Month: June 2019

Podcast Movement 2019 Scholarship Applications Now Open

~ jen

Podcast Movement 2019 is offering scholarships and grants to new and aspiring podcasters who want to attend Podcast Movement but are not in a position financially to make that happen. Those who are eligible can apply now on the Podcast Movement website.

Podcast Movement subscribes to the mindset that we will always attempt to do for some what we wish we could do for everyone. We have a track record of going the extra mile to help podcasters that are serious about attending Podcast Movement to be able to afford to attend the conference.

The scholarship is for a “Standard Plus” pass to Podcast Movement 2019 in Orlando, Florida, from August 13 through August 16. It does not include hotel or transportation, and the pass is not transferable.

Who is eligible? Brand new, or yet-to-launch, podcasters who love podcasting, appreciate the community, and have never been to Podcast Movement before. You must also be an active member of the Podcast Movement Community Facebook group.

Who is not eligible? The scholarships are for podcasters who have never attended a Podcast Movement before, have not yet signed up for PM19, and are not in a position to attend the conference without assistance.

Those who fit those criteria can fill out an online application by Friday, June 14, 2019. Podcast Movement will announce the recipients of the June 19 edition of the newsletter and in their Facebook group.

SoundCloud Announces Acquisition of Repost Network

~ jen

SoundCloud, the world’s largest open audio platform, announced it has entered into a definite agreement to acquire leading rights management and distribution company, Repost Network. With this acquisition, SoundCloud will be able to provide high-performing, emerging creators a seamless upstream to Repost Network’s invite-only tools and services like streaming distribution, analytics dashboards, content protection and more. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“There are more than 20 million audio creators on SoundCloud, and we know building audiences and earning income from streaming are critical to them. SoundCloud’s focus is to build more tools and services to solve those needs. We’ve built the foundation with our SoundCloud Premier program and our recently launched distribution product, and today we are taking another step forward,” said Michael Weissman, Chief Operating Officer, SoundCloud.

He continued, “The acquisition of Repost Network will meaningfully move SoundCloud forward as we build the most comprehensive set of tools to help creators build their careers. We welcome the Repost Network team to SoundCloud and are excited about what we will build together.”

“Repost Network has been working with SoundCloud since the early days of its monetization initiative, and we are ecstatic to join the world’s largest audio creator community,” said Jeff Ponchick, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Repost Network. “Our mission is to help artists make a living through their audiences online, and by joining the SoundCloud family we can help even more emerging artists take the next step in their career, earn more revenue and be heard by more fans.”

The deal is expected to close in the coming weeks.

Johanna Zorn is Leaving Third Coast

~ jen

Executive Director and Co-Founder of Third Coast, Johanna Zorn, announced (Google Doc) That she will leave the pioneering audio arts organization she led for 19 years. She will remain at the helm until the fall.

“Third Coast has been successful beyond my wildest dreams,” said Zorn. “At this juncture, I’m excited to pass the leadership of the organization on to the next generation, whose bold new ideas will foster the next chapter of Third Coast’s growth and evolution.”

Zorn founded Third Coast in 2000, alongside Julie Shapiro, as a project of Chicago Public Media. In creating the first home for audio storytelling of its kind. Zorn plays a pivotal role in the evolution in the field. In 2019, Third Coast’s position across an expanding industry of audio storytelling is more important than ever.

When Third Coast became an independent arts non-profit in 2009, Zorn steered the organization into its independent status, ensuring the organization’s vitality in public media and podcasting.

The Board of Directors and current staff of Third Coast have initiated a public search to replace Zorn on May 30, with the intention of filling the role in the fall of 2019. The position will be posted on the Third Coast’s website shortly.

Johanna Zorn wrote a post titled: “A Letter form Third Coast’s Johanna Zorn (5/22/19)” on the Third Coast website. Fans of Third Coast will want to read it in full. In it, she writes, “I won’t be leaving until the fall, and I look forward to working with Third Coast’s board and staff to ensure a smooth transition and secure future.”

Libsyn Partners with Entercom to Bring Podcasts to Radio.com

~ jen

Liberated Syndication (Libsyn), a worldwide leader of podcast hosting, distribution and monetization, announced a new agreement with Entercom, a leading media and entertainment company and one of the largest radio broadcasters in the United States, to distribute Libsyn podcasts on Radio.com, Entercom’s integrated digital platform.

Radio.com is the fastest growing digital audio app in the U.S. Radio.com has quickly established itself as a leading platform for live and on-demand exclusive premium audio content across news, entertainment, music, and sports. Through the agreement, the platform’s tens of millions of monthly active users across the U.S. will now have direct access to the 62,000 active podcasts, totaling over 4.9 million episodes, hosted on Libsyn.

“The Radio.com partnership will make it easier for listeners to consume our great podcasts by making the podcasts directly available on an app they already use daily,” said Rob Walch, V.P. of Podcaster Relations, Libsyn. “We are very excited for the growth that Radio.com will bring to podcasting and are thrilled to work directly with Entercom to make it very easy for all of the shows hosted on our service to be part of their digital platform.”

“As the fastest growing digital audio app in the country, we are laser-focused on providing the content we know our listeners want, whenever and wherever and however they want it,” said Corey Podolsky, Vice President of Business Development, Entercom. “Podcast listening on Radio.com continues to grow at an accelerating pace. Partnering with Libsyn to make it simple for podcasters to reach millions of listeners on our platform is a win for everyone.”

Currently, the Libsyn network reaches over 111 million monthly unique audience members. Libsyn has created a custom destination for Radio.com allowing podcasters to control the timing and number of episodes they release to the Radio.com audience, including the ability to release exclusive content to the Radio.com platform. Using Libsyn’s powerful audience analytics platform, podcasters will be able to gague the size and unique geographic location of audiences consuming their content.

Podtrac Released a Podtrac Measurement 2019 Update

~ jen

Podtrac made a update to its algorithm for calculating unique downloads. This change will go into effect on the Podtrac dashboard on June 1, 2019. The new download numbers were reported for the first time for top publishers in the April Top 10 Publishers ranking.

Podtrac is updating its measurement algorithm as part of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Tech Lab compliance and certification process, as well as taking this opportunity to update for changes in the podcast landscape.

How will the update affect Podtrac Podcaster’s numbers? Podtrac says the good news is that your unique monthly audience numbers (US and Global) will not see substantial change.

However, the not so happy news is you should expect to see your download numbers decrease to be consistent with the new guidelines.

Podtrac explains that download numbers might go up or down anyway based on seasonality associated with your show or podcast. Keep in mind that your download numbers might go up or down anyway based on any seasonality associated with your show or podcast consumption trends in general, but the overall impact from the new algorithm is changes will be a more conservative download count per the IAB standard.

Podtrac pointed out that the IAB published Podcast Measurement Technical Guidelines 2.0 in December of 2017. Advertisers are getting behind the IAB Compliance Program as a way to make it easier and more reliable for them to make advertising decisions across multiple shows. Advertisers are requesting companies submit advertising proposals to identify shows with IAB 2.0 certified counts.

You may want to read the entire Podtrac update post for more information.

Investing in the Podcast Ecosystem in 2019 Report Released

~ jen

The Investing in the Podcast Ecosystem in 2019 report was released on the “a16z” website. It includes some interesting data about podcasting.

  • Over the course of the last 10 years, podcasts have steadily grown from a niche community of audiobloggers distributing files over the internet, to one-third of Americans now listening monthly and a quarter listening weekly.
  • Podcast listeners are consuming 6+ hours per week of podcasts and consuming more content every year.
  • For weekly podcast consumers, average weekly consumption is 6 hours and 37 minutes.
  • On average, Americans listen to 7 podcast episodes per week.
  • Roughly half of podcast listeners make $675,000 or more in annual income; a majority have a post-secondary degree; and almost one third have a graduate degree.
  • There is also a gender gap with podcast listeners skewing mostly male, mirroring the gap among podcast creators as well. However, the gender gap has narrowed from 25% gap in 2008 to 9% today.
  • Listeners are generally educated (30% graduate degrees), millennials (44%), and slightly more than half are male (though gap is closing).
  • Since Apple launched its Podcasts app in 2012, smartphones have grown to become the most common device for podcast consumption.
  • Podcasts are most often consumed at home (48%) or in a car (26%); macro trends around growing number of connected cars and smart speakers could impact this mix.
  • Apple podcasts accounts for about 2/3 of all podcast listening.
  • Now the second largest podcasting platform, Spotify introduced podcasts into the app in 2015 and has doubled its market share in the last year to 9%.
  • Top 10 Podcast Publishers – a quarter of unique streams/downloads is NPR Podcasts. The rest of the Top 10 include: iHeartRadio, PRX, Wondery, New York Times, WNCY Studios, This American Life/Serial, Barstool Sports, ESPN, Daily Wire.
  • Podcast ad revenue is growing but is still tiny compared to other content formats.
  • Podcasts monetize at only $0.01 per listener hour, on average, 10x less than radio.