DAX has announced an agreement with Audiomack, a crowdsourced music streaming platform, to exclusively represent U.S. ad sales. Audiomack serves about 20-million monthly active listeners (MAUs). Adding that reach to DAX’s existing portfolio brings the number to 115-million MAUs that DAX can target for advertisers. At the same time, DAX notes, the Audiomack deal strengthens DAX’s base of Gen Z and Millennial audience. Continue Reading
The Spotify podcast deal-making dreadnought sails on, now signing the ex-royal couple Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to an exclusive production arrangement. The model seems to be taken from the Spotify/Obamas deal which tied a new production company, Higher Ground, to Spotify (not an equity acquisition). Likewise, Harry and Meghan have fashioned a production company called Archewell Audio. Click through for details and a trailer. Continue Reading
Triton Digital is announcing that its subsidiary podcast hosting platform, Omny Studio, has expanded its multilingual support for clients, adding German and Italian. Added to existing support for English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese, Omny now gives a native language app experience in six languages. Continue Reading
by Steve Goldstein
In this year-in-review guest column, Steve Goldstein ruminates on audio’s growth from outdated also-ran in the media universe, to an essential component of the media mix. And the audio story is more than just Spotify and SiriusXM. Continue Reading
ABC Audio has released its end-of-year special programming. these shows will be distributed to network radio stations, immediately followed by posting to the ABC New Radio specials podcast feed. That feed is currently populated mostly by daily updates. Click through for details. Continue Reading
Podtrac released its Top 25 New Podcasts of 2020 list. The release follows an earlier reckoning at the end of Q3 — an intermediary list. We compare the two for a look at which podcasts (six of them) were added in the two months which separate the two list measurements. Click through for the graphic. also — the network power of Wondery and iHeartRadio is on display. Continue Reading
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has announced that the annual Podcast Upfront, a fall event in past years (September in 2020), is moving to the week of May 10 in 2021. The idea is to get it closer to the IAB NewFronts (week of May 3), the video counterpart to the podcasting event, “to enable marketers to evaluate their omni-channel investments in an increasingly holistic way.” Continue Reading
Triton Digital is announcing a new arrangement with Cisneros Interactive, to power the management and monetization of the Cisneros podcast network, Audio.Ad Podcasts. To fulfill the deal, Triton will leverage its Omny Studio and programmatic advertising platforms. Continue Reading
by Jeff Umbro
In this week’s column, Podglomerate CEO Jeff Umbro covers key podcast news items from the past week. In this edition, a rundown of four online courses and webinars for getting a better understanding of podcasting issues and skills. Also — Sirius XM and Howard Stern. Continue Reading
The main story in this week’s newsletter from James Cridland is Spotify’s new “Show” product — a couple of new entries are reviewed. Also, new traditional radio station launches in the UK and Australia. Then, more radio news and links to other sources. One of the meatiest columns in this series. Continue Reading