Joe Rogan lands on Spotify; not exclusive yet; some shows missing

Posted on by Brad Hill

As reported, The Joe Rogan Experience — the world’s most successful podcast by many measures — has landed in the Spotify app. Thus marks the start of this well publicized exclusive distribution deal. Except … not exclusive yet. We are still able to play Rogan in other podcast apps. That’s not totally unexpected; the publicized deal details did note that episodes would persist for some amount of time before lowering the gate. There’s another peculiarity, though: Not all the episodes have made it into Spotify, according to reports. Speculation of censorship is circulating. Continue Reading →

iHeartMedia partners with The Recount for three new political podcasts

Posted on by Brad Hill

This appears to be a short-term partnership, at least to start — iHeartMedia and The Recount plan to launch three new political podcasts focused on the upcoming election. Perhaps the podcasts will continue post-election, but the stated launch rationale is “to inform voters’ decisions and actions leading up to this historic moment.” The Recount is a media platform best known for its The Daily Recount video series. Click through for descriptions of the new shows. Continue Reading →

Franchesca Ramsey named host of IAB Podcast Upfront 2020, with co-hosts

Posted on by Brad Hill

The Interactive Advertising  Bureau (IAB) has revealed the host of this year’s Podcast Upfront. This year’s event is virtual, and will be hosted by actress and comedian Franchesca Ramsey. The event transpires over three days next week: September 9-11. Three co-hosts will join Ramsey in managing a sprawling presentation of podcast advertising opportunities. Click through for much more detail. Continue Reading →

Podcasting spot load is 5% as brand advertising grows and revenue steadies (Magellan / Westwood One)

Posted on by Brad Hill

In a data-rich blog post informed by Magellan AI research, Westwood One has published a raft of research findings about podcast advertising. The headline is that podcast advertising is “pandemic proof,” based on the field’s resiliency from pandemic disruption. The study examines month-over-month and quarterly trendlines to track the stability of podcast advertising, a consistently low spot load (to use a radio term), and the continued emergence of brand advertising. Click through for numbers and graphics. Continue Reading →

Rumor Fact(ory): Spotify tries to acquire Meghan Markle and Prince Harry for podcast exclusive

Posted on by Brad Hill

It’s all over the entertainment press, each piece of coverage inching closer to “confirmed” than the last. (See The Mirror HERE.)To us it is still a Rumor Fact(ory) item, but certainly plausible: Spotify offering (or preparing to offer) an exclusive podcast deal to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. The dollars might be relatively modest on Spotify’s balance sheet, though — The Mirror quotes unnamed sources who say that a seven-figure deal is in the works. Continue Reading →

“On the Mic” podcast starts 3-episode feature about women in podcasting

Posted on by Brad Hill

On the Mic, the industry podcast from ad representation company Ad Results Media (the full name is On the Mic with Ad Results Media) is producing a three-episode miniseries about women in podcasting. It starts with Episode 18 in the feed, which features an interview with LadyGang, which is one of the most popular podcasts for women, with 90 million downloads since it’s launch in 2015. Click through to hear the series trailer. Continue Reading →

Pandora Stories celebrates 1,000 milestone [audio]

Posted on by Brad Hill

Pandora Stories is a music/spoken-word hybrid product which pairs songs with artist recollections. In most cases the artists talks for 30-60 seconds about the song’s history (that’s the story part), and then comes the song. Pandora has now produced 1,000 of these stories. To celebrate, the streaming service has created a “The Greatest Hits” compilation. Click through for details and audio. Continue Reading →

Edison Research webinar: Podcast listening grows and shifts

Posted on by Brad Hill

In a zoom webinar yesterday, Edison Research Senior Vice President Tom Webster laid out some metrics about podcast listening before and during the covid-19 era. The session was part of a lunchtime series from Edison. Deploying recent research from the company’s Podcast Consumer Tracking Report and the ongoing Share of Ear consumer survey project, Webster described some changes in American podcast listening. The underlying premise why that the disruption of routines, especially the widespread loss of morning commuting in cars, has made significant changes in how much, and when, Americans listen to podcasts. Click through for more. Continue Reading →

Spotify might launch virtual concerts

Posted on by Brad Hill

Back in April, Spotify blogged about musicians setting up virtual concerts as Covid-19 forced them offstage. If the company wasn’t putting two + two  together at that time, it might be now. That is an easy conclusion to draw from hacker and reverse engineer Jane Manchung Wong, who uncovered non-public screens within the Spotify app indicating live virtual concert streaming in development. Continue Reading →