Month: May 2022

CoHost Launches Podcast Analytics And Growth Platform

~ jen

CoHost announced the launch of its podcasting analytics and growth platform, which combines a suite of powerful tools and features that make it easier for creators to launch, distribute, grow, and measure their podcasts.

The launch coincides with the release of CoHost’s first annual Podcaster Insights Survey, which found that audience growth is overwhelmingly the main challenge podcasters face (91% listed it as a top challenge).

“Over the past 3 years our team has launched and scaled hundreds of professional podcasts, and we realized that a lot of fantastic podcasters simply lack the experience and tools to grow and scale their podcasts. They’re fed up with wasting time logging into multiple tools and platforms to access siloed and confusing data,” said Fatima Zaidi, CEO & founder of CoHost and Quill Podcasting Agency. “That’s why we built CoHost, the place that smart podcasters go to find reliable analytics and insights about their shows and audiences.”

The 2022 Podcaster Insights Survey polled professional podcasters and found that most podcasters struggle to grow their audiences, even though they depend on audience growth in order to monetize. The survey found:

  • 91% said audience growth is one of the hardest things about podcasting
  • 82% said getting discovered by new listeners is one of the most challenging aspects of podcasting
  • 55% of audio creators struggle with understanding how new listeners are finding their podcast
  • 76% of podcasters currently monetize or have plans to monetize their podcasts, and nearly half of those are relying on sponsorships to do so (48%)

The CoHost survey also identified a serious gap: 73% listed analytics and listener insights as the feature they valued most in a hosting platform, and 82% agreed that understanding their show’s performance is confusing and time-consuming.

To help alleviate those challenges, CoHost provides creators with powerful tools to help them scale their podcasts, including:

  • One-click publishing to distribute your show to all major listening apps
  • Robust analytics to better understand your podcast’s performance and audience
  • Custom campaign links to track, analyze and optimize marketing tactics
  • Automatic transcriptions for accessibility and improved search visibility
  • Personalized podcast websites to help drive traffic, engagement, and downloads

“Since starting with CoHost, our podcast performance has grown exponentially,” said Sarah Johnson, the host of the Girl on Girl Podcast, and a CoHost customer. “We’ve been able to track that growth in a clear, simple, way through CoHost’s analytics – especially when compared to the hosting platform we were using previously.”

In celebration of its launch, Co-Host is offering podcasters a promotional discount of 67% off for the first six months of using the platform with a risk-free, 30-day trial.

Acast Promotes Jack Preston To Global Head Of Acast Creative

~ jen

Acast, the world’s leading independent podcast company, has further invested in its Acast Creative team – and its belief in the power of creativity in podcast advertising – by promoting Jack Preston to Global Head of Acast Creative. Acast Creative is Acast’s in-house creative ad solutions team and a pillar of the Acast Marketplace, helping brands navigate the rapidly evolving podcast landscape and elevate commercial messaging to its greatest potential.

Acast first launched Acast Creative for its European markets in 2019, before expanding globally regions including the US.

Led by Preston, Acast Creative also held its first global Sounds Creative event in April, guiding and educating brands on creative best practice in podcast advertising. The event followed the publication of new research from Acast Creative looking at the impact and importance of ads specifically created for podcasts, versus those re-used from other media channels.

In his new role, Jack will continue to develop Acast’s relationships with both the clients and creators, continuing to introduce innovative new ad formats into the medium and redefining the notion of what a podcast ad campaign can be.

He’ll also work closely with Acast’s talented group of regional creative directors, developing strategies tailored to each market and each client they work with.

Preston added: “When we enter into a partnership with a brand and a creator, we don’t just want people to hear the campaign – we want them to be truly listening, watching, and experiencing them everywhere.

“A podcast can now be so much more than something you just listen to, so while all our campaigns will continue to have audio and storytelling at their heart, we want to work with creators and brands on bigger, more ambitious executions that take place across multiple platforms.”

With podcast advertising on the rise – eMarketer projects the podcast advertising industry will surpass $3bn in value by 2026 – the Acast Creative team is at the vanguard, delivering brilliant brand stories through both short- and long-form content. Acast Creative gives advertisers the most value from their campaign and a more creative, tailored experience for listeners – ensuring they’re tuned into the brand offering.

Preston has more than a decade’s experience creating multichannel campaigns for brands, and since joining Acast has led an overhaul of its advertising offering for clients – helping move the business from ads and sponsorship alone to a greater focus in branded content and 360 partnerships. Before joining Acast, Preston led content and social strategy at Virgin.

Neilsen’s “Podcasting Today” Report Reveals Insights for Ad Marketers

~ jen

Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, released the third installment of its Podcasting Today report. The latest edition highlights the significant growth in podcast audiences and content, and how brands and advertisers can utilize the medium to amplify reach and ROI.

Podcasting Today revealed that the number of podcast titles and episodes have increased by 200% each over the last two years (2 million and 92 million, respectively), and over 50% of daily podcast consumers listen more often to more titles, adding to the potential of increased audience reach. The report also found that podcast listeners are more likely to plan a major purchase within 12 months – such as new technology, home entertainment, or a vehicle – and 88% of these consumers are willing to consider a new brand, making podcast advertisements a useful tool for marketers looking to drive upper-funnel engagement.

Nielsen Podcast Ad Effectiveness insights found that podcast ads drive an aided brand recall rate of 71%, while 56% of podcast listeners say they pay more attention to ads read by the host(s).

“Nielsen’s unique suite of podcasting solutions enable brands and marketers to understand the behaviors of podcast listeners, which leads to reaching the right consumers and driving ROI,” said Arica McKinnon, VP, Brand Impact Solutions, Nielsen. “The Podcasting Today report reveals the massive growth observed in podcast consumers and content, and the impact Nielsen’s podcasting solutions could have on brand awareness, audience reach, and overall engagement.”

With the Podcasting Today report identifying a 40% increase in podcasting’s listener base since 2018, the medium has become an effective way to reach new and existing customers, and marketers are taking note. Nielsen’s 2022 Annual Marketing Report found that 56% of marketers in North America plan to increase their podcast spending over the next year, and 15% of marketers plan to increase their podcast spending by 50% or more in the same timeframe.

Using the Nielsen data and solutions that underpin this edition of Podcasting Today, marketers can gain in-depth knowledge into various brand performance and listener engagement metrics. Armed with these insights, marketers will be better toward meeting their individual KPIs while simultaneously understanding the returns of their efforts.

Apple Podcasts Announced Delegated Delivery

~ jen

Apple announced Apple Podcasts Delegated Delivery, a new feature that will allow creators to upload, manage, and distribute their premium audio through participating third-party hosting providers. Delegated Delivery reduces operational tasks for podcast subscriptions so that creators can focus on making and marketing their work.

Using Delegated Delivery

Publish premium episodes

When Delegated Delivery launches this fall, creators will be able to authorize a participating hosting provider to deliver free and premium episodes to Apple Podcasts on their behalf. Once authorized, creators can simply use the dashboard offered by their participating hosting provider to publish new free and premium episodes. This includes the ability to schedule the release of exclusive, early access, bonus, and ad-free content using WAV, FLAC, and MP3 files.

Submit premium and free shows

Delegated Delivery also allows creators to submit premium and free shows, making it even easier to add new shows to the Apple Podcasts directory through participating hosting providers. All shows and subscriptions will continue to be reviewed by Apple Podcasts before they are available to ensure they meet our content guidelines.

Initial hosting providers supporting Delegated Delivery:

The following hosting providers announced they will support Delegated Delivery:

  • Acast
  • ART19
  • Audioboom
  • Blubrry
  • Buzzsprout
  • Captivate
  • Castos
  • Fireside
  • Firstory
  • iVoox
  • Libsyn
  • Megaphone
  • Omny Studio
  • Pinecast
  • Podbean
  • Podcastics
  • Podigee
  • Podomatic
  • RedCircle
  • RSS.com
  • Simplecast
  • Sounder
  • SoundOn
  • Spreaker
  • Transistor
  • Whooshkaa
  • ZenCast

Stay updated on Delegated Delivery

Additional information about Delegated Delivery, including resources to help creators take advantage of this new feature, will be published by Apple Podcasts and participating hosting providers before launch. Creators can see which hosting provider support Delegated Delivery, and understand when it will be supported by their hosting provider, by visiting Hosting Providers page. Providers interested in supporting Delegated Delivery are encouraged to contact Apple.

With Delegated Delivery, Apple continues its legacy of building tools and technologies that advance the podcast industry’s open ecosystem to serve listeners and creators worldwide.

Here are some FAQs that Apple Podcasts Answered:

If I use Delegated Delivery, do I still need to upload premium audio directly through Apple Podcasts Connect?

With Delegated Delivery enabled, you are no longer required to upload subscriber audio through Apple Podcasts Connect, but you will be able to do so if you choose. You can use Apple Podcasts Connect to check that your premium content has been successfully published and you will continue to use Apple Podcasts Connect to create new channels, manage subscriptions, view listening analytics, export subscription reports, and more.

Can I use Delegated Delivery with multiple hosting providers?

Yes, you can enable multiple hosting providers to deliver episodes with Delegated Delivery.

Do I need to be a member of Apple Podcasters Program to use Delegated Delivery?

You can use Delegated Delivery without a membership to the Apple Podcasters Program to enable hosting providers to publish free shows. A membership is required to publish premium shows and episodes.

Is there an additional cost to use Delegated Delivery?

Delegated Delivery will be available to all creators through Apple Podcasts Connect at no additional cost.

If I change hosting providers, can I still use Delegated Delivery?

If your new hosting provider supports Delegated Delivery, you can still use this feature once authorizing them. Contact your hosting providers for more information about how to migrate your show and get started with Delegated Delivery.

If I give my hosting provider access via Delegated Delivery, can they see my analytics in Apple Podcasts Connect?

No. Your analytics are only available to you and anyone with the Analyst role in Apple Podcasts Connect. Delegated Delivery does not give your hosting provider permission to see your analytics.

Gemini XIII Adds Content DivisionWith Investment in Diversion Podcasts

~ jen

Gemini XIII, the podcasting radio industries’ new home for premium audio content, marketing, and advertising services, announces it has joined forces with Diversion Podcasts through an investment that will grow Diversion’s offerings under a new premium podcast network called Diversion Audio. Diversion Audio will become Gemini XIII’s content division and, alongside its new advertising and marketing groups, will be superbly poised for growth and success in the audio industry.

Diversion Audio will leverage sister company Diversion Books’ vast publishing assets and author relationships to offer a focused content model unique to podcasting: expanding IP from books, authors, and personalities into the podcast medium as original audio content across both high-frequency episodic shows and engrossing narrative limited series.

Diversion Audio’s podcasts will drive new audience communities and tell expert-driven stories that spring from Diversion’s book titles, expanding them with additional communities and tell expert-driven stores from Diversion’s book titles, expanding them with additional interviews and guests, archival research, and narrative themes previously unexplored. Diversion Audio’s podcasts will span the genres of suspense, romance, parenting, music, history, business, and sports.

Diversion’s podcast I Am Kobe, developed with iHeartPodcasts, was recently honored with two Web Awards, Best Sports Podcast 2022 and People’s Voice Winner. Later this year, Diversion will launch Season 2 of the multi-million listener hit series Good Assassins, one of the top 20 biggest new podcasts of 2021. In addition, Diversion’s hits include the #1 biggest new sports podcast of 2020, The Dream Team Tapes.

Scott Waxman, Founder of Waxman Literary Agency and Diversion Publishing Corp, will lead the newly-expanded network, Diversion Audio. He has been involved with dozens of New York Times bestsellers and published a broad range of authors from Mark Cuban to Ursula K. Le Guin to current bestselling phenomenon, V.E. Schwab. Diversion Publishing owns the publishing rights to thousands of book titles across fiction and non-fiction categories. Waxman created Diversion Podcasts in 2020 to develop new, immersive, episodic stories in audio.

Waxman will lead the new network along with Jacob Bronstein, SVP of Content and Development, who has spent his career in book publishing, podcast and audiobook production, marketing, and tech. Bronstein has helmed hundreds of audio projects with authors including Tom Hanks, Ken Burns, Jeffrey Wright, and Judy Blume, and has three Grammy Awards for productions with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. At Apple Inc., Bronstein led the marketing organizations for Apple Podcasts, Apple Books, and Apple News and has worked in the podcast space with brands including Criminal Content, Lemonada Media, Insider, and Spooler.

Mark Francis, Co-Founder of Diversion Podcasts, is Diversion Audio’s SVP of Production and is an award-winning veteran entertainment executive with more than three decades in the audio industry as a writer, producer, and director. Francis helped launch the SiriusXM platform including 15 years as the Senior Director of Talk Production shaping the sound of shows and channels including Andy Cohen, Martha Stewart, and hundreds of others.

Gemini XIII is led by co-founders and national audio veterans Spencer Brown, CEO, who previously founded Cadence13 and Dial Global, and Charles Steinhauer, Gemini XIII’s COO and former of Westwood One. The company recently announced its acquisition of The Infinite Agency, a full-service digital advertising agency based in Dallas, TX, and Phantom Producer, the world’s first patented audio imaging service that includes web and mobile app user interfaces and makes professional audio production fully mobile. Gemini XIII is based in New York with offices in Dallas and Sydney, Australia.

Audio Always Launches ‘Manchester Amplified’ For Arts Organizations

~ jen

To celebrate its 10th year, Audio Always launches ‘Manchester Amplified’, a new scheme created to amplify the talent and creativity of arts and culture in Greater Manchester.

Recognizing that the arts and culture industry has been particularly impacted during the COVID pandemic, the scheme aims to support individual artists and arts organizations by reaching new audiences via podcasting.

Applicants may be looking to tell their creative stories, undertake an exploration of existing work, promote or amplify a project, or maybe improve audio accessibility to the arts in the form of a podcast.

The scheme is open to arts organization in all forms, from theatre groups and music performers to the visual artists and writers.

Audio Always will support projects through access to studio recording, production and editing support, remote recording kit hire, mentoring and training from radio producers or audio technicians, and create project development.

Successful projects will be subjected by a panel of experts from across arts and media. They include Director of Music at MIF, Jane Beese; BBC Radio 3 presenter and Chineke! Orchestra bassoonist, Linton Stephens; theatre-maker, writer and actor, Nathaniel J Hall; and the new Artistic Director and CEO of Contact, Keisha Thompson.

Audio Always was founded at MediaCityUK in 2012, when the BBC moved a number of their programmes and departments to Salford. Over the past decade it has grown to be the biggest independent audio production company outside-of-London, delivering more than 400 hours of content each month. In addition to its shows across the BBC’s national radio stations, Audio Always works with brands and agencies to bring commercial sound ideas to life, delivers a rare of audiobooks each month for the UK’s biggest publishers, and offers state-of-the-art audio visual studios at MediaCityUK.

Stuart Morgan is Audio Always’ Managing Director, ‘We’re so proud to be based in Greater Manchester, and as we celebrate our 10th anniversary we’re delighted to be able to support the artists and organizations that make the region so special. We’ve seen podcast listenership grow as more people stayed at home over the last two years and hope Manchester Amplified will bring new audiences to some of the incredible work being forged by our creative communities.

Siân Roberts, Development Producer for arts and culture at Audio Always comments, “We’re really looking forward to uncovering some of the exciting and inspiring work that is taking place across the ten boroughs. We want Manchester Amplified to truly represent the diverse breadth of talent and ideas that we know is out there.”

To submit a proposal for Manchester Amplified visit this website and complete the short application form, including a written or audio pitch, Applications close on Wednesday 25 May.

Sony Music Entertainment Announces Two New Hires

~ jen

Sony Music Entertainment’s (SME) Global Podcast Division announced new executive hires that will lead the division’s advertising sales business, including seasoned media sales executive Nick Southwell-Keely, who has joined the company as Vice President of Podcast Advertising Sales. Southwell-Keely will be based in New York and report to Emily Rasekh, Senior Vice President, Podcast Business Operations and Development.

In his new role, Southwell-Keely will focus on building the division’s advertising revenue and developing strong relationships with a range of brands, agencies and ad-sales partners. He will also lead and execute innovative ad campaigns in collaboration with content partners and producers to continue growing the business globally.

Southwell-Keely joins SME after serving as head of US sales and Brand Partnerships at Acast, where he played an instrumental role in diversifying Acast’s revenue streams and helped build the company’s insight hub for customers. Southwell-Keely has more than 16 years of experience selling integrated media solutions to premium global brands and agencies, across digital, programmatic, video, and social.

“As we continue to expand our podcast division, we are excited to welcome a new team of experienced executives to grow our advertising business and bring in new revenue streams,” said Rasekh. “Nick has a vast understanding for the podcast ad sales space and we are confident in his vision for building and exciting our strategy globally alongside a great team.”

Southwell-Keely added: “I am thrilled to take the next step in my career by joining a company that has been a leader in audio entertainment for decades and I greatly look forward to developing new ways to highlight why our roster of premium shows is the number one destination for advertisers.”

In addition to Southwell-Keely, Steph Beran-Sanderson will join the Company as the new Head of Branded Podcasts in the US, where she will prospect, develop and manage branded podcasts for exciting and new clients. With over a decade of digital media experience, Beran-Sanderson was most recently the Head of Marketing for Meet Cute, where she led brand and growth strategies. The team based in New York will also include Brett Schreiber, who recently joined SME as Account Executive, Podcast Ad Sales.

Veritonic Launches Audio-First Attribution Solution

~ jen

Veritonic, the industry’s comprehensive audio research and analytics platform, announced the launch of its audio Attribution solution, helping brands track and measure audio ad performance across any app, hosting platform or listening device. A key compound of Veritonic’s audio research and analytics platform, Attribution helps advertisers better understand the impact of their audio creative and gain actionable insights that further the ROI on their advertising dollars.

“As advertising dollars increasingly flow into audio, brands need the assurance that only Veritonic’s end-to-end measurement and analytics can provide,” said Scott Simonelli, chief executive officer of Veritonic. “Attribution is the perfect addition to our platform of audio research and measurement solutions, providing data-driven advertisers, brands, and agencies with the tools and insights they need to optimize their campaigns for greater ROI.”

Attribution is part of Veritonic’s suite of Campaign Performance tools which also includes Brand Lift. The preeminent combination provides companies with independent, full-funnel campaign performance data on top-of-the-funnel branding initiatives through bottom-of-the-funnel conversations and transactions.

Veritonic’s Attribution solution enables users to glean actionable insights on how audio is driving action on a given landing page, including site visits, cart activity, transaction data, and more. Through an intuitive and interactive dashboard, brands can determine which publishers and specific ads had the highest impact, then use that data to optimize ad performance.

“Advertisers are seeking greater granularity in tracking performance outcomes and Veritonic’s independence and trusted stance in audio research and measurement is well positioned to contribute to the growth of the audio and podcast advertising industry,” said Chris Bowlby, head of brand partnership at AdvertiseCast. “The availability of Veritonic’s Attribution solution will bring podcast advertisers more ways for understanding and optimizing the performance of their campaign investments.”

Veritonic’s Attribution solution is available now via self-serve or managed service. For more information or to get started, visit www.veritonic.com or contact sales@veritonic.com.

AudioUK Launched 2022 Audio Production Census

~ jen

Trade association AudioUK has launched its latest Audio Production Census, which aims to capture the state of the audio production sector through the activity of the UK’s podcast, radio and audiobook producers; both companies and freelancers making their own audio content.

The Census results will be used to promote the sector in terms of attracting more investment and to help secure policy gains such as tax relief and skills funding. It will cover the financial year 2021-22, and follows on from the exercise carried out in 2020, which showed that production companies were diversifying into an ever-growing range of audio-led activity.

AudioUK’s Census, now expanded to include all independent audio production rather than just that made by dedicated companies, aims to capture the activity of all those involved in producing their own podcasts, radio programmes, and audiobooks, asking them what kind of activity they are engaged in, plus a ballpark figure of their turnover for one year. This figure will include ad and subscription revenues, as well as income from live events and other spinoff activities, commissions from radio stations, brands and digital platforms.

The Census is being conducted independently by an external researcher who will anonymize and collate all the data prior to it being shared with AudioUK, who will publish results in June.

The survey is being conducted independently by an external researcher who will anonymize and collate all the data prior to it being shared in production facilities and equipment.

AudioUK Managing Director Chloe Straw said: “The economic value of independent UK audio production is becoming harder to assess, due to an increasingly wide range of audio professionals involved in producing and monetizing their own content. This is an expanded exercise to see if we can capture that. It’s incredibly important that every professional involved in creating and distributing their own independent audio content takes part, as we will use the anonymized information to seek benefits for our sector such as skills funding and tax relief.”

The 2022 Audio Production Census is open to UK audio production companies of all sizes, as well as freelancers and those otherwise working independently to produce their own radio programmes, podcasts and audiobooks. It will be open until Monday 23 May and available at https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90441295/audio-radio-production-business-census

Neilsen’s Gracenote Helps Samsung Optimize Podcast Users Experiences

~ jen

Gracenote, the leading provider of entertainment metadata, content IDs and related offerings, will provide the Gracenote Audio On Demand data solution to Samsung Electronics, the leading global consumer electronics device maker, under a new agreement. Gracenote Audio On Demand will power the Samsung Podcasts offering available through the Samsung Free app on its mobile devices and tablets. This integration enables Samsung to deliver highly personalized podcast experiences to better entertain, inform and engage users.

Gracenote Audio On Demand is a standardized and enriched dataset enabling powerful search and discovery of podcast content across digital entertainment platforms and devices. First launched in 2020, the solution to one of the world’s largest podcast datasets now covering more than two million unique podcast series and 80 million episodes. The offering leverages Gracenote’s long-running content metadata experience and industry-standard content IDs which offer power advanced navigation and cross-media linking tying audio and video programming together.

The Samsung Free app available on Samsung devices in the U.S. and Europe will integrate Gracenote Audio On Demand to enable market-specific play listing capabilities and deliver more locally relevant podcast recommendations results. Through more personalized podcast recommendations which match listeners’ preference, tastes and moods, Samsung will be able to maximize engagement on its app and users satisfaction with its devices.

Samsung Free is the go-to destination enabling users to seamlessly navigate the premium content that matters to them most, at no cost. Through the app, Samsung device users have access to a curated entertainment experience on which they can seamlessly listen to top-rated podcasts, read breaking news, watch free TV and play games.

According to Nielsen, podcast consumption is up 40% since 2018 in the U.S. With rising interest in podcasts and an ever-expanding universe of available content, seamlessly connecting consumers to the podcast shows and episodes they’re interested in better enables discovery of new content.

“User experience focusing on podcast content represent the next big opportunity for device makers and entertainment services to drive audience engagement,” said Simon Adams, Chief Product Officer, Gracenote. “We’re confident that by integrating Gracenote Audio On Demand, Samsung will optimize podcast recommendations and discovery across their devices and apps enabling users to get maximum enjoyment from the ever-increasing time spent with podcast content.”

Samsung Electronics expects that by integrating Gracenote Audio On Demand, it will be easier for Samsung users to find the content they love based on their tastes and preferences. Samsung and Gracenote will work closely to improve the discovery experience for the listeners of Samsung Podcasts, which is available on Samsung Free along with other live TV, news, games and more.

Gracenote is the content solutions pillar of Nielsen providing entertainment metadata, content IDs and related offerings to the world’s leading creators, distributors and platforms. Gracenote technology enables advanced content integration and discovery capabilities helping individuals to easily connect to the TV shows, movies, music and sports they love while delivering powerful content analytics making complex business decisions simpler.