Sounds Profitable

Here's what you need to know for Thursday, August 3rd.Inside Audio Marketing - Katz: Target Consumers With Messages That Relate To Where They Listen To Radio.RainNews - Quantifying brand marketing uncertainties and risks, Veritonic says audio is paramountSpotify - WPP & Spotify Announce First-of-its-Kind Global PartnershipMediaPost - TV 'Ad Intolerant' Viewers Still In The Minority, Study Finds

Here's what you need to know for Wednesday, August 2nd. Podcast Company Realm Acquires Kid-Focused Pinna as Industry Consolidates by Ashley CarmanSiriusXM is betting big on its next-gen app by Amrita KhalidGood Karma Brands to run operations, sales for ESPN Radio by Andrew BucholtAs strikes halt Hollywood projects, the TV ad industry is on the line by Kelsey SuttonFuture of TV Briefing: How top streamers’ ad prices have trended in this year’s upfront negotiations by Tim Peterson

Bryan announces the newest evolution of The Download: a daily newsletter covering the essential news for the business of podcasting.Credits: Written by Bryan Barletta Edited by Tom Webster Audio edited by Gavin Gaddis Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

This is The Download from Sounds Profitable, your daily source for the essential news of the business of podcasting, brought to you by Spreaker from iHeart. Here’s what you need to know for today, Tuesday August 1st. AdAge - Audio Ads Outperform Video for Attention and Brand Recall, Dentsu Study Finds. The study was conducted by Lumen and commissioned by Dentsu, with Amazon Ads, Cumulus Media, iHeartMedia, Spotify, and SXM Media participating. 41% of audio ads generated correct brand recall in follow-up surveys, a 3% increase over the norm for other forms of advertising Dentsu keeps track of. Compared to digital, social, and TV benchmarks, podcasts held listeners’ attention for more seconds per thousand impressions.Inside Audio Marketing - Podcast Listeners Spending More Time With Medium As Digital Audio Usage Rises.New eMarketer graphs show daily time spent with podcasts by adult podcast listeners has increased from 44 minutes in 2021 to 51 minutes this year. eMarketer’s forecast predicts that number will grow at slower percentage rates in coming years, but will still hit 56 minutes by 2025. The overall average daily digital audio consumption is one hour and 52 minutes. LibSyn - Podcast Advertising RatesAdvertiseCast has updated their monthly tracker of podcast CPM rates. July’s average between all three tracked audience sizes is $22.24 for a 60 second spot, a 3.6% decrease from June and continuing a downward trend since May’s price of $23.50. Still, it’s holding above the lowest point from the doldrums of Q1 when February’s average hit $21.99.Digiday - Fortune cookies, the Sphere and more: How advertisers are taking OOH beyond billboardsOut of home advertising is evolving, including digital taxi toppers, ad-supported fortune cookie messages, and the $2.3 billion Sphere in Las Vegas. Some agencies have leaned into intentionally outlandish/evocative OOH campaigns to generate online buzz and have found success. Podcasting has had some success with similar OOH campaigns, including billboards for Slow Burn’s season on an abortion rights case that specifically run in states proposing abortion rights rollbacks. eMarketer - YouTube CTV spending jumped 31% last quarter, outpacing streamersAccording to agency Tinuiti, spending on YouTube’s connected TV ads jumped 31% in Q1 while services like Max and Netflix only experienced 6% growth. Hulu charts in the lead on CTV ad revenue on eMarketer’s 2023 chart with 3.63 billion, followed by YouTube at 2.89 billion and Roku at 2.19 billion. The fastest-growing CTV presence is now also the most popular location for audiences to consume podcasts.Be sure to check out the links to every article mentioned right in your podcast listening app, or at SoundsProfitable.com, where you can also subscribe to the newsletter version.The Download is written and produced by Bryan Barletta, Gavin Gaddis, and Tom Webster. It’s assembled in Spooler and hosted on Art19. For Sounds Profitable, I’m Tom Webster - Download us again tomorrow!

Stories covered: The Fully-Produced Podcast Ad: Are we leaving attention on the table?Spotify's Q2 Earnings CallYour favorite TV rewatch podcast is here to stay - but don’t expect any new ones. Quick Hits: Only Be Kind by Tom WebsterThis week, Tom writes about the legacy of Frank Cody and a life philosophy he brought to radio that podcasting would do well to implement: Only be kind.NewsGuard Launches 'Made-For-Advertising' Service In Response To ANA Study by Joe MandeseTo combat the rising issue of made-for-advertising sites siphoning programmatic ads, NewsGuard has introduced the ability to create whitelists of non-MFA sites and blacklists to exclude known MFA content.Audio Amplified: Harnessing the Power of Branded PodcastsThe new white paper from Quill focuses on the utility of branded podcasts as high-value content that resonates with audiences, establishes trust, and positions creators as industry leaders.Veritonic and Acast Partner to Highlight What Success Sounds Like Around the World for Podcast Ads Bought ProgrammaticallyNew research from the two companies compares and contrasts of audio creatives from programmatic campaigns around the world.

Tom Webster reflects on the life of someone important to both him and audio in general, as well as a valuable lesson we can learn from how he thought about life. Written by Tom Webster Edited by Bryan Barletta Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

Stories covered: U.S. podcasters are attracting more international listenersWhy a ‘podcast election’ is unlikelyAd overexposure on CTV hurts streamers as much as brands.Quick Hits: Will Podcast Ad Revenues Double by 2025? Not Without These Five Things by Tom Webster.Podcasts draw devoted audiences, but ad spending lags by Catherine Wolf. The Rumors of Podcasting’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated...Redux by Eric Nuzum. Why Podcast Ad Creative is Pivotal, Now More than Ever by Paul Riismandel. Cracking the Code: Gen Z Engagement through Audio Advertising by Mariam Ahmad

Tom Webster looks at our most recent study, The Podcast Opportunity, and provides five key findings that point the way towards making podcasts a more vital part of ad spending.Credits: Written by Tom Webster Edited by Bryan Barletta Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

Articles covered: Breakdown of FTC Endorsement GuidelinesYouTube Tests Crackdown On Ad BlockersThis LinkedIn article could have been a video podcast.Quick Hits: Spotify hits the 100,000 mark for video podcasts MediaMath Files For Bankruptcy, Owes Hundreds Of Millions.mowPod Supercharges Self-Serve Platform with AI-Powered Ad Copy and Precision Targeting

Articles covered: The Podcast OpportunitySXM Shuts down StitcherFilm and TV have collapsed over the last decade.Quick HitsLong Read- Podcasts, a hot advertising medium by Ruby Derrick ThePodcastHost.com Publishes ‘IndiePod Manifesto’ Off the Back of Independent Podcaster Census DataAcast Unlocks Largest Self-Serve Marketplace of Podcast Influencers For Media Buyers

With the upcoming release of Sounds Profitable’s study The Podcast Opportunity, Tom reflects on the idea of podcasting being considered ‘neither fish nor fowl’ in the advertising world. Credits: Written by Tom Webster Edited by Bryan Barletta Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

Articles covered: Quick Hits: Registration is open for next week’s Sounds Profitable webinar for the upcoming study The Podcast Opportunity: Buyer Perceptions of Podcast Advertising. The presentation is on June 28th at 3p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The new study uncovers the latest thinking from buyers on the current state of podcasts advertising, and the strengths and weaknesses of buying the medium. In a bonus video from this week’s Product Deepdive, Podscibe’s Amelia Coomber demonstrates a new tool in the platform that uses ChatGPT, trained with the GARM framework, to generate a risk assessment for the podcast. The content rating system generates a visualization that shows what content is flagged, an automatic summary of what was said, and timestamps to check out the offending content directly. Streaming Audio and YouTube Measurement now offered in Magellan AI. As of last week, Magellan AI supports the measurement of streaming audio campaigns, as well as podcasts. Advertisers can now confirm impression delivery by channel and measure ad performance through custom KPIs. Magellan also launched the ability to measure YouTube impact. Acast launches new tech integrating publishers’ paywalls with podcast platforms. The tech, dubbed Acast+ Access, will enable paywalled news outlets to produce podcasts that are siloed and only accessible to those who pay for the site’s premium subscription. Ausha Launches Ausha PRO, a new sub-brand dedicated for Branded Podcasts. Ausha PRO includes the features of Ausha with the added benefits of enhanced support, advanced customization of promotional materials, multi-user access for collaborative management, and platform configuration performed in-house by Ausha staff.

This week, Tom looks at some recent data on popular podcast genres from Pew in light of Spotify parting ways with Meghan and Harry and their podcast Archetypes. What can we learn from the past about the future of celebrity podcasting? Credits: Written by Tom Webster Edited by Bryan Barletta Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

This week's stories: Podcast listeners well disposed to political ads (Veritonic)Let’s Think about Podcast Consumers, Not Just ListenersCan A Million Ads Simplify Hyperlocal Audio Ads By Creating Even More Of Them?Partner Events: “Demystifying Brand Lift: Measuring How Audio Ad Campaigns Resonate with Listeners.” “How Creative Testing Drives Success in Audio.”“The Podcast Opportunity: Buyer Perceptions of Podcast Advertising”Quick Hits: What AI Will Never be Able to Do That People Can by Scott Klass. With AI discourse focusing on the hypotheticals of replacing on-air talent, SoundStack CMO Klass addresses the need for a human experience in the customer service side of advertising. Is the podcast bubble starting to burst? by Nick Bonyhady. A look at podcasting’s listener growth (and recent lack thereof) in Australia, showing there’s less of a balloon and more of a new normal catching up to the statistical anomaly of the surge in new podcasts spurred by pandemic. Podsights goes free-to-use and rebrands as Spotify Ad Analytics by Reem Makari. Rebranded to Spotify Ad Analytics, the platform offers free pixel tracking and has expanded to more countries. Brand lift studies are still Spotify app only, but are included for free with campaigns that meet a minimum spend and reach threshold. Podscribe Launches Automated Ad Scoring The new tool, powered by ChatGPT, automatically grades the quality of ad reads on a scale of 1 to 10 using criteria like how clearly the product was endorsed, and how personalized the recommendation was. Narrativ Launches Mobile App Open Beta. Generative AI startup Narrativ generates audio versions of news articles and monetizes via audio ads. The mobile app currently hosts content from several collegiate newspapers and will soon incorporate national news and Associated Press articles.

Programmatic ad placement has been stuck on the waterfall for long enough. It’s time to lay the foundation for Header Bidding in podcasting. Written by Bryan Barletta Edited by Tom Webster Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

Articles covered: Spotify to Slash Podcast Workforce, Combine Parcast and Gimlet Studios in New Round of Cuts“How Do We Pivot?”: Podcasting Turns to M&A and Cost-CuttingWhy advertisers are reconsidering keyword blocklists as brand safety approaches to hard newsGrowing Up with Podcasts: The Gen Z Podcast Listener ReportThe State of Audio Technology ReportIs YouTube Eating Podcasts? Cumulus Media And Signal Hill Insights’ Podcast Download – Spring 2023 ReportHot Pod coverage of audiobook surveys.Quick Hits iOS 17: What’s new for Apple Podcasts. During the 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced upcoming changes in iOS 17 that will impact Apple Podcasts. Search filters, episode art, and a new listening experience are among the new features. Developers currently have access to a beta, while public beta testing is slated for later this month. Podcasting’s Biggest Opportunity by Tom Webster. Podcasting is becoming more competitive and less collegial every year. Is that a good thing, a bad thing, or just inevitable? Tom Webster suggests there is still an important job we all need to collaborate on first. Triton Audio Marketplace Expands Basis Technologies Partnership to Support Advertising Across Digital and Broadcast Radio Segments. The new arrangement aims to enable marketers to streamline and consolidate content across all audio segments (podcasting, streaming, and terrestrial broadcast radio) via the Triton Audio Marketplace. Canadian Branded Podcast Agency Seeks Bad Reviews for its New Show. JAR Audio’s new ‘tell all’ about the branded podcast industry, pitched as part advice column and part sketch comedy, is asking be ruthlessly critical of the show during its upcoming launch window. Finally: the Sounds Profitable press release portal is now open! You can now submit your press releases directly to Sounds Profitable via the new portal at SoundsProfitable.com/press. In fact, the last two Quick Hits are pulled directly from our press release section. Head over now and amplify your podcast industry-related news and announcements.

Podcasting is becoming more competitive and less collegial every year. Is that a good thing, a bad thing, or just inevitable? Tom Webster suggests there is still an important job we all need to collaborate on first. Credits: Written by Tom Webster Edited by Bryan Barletta Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable theme written by Tim Cameron Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

This week on the Download: Why podcasters are selling subscriptions through third-party vendorsFuture of TV Briefing: CTV continues to be a black box to programmatic marketersPublishers large and small put their resources into first-party data - Digiday ResearchAustralian digital audio ad spend climbs to $51.9 millionQuick Hits: The Podscape, a collaborative effort between Magellan AI and Sounds Profitable, will be publishing a new edition this summer! In the interest of making this snapshot of the podcasting industry as accurate as possible the Podscape is putting out an open call: Is your company missing from the current edition? Notice something we omitted? Submit Updates HerePeabody-Nominated Content Studio Project Brazen Launches Platform for “Fearless Storytelling” by Alex Ritman. The new content platform features a special focus on journalism “that reveals hidden aspects of the world around us.”

There has been much concern over how podcasting will implement AI. Tom breaks down the current landscape, as well as future symbiotic relationships.Credits: Written by Tom Webster Edited by Bryan Barletta Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable theme written by Tim Cameron Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

This week on The Download: Advertisers and audiences refute the idea that podcasts are on the wane. NewsGuard: Programmatically-placed ads for major nonprofits and government orgs on dozens of misinformation websitesWhy Black creators say brands are ‘quiet as a mouse’ on Black History Month and Juneteenth this year. Quick Hits: Podscribe Launches YouTube Conversation Modeling. The new dashboard unifies RSS and YouTube metrics into one location. ARN and Magellan AI announce Top 15 Podcast Advertisers in Australia for Q1. The list includes familiar faces like Apple, Amazon, and McDonald’s. ‘The Turning’ Podcast Studio Rococo Punch to Merge With Audily by J. Clara Chan. From the article: “When two independents come together, we can do much bigger things.” ARN uses geo-location to deliver headlines on Your News Now podcast. The new podcast uses geotargeting to create a sub-three-minute episode covering local news, sports, and weather forecast. Missing the Sounds Profitable Podcast this week? Check out the latest episode of the ANA’s podcast Champions of Growth. The episode, titled Is Podcasting the Future of Branded Advertising, features both Bryan Barletta and Tom Webster talking with Matthew Schwartz

Like a kid taking a bite of his dessert before his meal is finished, I think it’s time we enter the next phase of podcast adtech even before we finish the last.Credits: Written by Bryan Barletta Edited by Gavin Gaddis Read by Gavin Gaddis Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

This week: Lessons from the Podcast Upfront, the Spring 2023 MIDAS report is here, and SXM Media leaders see podcast advertising maturing.| Podcasters focus on expansion and reach despite slower ad revenue growth at upfronts Podcast Advertising Sees Slowdown in 2022, Even as Growth Rate Outpaces Other Digital Mediums Despite Layoffs and Canceled Podcasts, Podcasting Is Optimistic About AI And First-Party Data RAJAR Spring 2023 MIDAS Report Hot Pod: SXM Media Leaders talk about how podcast ads are still maturing And for our Quick Hits: New from Recordical: Audio Currents, a twice-weekly audio industry newsletter written by Shreya Sharma. Tuesday issues will focus on audio news, industry expert interviews, and resources for brands, while Friday episodes will feature creator spotlights. Barometer and ArtsAI have partnered to “bring new solutions to market delivering unprecedented in-flight transparency of brand safety and suitability for podcast advertising.” Podcasting gets a new magazine with Good Tape. The new print magazine aims to capture the conversations happening in the audio industry. The first issue is available for pre-order and slated for Fall 2023 release, with an open call for writers to pitch content. For a full transcript and links to all articles mentioned, please visit SoundsProftiable.com/Podcast

In this episode, Arielle Nissenblatt and Bryan Barletta interview Tom Webster about his recent reporting: an article he wrote for Sounds Profitable called “How To Murder a Podcast” and a YouTube video called “Research Collection Methods.” We talk about Sounds Profitable’s approach when it comes to education for the industry and how understanding research collection methods fits into our mission. We also discuss our upcoming research projects and where you can go to learn about them.Listen to learn about: Probability sampling Convenience sampling “Crap” sampling Why understanding research methodology is important How to understand and take action on industry studies What we’re presenting at The Podcast Show in London for SP partners Links: Ashley Reese’s tweet about Robert DeNiro / Al Pacino How To Murder a Podcast Sounds Profitable’s YouTube channel Credits: Hosted by Bryan Barletta, Arielle Nissenblatt, Tom Webster Produced by Spooler Media Hosted on Art19 Recorded on SquadCast.fm Edited by Gavin Gaddis

This week, we have a special guest post from Newton Schottelkotte! Newt recently graduated from college this year, but do not let their age fool you - they’ve been in podcasting for seven years now, and seven significant years at that. We asked Newt to share some perspective on how podcasting has changed, and how it can continue to grow as a viable career. Written by Newton Schottelkotte Edited by Tom Webster Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

This week's stories: DISQO: Proving the Power of Podcast Ads Elite podcasts struggle while the podcast masses thrive. Pluto TV has an ad frequency problem. Quick Hits: Newsguard Launches World’s First Journalist-Vetted Podcast Credibility Ratings. In addition to this announcement, Newsguard has also announced a partnership with Barometer to provide episode-level misinformation detection for podcasts. Dovetail from PRX is now IAB Podcast Measurement 2.1 Certified. Spotify launches the Spotify Audience Network in France, Spain, and Italy. Continuing podcast’s global growth, advertisers will now have access to the network in more European countries. This week on Data Decoded, Tom Webster brings a special extra-long episode in the form of his IAB Upfront talk. Join Tom as he breaks down the data to look at the anatomy of podcasting’s audience, and how it has grown.

The Edison Research Share of Ear shows podcasting’s share of daily audio listening for Americans 13+ has doubled over the last nine years. This week, Tom highlights a related statistic that shows a promising ratio for podcasting’s core.Credits: Written by Tom Webster Edited by Bryan Barletta Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

This week's top stories: How to use CTV as a Roadmap for Programmatic AudioWhat downturn? In real terms, ad spending is doing just fine.Washington State passes sweeping health data lawResearch Roundup: Audacy State of AudioCumulus Media 2023 Audioscape iHeart State of Podcasting 2023Podcast Advertising Benchmark Report by PodsightsThe Soundout Index 2023Quick hits: Barometer and Audiohook partner to enable Brand Suitability and Contextual Targeting at scale. The partnership aims to allow advertisers the ability to enforce brand suitability guidelines while also taking advantage of Audiohook’s programmatic platform. New on Data Decoded, Tom shares his love of commercial jingles while examining interesting data in the Soundout Index report. Why is sonic branding seemingly less effective on Gen Z? Find out in Tom’s new six minute video!

In this episode, we discuss baseball! The new pitch clock, our favorites teams…just kidding. We talk about what it means to swing for the fences in the podcast and audio space and the companies who are taking big risks. Sounds Profitable is in a unique position to not only swing for the fences ourselves, but to help others who want to help grow this industry too.Listen to learn about: The big swings we’ve taken and how they’ve paid off Why the podcast industry needs big ideas Some Sounds Profitable partners who are conducting industry-leading research Why kids and family podcasts are helping to grow the pie Why we think the new Julia Louis Dreyfuss Podcast from Lemonada is a great example of a successful swing for the fence Links: Sounds Profitable’s partners Lemonada Wiser Than Me Cleveland Credits: Hosted by Bryan Barletta, Arielle Nissenblatt, Tom Webster Produced by Spooler Media Hosted on Art19 Recorded on SquadCast.fm Edited by Gavin Gaddis

A recent research report from Japan highlights how podcasting can grow when it germinates from a very different seed. Tom Webster breaks down the data and how it applies to podcasting everywhere Credits: Written by Tom Webster Edited by Bryan Barletta Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com

This week on The Download: How Brands Can Lift the Tide of Minority-Owned Media More brands choose Boomer/GenX influencers as 'older audiences can be just as impactful' as young ones. What Marketers need to know about Generation Zennial from social media and buying habits And in Quick Hits: Barometer Secures $2.25M To Expand Brand Safety And Contextual Targeting For Podcasts by Anthony Vargas. Veritonic Achieves Security Organization Control 2 Type II Certification. After an audit by Prescient Assurance, Veritonic has been validated as having effective enterprise-level security for customer data. Audioboom publishes 2022 Annual Report & Financial Statements. The company reports double-digit growth in several key metrics. WPP Acquires Sonic Branding Agency Amp to Strengthen Landor & Fitch by Stephen Lepitak. This is the third acquisition by WWP in the past month, along with technology-focused social influencer marketing agencies. For links to all articles covered and a full transcript of the episode, please visit SoundsProfitable.com/podcast

In this special re-upload, Bryan speaks with U of Digital Managing Partner Shiv Gupta about what it means to create a comprehensive educational approach across an industry. Gupta comes to us by way of the digital marketing space, but has spent his career creating programming aimed at educating and serving across different sectors and levels within companies. Adtech Applied cohost Arielle Nissenblatt joins to set up the chat and break it down with takeaways at the latter half of the show.Listen to learn about: Shiv Gupta’s career Why it’s important to create non-biased courses that educate on entire industries How Sounds Profitable plans to approach an education initiative Why we need your feedback on this podcast Here’s our favorite idea from this conversation: creating opportunities for folks to learn, either if they’re new to a job or looking to move on to the next level, benefits everyone.Links: Bryan Barletta Arielle Nissenblatt Shiv Gupta U of Digital The Download Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles SquadCast Podscribe Credits: Hosted by Bryan Barletta & Arielle Nissenblatt Audio engineering by Evo Terra Executive produced by Evo Terra of Simpler Media Sounds Profitable Theme written by Tim Cameron Revised edit by Gavin Gaddis.

Continuing Sounds Profitable’s mission to provide more for the business of audio, Bryan Barletta announces the Partner Perks Series. Get in touch to learn more about the Business Leaders Summit at The Podcast Show London! Written by Bryan Barletta Edited by Tom Webster Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

This week's stories: ‘They are blatantly blocking news’: Confessions of a programmatic sales lead on brand safety filters’ impact on publishers’ direct-sold ads Pew Research publishes Podcasts as a Source of News and Information Americans Spend $48 per Month on Video Streaming Services — and Half of Those Surveyed Say That’s Too Much FTC Warns Almost 700 Marketing Companies That They Could Face Civil Penalties if They Can’t Back Up Their Product Claims Quick hits: Podscribe is now IAB Tech Lab Certified. Announced this Monday, verification platform Podscribe announced they have officially received their IAB certification after a six month audit process. Podcast hosting platform Ausha has announced the implementation of ChatGPT into their social media management system. Netflix Earnings, Netflix’s Movie Strategy, Accretive Ads by Ben Thompson. This week’s Stratechery issue covers the recent Netflix earnings call, Thompson’s previous coverage of Netflix, and what could lie in Netflix’s future. Veritonic has published a new guide titled 5 Things to Consider When Running a Brand Lift Study for Audio. For full transcript and links to all articles mentioned, please visit SoundsProfitable.com/podcast

Did you know that April is Adopt-a-Podcast Listener Month? Now you do! Bryan Barletta speaks with Lauren Passell and Arielle Nissenblatt about Tink Media, this new initiative to grow the podcast/audio space, barriers they’ve uncovered for potential listeners, and how you can get involved.Listen to learn about: How to idea for this event came about Lauren and Arielle’s woman-on-the-street approach to ask people about their listening habits Best practices they’ve uncovered for recommending podcasts The pre, mid, and post-roll ad campaign you can participate in Links: Lauren Passell Tink Media Adopt-a-Listener Month Credits: Hosted by Bryan Barletta, Arielle Nissenblatt Produced by Spooler Media Hosted on Art19 Recorded on SquadCast.fm Edited by Gavin Gaddis

Discussed this week:Ad Spend in the US will grow more than initially expected this year, per S&P. How brands can tailor their audio ads to target “co-listeners”Why news outlets are putting their podcasts on YouTube Quick Hits:The 2023 Quill Podcast Awards nominations are now open. Public nominations will run until April 24th, with finalists announced on May 4th and winners announced on May 17th. Eligibility guidelines and categories can be found on Quill’s website. OxfordRoad has published a new study titled Solving Audio Ad Attribution. The white paper aims to teach marketers how to improve performance at scale and proposes vanity urls “no longer cut it.” A month after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the fallout is just beginning for the ad industry by Seb Joseph and Marty Swant for Digiday. A substantial breakdown of the aftershocks from the SVB collapse and what impacts it’ll have on advertising. For full transcript and links to everything mentioned, please visit SoundsProfitable.com/Podcast

In this episode, Tom, Arielle, and Bryan recap their experiences at Radiodays Europe, which took place last month in Prague. They discuss the expo hall, the presentation they attended, trends they identified, and much more. Listen to learn about: How Tom’s recent research was received by a primarily European audience Radio’s prevalence in Europe What podcasting can learn from radio Why Sounds Profitable feels it’s important to be at non-podcast-specific events The Podcast Summit at Radiodays Links: Radiodays Europe Podcast Show London Data Decoded Adopt-a-Listener Month Sounds Profitable’s research Credits: Hosted by Bryan Barletta, Arielle Nissenblatt, Tom Webster Produced by Spooler Media Hosted on Art19 Recorded on SquadCast.fm Edited by Gavin Gaddis

This week, Tom Webster spots a misapplication of podcast research that he felt strongly enough about to hopefully nip in the bud, wherever the bud may be found.Contact for information about Business Leader Summit in London.BumperCredits: Written by Tom Webster Edited by Bryan Barletta. Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

This week on The Download: AMERICA bill aims to regulate big ad tech Publishers find Q1 numbers not as bad as forecasted A deep dive into podcasting in South Korea Quick Hits: Submissions for the Digiday Media and Technology awards are approaching their regular deadline of May 11th. If you’re interested in submitting a podcast to either category, use code soundsprofitable, all one word and lowercase, to take $100 off your submission fee. Rococo Punch launches RP Labs, a vertical dedicated to continuing education audio experiences. Rococo RP Labs announcement Audio Insurgent author Eric Nuzum published the text of his seven minute Radiodays Europe speech on market saturation in audio. The speech makes a bold statement: market saturation doesn’t exist for podcasts created by genuinely motivated production teams. Adthos launches self-service AI-generated audio ads for radio, podcast, and streaming. Starting Tuesday, users of the Adthos platform now have access to the ability to generate an audio ad creative from scratch entirely using AI tools, from the script to backing music. TuneIn adds 120,000 audiobooks to premium service, by Matthew Keys. Audio streamer TuneIn has now added a sizeable library of audiobooks. Some classic titles will be available for free, while premium users will have access to the entire collection. For all links and a full transcript of the episode, visit SoundsProfitable.com/Podcasts

Podcast advertising is in a weird phase. We’re caught between our ideals and our reality; the technical capabilities of the space and the business decisions of the company. That confusion is starting to cost us trust. Written by Bryan Barletta Edited by Tom Webster Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

This week on The Download: Google Announces Ad Library, the maturing podcast ad industry attracts more mainstream brands, and Audiobooks could become new audio advertising frontier. Quick Hits:Gumball Expands Its Host-Read Podcast Advertising Marketplace Model to YouTube Integrations. Podcast Company Audacy Shakes Up Its Leadership, Retains Cadence13 Studio by Ashley Carman. For a full transcript of the episode, links, and other episodes, please visit SoundsProfitable.com/Podcast

Tom Webster recently wrote an article entitled, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Podcasts.” He posits that, while publishers may think they know a lot about their audiences, they don’t really know all that much. He outlines five questions that podcasters can ask of their audience in order to get a better grasp on who they are, what they want, and how the show can potentially appeal to more listeners like them. Arielle Nissenblatt and Tom discuss these five questions and share some more context on how to chat with your audience. Also in this episode, we discuss Sounds Profitable’s “The Medium Moves the Message” research study and Tink Media’s upcoming Adopt a Listener Month initiative.Listen to learn about: 5 questions you can and should ask your audience How to actually get responses from your audience Why it’s not enough to just ask “what do you like about my podcast?” Why you don’t need this to be a study or have thousands of responses for it to be effective What’s coming up at Sounds Profitable Links: Article Arielle Nissenblatt Tom Webster Sounds Profitable’s research Credits: Hosted by Bryan Barletta, Arielle Nissenblatt, Tom Webster Produced by Spooler Media Hosted on Art19 Recorded on SquadCast.fm

From an undisclosed location in Prague, Tom Webster reflects on highlights from recent Sounds Profitable research and why it means radio should embrace podcasting. Credits: Written by Tom Webster Edited by Gavin Gaddis Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable theme written by Tim Cameron Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

This week on The Download:Ad Fraud Yet to Significantly Impact PodcastsMarketers and creators react to potential TikTok banYouTubeTV increases price due to content costsSounds Profitable releases The Medium Moves the MessageQuick hits: The Biggest Challenge for Podcasters Today is… by Eric Nuzum in his newsletter Audio Insurgent. This issue Nuzum has a conversation with ChatGPT, asking the bot to list the biggest issues podcasters face currently. Interestingly enough, it might have parroted the sentiments of one of Nuzum’s own articles back at him.Amaze Media Labs Acquires Rockable. Podcast advertising company Rockable, and their proprietary audience growth solutions, are now a part of AMAZE Media Labs. For a full transcript of the episode, links, and other episodes, please visit SoundsProfitable.com/Podcast

Google has a potentially huge opportunity to grow the podcast industry — both for publishers and for listeners (and even for advertisers) — by way of YouTube Music. The past few weeks have brought more and more attention to this possibility by way of Kai Chuk’s announcement at Hot Pod Summit at On Air Fest and a recent press release shared on Podnews. In this episode, Bryan Barletta and Arielle Nissenblatt discuss the opportunity at hand, what we would like to see, what we will likely see (realistically), and what the future looks like if the opportunity is seized.Listen to learn about: How YouTube could potentially ingest RSS feeds What hosting providers and YouTube should be negotiating How Sounds Profitable plans to handle video Upcoming research from Sounds Profitable How AI fits into all of this Links: Article Sounds Profitable’s research Credits: Hosted by Bryan Barletta, Arielle Nissenblatt, Tom Webster Produced by Spooler Media Hosted on Art19 Recorded on SquadCast.fm Edited by Gavin Gaddis

This week Bryan addresses the myth that podcasting has a unique measurement problem, and how the industry as a whole can move forward to address it. Written by Bryan Barletta Edited by Tom Webster Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable theme written by Tim Cameron Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

The Download is brought to you by Magellan AI. Track the trends in spend, ad load, podcasts on YouTube, and more with Magellan AI's advertising benchmark report for Q4, available now.The stories covered this week are: 6 AI tools podcasters are using for new ideas, editing, and more — and why they're skeptical of ChatGPT Why regulators’ scrutiny of Big Tech is rekindling buyers’ interest in ad tech News publishers lament the role of verification firms in the programmatic market Quick Hits: The JAR Audio Pilot Competition for Emerging Women Podcasters is now accepting applications. The winning idea will be produced as a pilot episode with JAR audio collaborating with the creator. The deadline for submissions is May 1st. Sessions from Veritonic’s Audio Intelligence Summit are now available on Veritonic’s website. For those who missed out, or are interested in reviewing what they saw in person, the seven sessions are now live, including the panel on attribution and brand lift that includes our own Bryan Barletta. What Are the 3 S’s of Programmatic Podcast Advertising? By Mattia Verzella on AdMonsters. Spreaker’s Head of Business Development breaks down the rise of ad trading in podcasting, the challenges faced by both publishers and advertisers, and details how the three S’s can solve for them. For the episode's full transcript, please visit SoundsProfitable.com/Podcast

Does the medium move the message? Spoiler alert - yes. This week Tom Webster previews the next research project from Sounds Profitable. Written by Tom Webster Edited by Bryan Barletta Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by Omny Studio Sounds Profitable theme written by Tim Cameron

Gavin: This is The Download from Sounds Profitable, the most important news from this week and why it matters to people in the business of podcasting. I’m Gavin Gaddis, in for Manuela Bedoya. Shreya: And I’m Shreya Sharma.Gavin: The Download is brought to you by Magellan AI. Track the trends in spend, ad load, podcasts on YouTube, and more with Magellan AI's advertising benchmark report for Q4, available now. You can find a link in the description or visit Magellan dot AI.Shreya: This week: Spotify Stream On Announces New Features, RSS.com and Spreaker make transcripts more accessible, Marketers adapt to serve niche communities, and The Infinite Dial turns 25. Let’s get started. Spotify live stream Gavin: Yesterday Spotify hosted their annual Stream On live event from LA. Throughout the 90 minute presentation a series of guest speakers, ranging from Spotify executives to the Jonas Brothers, debuted new features from Spotify and the company’s goals in the near future. Let’s look at the ones relevant to podcasting:Starting yesterday the Anchor brand has been retired. The hosting service and other podcasting features will be brought under the name Spotify for Podcasters. In addition to the new coat of paint for Anchor, several features originally only available to podcasts hosted on Anchor have been made platform-agnostic. Chief among these features is the ability to upload video podcasts to Spotify, a particular pain point for video podcasters outside the Spotify umbrella. In addition to video uploads, users will have access to net-new features like Q&A posts and polls that will be visible on the podcast’s page in Spotify. The Spotify for Podcasters dashboard will also feature more advanced analytics. As one slide of the presentation announced: “Spotify is open for business.” Speaking of business, during the segment focusing on the Spotify Audience Network, Chief Business Officer Alex Norstrom announced the newest publisher to join SPAN is none other than podcasting giant NPR.In the world of monetization, Spotify podcasters are getting a sizeable upgrade in the form of a Patreon partnership. Now podcast listeners will be able to listen to premium content hosted on Patreon from within Spotify itself. With this announcement, Spotify now has a direct answer to Apple’s paid podcast subscription service.This year’s Stream On was a promising one, with a healthy focus on the podcasting industry overall. This renewed focus on upgrading the platform, adding new features, and making older features more accessible to podcasters everywhere is a promising one. Spotify seems to be interested in growing with podcasting instead of growing independently. We love to see it. RSS.com and Spreaker make transcription freeShreya: To continue the trend of features that benefit everyone in podcasting we have two big transcription announcements. First: this Monday https://podnews.net/press-release/rss-com-free-transcripts?utm_source=podnews.net&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=podnews.net:2023-03-06. When generated, these transcripts will be posted automatically to the show’s episode page on RSS.com, as well as pushed the show’s RSS feed. This will allow the transcript to be displayed in podcast listening apps that support Podcasting 2.0 tags. According to this Monday’s issue of Podnews, the list of apps that actively support transcripts through this method includes Podverse, Podbean, and Podcast Addict. At launch the automatic transcripts support thirteen languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, Dutch, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese and Turkish. In the official press release, RSS.com co-founder Ben Richardson said there were several features the company considered essential to the tool for it to be ready, including multiple languages and ease of use for the podcaster. From the press release: “We encourage all types of podcast player apps to facilitate the use of captions and transcripts our podcasters can provide in order to open up even more of podcasting’s potential.” And for the second part of this Monday transcription tale: the folks at Spreaker launched http://freepodcastranscription.com, a free tool available to anyone regardless of affiliation with Spreaker. The website touts a high level of privacy and security due to everything being run locally in the user’s browser. From the site’s copy: “We don't send the mp3 file to a server. All the processing happens on your device.” Since that processing is kept in-browser instead of farmed out to an expensive server network, the burden of effort and cost is shifted to the user, allowing a lightweight, free option for podcast transcription. Users pick from one of sixty language options, select the file needing transcription, and run the process. After some time, dictated by the power of the computer, a .SRT file is generated for download. The easier it is for podcasters to generate transcripts, the more pressure there will be for podcas

This week we bring you a feed drop from Insider Interviews, in which E.B. Moss interviews Linda Bethea. The original show notes follow: Linda Bethea, Head of Marketing for Danone North America - a top 15 Food and Beverage brand and the country's largest B corp - gives Insider Interviews host, E.B. Moss, the insider's scoop on marketing 20 different beloved CPG brands, and staying true to a corporate mission of sustainability. Hear how she developed her leadership skills during stints with PepsiCo, Frito-Lay and Diageo, and is now "delighting" consumers with everything from International Delight partnerships with the iconic show "Friends" to the hit Super Bowl commercial for Oikos with Deion Sanders and family.Linda and E.B. discuss:• Linda's path from soda to spirits to spirited field work that taught her how to negotiate and earned the nickname of The Velvet Hammer• Her definition of brand purpose and how proper marketing of it impacts consumer choice and company values• The growing demand for plant-based foods today• How Danone is rescuing fruit and repurposing bottles into shoes and what E.B. eats as an "ova-lacto-pesce-vegetarian"! (And a lot more about plant-food trends, like Danone's new campaign for Silk with a "faux" milk moustache on stars!Linda Bethea is smart and inspiring and mission-driven. Don't miss this conversation with a conscientious consumer marketer and leader.

In preparation for Podcast Movement Evolutions and South by Southwest, Bryan Barletta sits down with Tom Webster to discuss research, presentations, and his new weekly video series Data Decoded.Credits: Written by Bryan Barletta Edited by Gavin Gaddis Assembled with Spooler.fm Hosted by ART19 Sounds Profitable theme written by Tim Cameron Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.