Pod Drop: Bullet-point news; intellectual humility; teen genius
New podcasts of note.
CNN 5 Things (CNN)
Unexplainable (Vox)
The Genius Generation (TRAX from PRX)
Clubhouse launches accelerator program for creators; targets 20 recipients for $5,000/month
The live-audio meeting app Clubhouse has announced the launch of a creator accelerator program with an open application program. Twenty recipients will be selected and provided with material assistance and matching with potential brand sponsors with a guarantee of at least $5,000 monthly revenue. Continue Reading
Steve Goldstein: Finding “Shelf Space” for your Podcast is Hard
by Steve Goldstein
In this guest column, Steve Goldstein gets real about podcast creators getting their shows into the mobile devices of prospective listeners, and then actually getting played as a separate challenge. “Our smartphones are loaded with the great intentions of downloaded podcasts that are never listened to.” Brace for numbers-based reality.
Continue Reading
The podcast pyramid: Most downloads pile into the top 1% (Omny Studio)
Omny Studio released a raft of interesting data illustrating a truism of media: Success is concentrated at the top. How many downloads does it take to be in the 1%? Or the top 50%? Click through for graphs. Continue Reading
TuneCore launches its digital music distribution service in LATAM
The Latin American (LATAM) market is an important and growing business for music services, so it makes sense that it would be for distribution to those services. One of the leading such companies, TuneCore, has announced its expansion into LATAM countries. Tunecore localizes its efforts, building out member websites in 13 languages. The company pays out about $1M per day in artist royalties. Continue Reading
RAIN Notes: Friday, March 12
Jottings of note:
— Will Page’s new book
— The Podcast Academy rebrands
— New leadership for vCreative
— AdLarge promotions Continue Reading
Infinite Dial: Pandora is more recognized, but Spotify is more used
In a peculiar perception vs. reality quirk, more Americans recognize the Pandora name than any other online audio brand, but Spotify is the online audio brand used more often. Click through for graphic illustrations. Also — how does smart-speaker ownership affect which audio service Americans listen to? Continue Reading
Infinite Dial: Older types of listening rule the road as 80% of cars still lack modern in-dash entertainment systems
While listening trends are changeable on the whole, American in-car listening routines are decidedly un-modern. AM/FM radio, owned music files, and CDs are the most-used sources. Online streaming and podcasts are making gains, hampered by an 80% lack of in-dash entertainment systems in the American car fleet.
Continue Reading
Infinite Dial: Podcasting shows continued growth … and still plenty of upside
The “early innings” meme expressed by many leaders of podcast publishing and advertising appears proved out in the 2021 edition of The Infinite Dial 2021. Weekly podcast listening is up year-over-year … but with a long way to grow. Continue Reading
Infinite Dial: Online audio listening stabilizes; about two-thirds of Americans are in
After 19 years of eager growth, listening to online audio among Americans has settled for three years at about two-thirds of the 12+ population. To be precise, 68% in the just-released Infinite Dial 2021. The number skews to younger ages. Continue Reading
Infinite Dial: One-third of Americans own a smart speaker; higher for WFH; multiples increase
In today’s The Infinite Dial 2021, smart speakers received a share of attention. A third of Americans own at least one smart speaker. Perhaps unsurprisingly, survey respondents who work at home registered a greater percentage of ownership. Also, multiple-speaker ownership is steadily growing. Continue Reading
Steve Goldstein: Is the Word “Subscribe” Really Going Away From Podcasting?
by Steve Goldstein
In this guest column, Steve Goldstein ruminates on the possible podcast-industry-wide switch from “Subscribe” to “Follow.” He cheers Apple for announcing the switch, but wonders: “Have we seen the last of the term “subscribe” as it relates to podcasts?”
Continue Reading