Month: November 2022

Veritonic To Host Second Annual Audio Intelligence Summit

~ jen

Veritonic, the industry’s comprehensive audio research and analytics platform, announced The summit will once again gather industry-leading brands, agencies, and publishers to dive deep into the data and analytics that are driving today’s successful audio and podcasting strategies. The summit will take place at the Second Floor in New York City on February 15, 2023.

Expert-led discussions from renowned industry leaders will spotlight creative testing and measurement practices furthering their campaign relevance, amplifying their message, and increasing their return.

“We are looking forward to the second annual Audio Intelligence Summit,” said Gina Garrubbo, President and CEO of National Public Media, the sponsorship subsidiary of NPR. “Veritonic shares our vision of bringing the industry together around the technology, data, and analytics that are furthering the growth of the audio and podcast industry.

“It was a pleasure to attend and participate in the first annual AIS last year,” said Shira Atkins, Co-Founder and CRO, Wonder Media Network. “We look forward to coming together with fellow publishers, platforms, brands and agencies to collectively improve upon and consider the data and analytics that are making audio’s ever-expanding influence increasingly efficient and impactful.”

The half-day event will unite the foremost thought leaders in the audio and podcast space to discuss how to empower brands and organizations in having the confidence to leverage audio in their marketing mix. For more details about the summit and to register to attend, please visit the website

“As audio continues to grow at exponential rates, understanding how audio and audio advertising is being effectively leveraged, measured, and optimized as it relates to heightening brand awareness and ROI has never been more vital,” said Scott Simonelli, CEO of Veritonic. “We are elated to bring together renowned industry leaders to discuss their audio and podcast advertising strategies for the second consecutive year.”

The 2023 Audio Intelligence Summit Call for Speakers is now open until 5pm ET on December 23, 2022. If you’re interested in learning more about sponsorship opportunities at AIS 2023, please reach out to AIS@veritonic.

Audion Raises €6 Million In Series A Funding

~ jen

Audion, the French leader in digital audio and podcast monetization, has raised a six million euros Series A funding round from Founders Future, Elevation Capital Partners, Financière Arbevel and business angels. In a rapidly changing global contest, digital audio is the only media that maintains a strong growth in H1 2022.

Audion is the industry leader in France thanks to an increase of turnover of almost 100% in 2022. The start-up, which enables publishers to broadcast advertisements on their audio content and convert their articles into podcasts, aims to become the European leader in the digital audio monetization market within three years and to open offices in three new countries. Audion is already present in the UK and France.

Audion announces the first fundraising in the ByoB digital audio sector in France, with its historical investor Founders Future (Yuka, Lydia, Omi…), Elevation Capital Partners (Morning, Certideal, Plug-in Digital…) completed by a bonded debt funding with Arbevel Dette Privée PME. The start-up, which provides text-to-speech and digital audio monetization technologies, aims to help publishers create and capitalize on their audio content.

Having raised €1.1m in seed funding in 2019, this new round should enable Audion to recruit around fifty people in the next twelve to eighteen months and open offices in three new European countries. The company, which already works with major media groups, will strengthen its offer and its presence with publishers, platforms (Spotify, Deezer, Soundcloud…), advertisers (Intel, BMW, McDonalds, Lidl, Ikea…),and media agencies (WPP, OMG, Dentsu…), to continue innovating and accompany this digital audio revolution.

Founded in 2018, Audion works with more than a hundred companies – media, publishers, podcast producers… – and has seen a nearly 100% growth of its turnover in 2022. It is the only French company offering digital audio monetization technologies and is the leader in terms of revenue, number of clients and campaigns, and it also operates in dozens of countries.

While the global advertising industry is being massively impacted, audio records the most significant growth (+50% according to the Observatorie de l’e-pub). Audion continues to grow with nearly +100% in both 2021 and 2022. The only French company in the BtoB audio market, Audion wants to use these funds to accelerate its growth and become European leader. Based in Paris and London, it currently has 25 employees. It’s latest technology PrintAudio, which converts text articles into podcasts and broadcasts them, has already been implemented on almost one billion web pages.

Consumers listen more and more to digital audio – radio replay, non-linear radio, native podcast music streaming, web radio, text-to-speech, etc. 63% of internet users listen to online content every month (IAB Digital Audio Panorama, 2022), pushing brands and publishers to adapt their offer and their communications channels.

But the growth of digital audio largely relies on advertising, as publishers and producers cannot create a large audio offer without monetization capabilities. As the only French player in the market, Audion is benefiting from this evolution in usage, which explains its constant growth despite a struggling advertising market.

Crowd Network Launches New Crowd Sports Division

~ jen

Crowd Network, one of the UK’s fastest growing audio-on-demand companies, has launched its latest division with a dedicated channel on the Apple Podcast app.

Crowd Sports brings together the talents of Tour de France champion and double Olympic gold medallist Grant Thomas (The Geraint Thomas Cycling Club); former world boxing champion George Groves (The George Groves Boxing Club); and Tour-winning golfing folk-hero Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston (Beef’s Golf Club), with more big-name launches to follow in early 2023.

Crowd already makes the hugely successful Joe Marler Show with England rugby star Joe, which has gone past six million downloads since launching in September 2020 and recently announced a major nationwide tour after a sell-out live show at the Clapham Grand in London.

Crowd Sports establishes Crowd as the leading podcast maker in the sports industry, combining big-name stars with timeless formats and a proven track record for both growing its shows’ community of listeners and monetising all aspects of each project.

Crowd Sports works in partnership with its stars, giving them shared ownership of a brand that can become a central component in their commercial success both during their sporting careers and afterwards. The success of The Geraint Thomas Cycling Club includes club cycling kit, off-bike wear and weekly group rides for listeners, with further merchandise launches and live shows planned.

Crowd Sports is led by Tom Fordyce, Creative Director at Crowd and former Chief Sports Writer at the BBC, and Rob Roberts-Facey, who joined Crowd as Head of Sport earlier this year. Rob was previously BBC Sport’s Creative Lead, while Tom launched and co-hosted That Peter Crouch Podcast.

The sports podcast market is growing rapidly in 2022. Spotify AB stats show a threefold growth in sports shows in the last 18 months, while Podtrac data shows a 124% year-on-year increase in downloads in 2022.

Geriant Thomas, co-host of The Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast said: “To see Crowd Sports on the front page of the Apple podcast app is incredibly exciting, and testament to the hard work the team pours into its shows. I’ve been on the journey with Crowd from the start, and there’s no better team to build a sports show and the commitment around it. CTCC has already racked up two million downloads in our first seasons, and with season three just launched that will just keep growing.”

Tom Fordyce, Creative Director at Crowd Network, said: “We love making sports pods, and we believe we’re leading the way in this competitive sector. It’s not just the sporting achievements of the sporting talent we work with, but how relatable they are to our listeners – and also what they want to do together. Crowd Sports means a Tour de France champion, a world champion boxer and elite golfer are all part of the same team, creating shows and communities around them that are long-term projects and brands. We’re looking forward to announcing our next raft of shows and stars to Crowd Sports in the new year.”

Rob Roberts-Facey, Head of Sport at Crowd Network, added: “We’re seeing more and more that creators want ownership of their content, and I think a big part of why Crowd is such an attractive proposition to those in the industry. We focus on building shows that creators and fans can connect with, giving a proper say in the development of the show and the community that springs out of it. Ultimately, we are providing a platform that talent can develop their brands through, and reach new audiences. The launch of a dedicated sports division will enable us to push our work in the industry forward even further, and I’m excited for this next step on Crowd’s journey.”

Crowd Network has recently been shortlisted in the Network of the Year category at this year’s Audio Production Awards.

AdLarge Publishes 2022 Podcast Buying Guide

~ jen

AdLarge has released the highly-anticipated 2022 Podcast Buying Guide V5.0, illuminating the fundamental factors to create a successful buying strategy in 2023.

The guide examines the progression of the industry over the past few years and the advancement and innovation of the resources and tools available to the ad buying community. While similar to the first four guides by remaining simple to follow and understand, the fifth edition focuses on brand alignment, ad quality, and the evolution of the marketplace.

“We’ve entered a new era of advertising in the industry,” commented Ilwira Marciszek, AdLarge Senior VP, Head of Revenue Operations & Digital Sales. “According to Magellan AI, almost 2,000 new brands entered the space in Q3 and that number is expected to grow. As the space continues to mature, the abundance of opportunity is unlimited; however, it’s critical for brands to stay informed and educated in order to achieve their goals. This is a testament to the power of podcasting and its forceful ability to drive engagement and results.”

Cathy Csukas, AdLarge Co-CEO added, “As a leader in the space, we have built our business on helping our partners. Over the past five years, the marketplace as well as the Podcast Buying Guide have evolved a great deal. This year, we’ve taken the nuances and complexities of the industry and synthesized them down to give advertisers the information they need in the most transparent way possible. AdLarge continues to remain committed to sharing our knowledge and expertise with our clients in the industry.”

The 2022 Podcast Buying Guide V5.0 from AdLarge is divided into five sections

The World as We Hear It: What Podcasting Means Today

The ‘S-Word’: Brand Suitability is Here

Old School vs. New School: When Host Reads and Programmatic Collide

Creating a Sound Approach: Strategy and Case Studies

The Golden Rules: A Bold CTA for the Podcast Industry

The 2022 Podcast Buying Guide V5.0 can be downloaded here.

Vizzy Seeks Early Adopters For Vizzy Studio

~ jen

Vizzy is seeking early adopters for its Vizzy Studio which enables Podcasters to add images, chapters and links to their audio to give listeners an enriched experience.

The Vizzy Studio is a web based platform that allows podcasters to add images, chapters, and links to their audio. These images are viewable on the player screen on listeners’ phones through popular apps such as Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Podcast Addict and others.

Vizzy Studio has been released in response to listener behaviour. Nic Ivanov, CEO and founder said “We know that over 60% of podcast listeners interrupt their episode to Google something they have heard on the podcast. We see a big opportunity for producers to offer a better audio experience by bringing interesting parts of their topic to listeners’ screens, in real time. The use of multiple still images will provide additional context and engagement for listeners; new commerce opportunities for creators, and make podcast advertising more attractive for brands that want to showcase their products. Vizzy Studio enables podcasters to produce this engaging content quickly and easily.

Vizzy Studio works with any genre, including:

True Crime – listeners often google people, places, articles etc… with Vizzy, simply show them on the screen at the time they are being discussed in the podcast.

Books – show the book cover on the screen and add a link to your affiliate account from the image.

History/Education – if you are talking about a famous artifact, person, place or structure then show your listeners what you are talking about.

Children – educational podcasts come to life with an image of the animal or character you are talking about then the sound it makes.

Travel, Photography, NFT, Art, Health, Film and more, all highly visual podcasts that would be enhanced with images and chapters to keep the listener immersed in the audio.

Following feedback from beta users in the podcaster community we have timed the launch to follow quickly behind the Apple iOS16 update, which provides even more screen real estate for iPhone users to enjoy visually enriched podcasts. In order to get as many podcasters as possible using the Vizzy Studio, any podcaster that signs up before the end of 2022 will get 3 months free access.

“I’m very excited about the value this product will deliver for podcasters, their listeners and their advertisers,” said Nic. “I predict the early adopters of this technology will become market leaders in their genres by providing their listeners with a new unique experience and additional context that was previously missing from podcasts.

Australian Podcast Advertising Leaps Ahead

~ jen

ARN’s iHeart has shared new data from Magellan AI, which has revealed the top 15 brands advertising for Q3, 2022 across the podcast landscape nationally.

Using the latest in artificial intelligence technology, the report is based on analyzing thousands of episodes from 400+ of Australia’s most popular podcasts for Q3 2022 to determine which brands are advertising in the rapidly growing medium.

Overall, spending on Australian podcast advertising grew by 33% year on year compared to Q3, 2021. Advertising spend across the TV & Film category grew the most rapidly by 285% from this time last year. Other podcast genres to exponentially grow in investment year on year are History (up 115%), True Crime (up 91%), and Sports (up 62%).

The Q3, 2022 list of the top spenders across podcast advertising once again features brands from a broad range of categories including online retailers, finance and entertainment.

Australian Top 15 Podcast Advertisers – Q3, 2022:

  • Amazon
  • McDonald’s
  • Neds
  • Calm
  • Airbnb
  • Monash University
  • Budget Direct
  • L’Oreal
  • Ladbrokes
  • Macquarie Bank
  • Uber
  • homelands.com.au
  • Cashrewards
  • Libra
  • Sleeping Duck

Acast And Amazon Music Enter Agreement For Ad-Free Podcast Listening

~ jen

Amazon Music and Acast have entered into an agreement to deliver ad-free podcasts for Prime members and Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers.

Amazon Music has purchased all the ad inventory across thousands of Acast podcasts, and as a result, listeners will be able to access those podcasts ad-free on Amazon Music. Ad-free listening to Acast podcasts on Amazon Music will result in revenue for Acast podcasters.

The agreement enables Prime members and Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers to stream Acast podcasts without ads globally through the Amazon Music app, available via the listeners device of choice – including smartphone, tablet, PC/Mac, Fire TV, and Alexa-enabled devices like Amazon Echo. Prime members and Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers will be able to use Amazon Music to listen interruption-free to thousands of Acast shows, at no additional cost.

“This is an exciting deal and we look forward to partnering with Amazon Music. Monetization in the podcasting space has diversified massively in recent years. This deal opens up an additional channel to increase revenue and improve our sell-through rates based on our large ad inventory of Acast Marketplace. We will probably see more opportunities opening up in the industry going forward,” said Ross Adams, CEO at Acast.

“I am extremely excited that our Prime members and Amazon Music Unlimited customers can now listen to the fantastic selection of Acast podcasts ad-free, and at no additional cost. I’ve long been a fan of many of these podcasts and can’t wait to dive in. I look forward to our new relationship with Acast,” added Craig Strachan, Head of Podcasts, Europe, Australia & New Zealand, Amazon Music.

The partnership opens up a new revenue channel for Acast, and at the same time, it diversifies the revenue stream for Acast creators. Prime members and Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers can stream the podcasts ad-free on Amazon Music starting now.

Magellan AI Verified As Third-Party Attribution Partner By Spreaker From iHeart

~ jen

Magellan AI, the podcast advertising analytics and attribution platform with the world’s largest database of podcast advertising data announced that they have been validated as a third party partner by Spreaker from iHeart, the leading podcast platform for monetization, globally. This integration will allow all advertising campaigns run on the Spreaker network to use Attribution by Magellan AI, which delivers accurate and in-depth campaign results and attribution analytics.

“We are dedicated to enabling the podcasters on Spreaker to have access to industry-leading data and analytics,” said Matt Verzella, Head of Partnerships and Enterprise Sales at Spreaker. “We are happy support Magellan AI as they continue to grow the podcast space through valuable third-party attribution and metrics.”

“We are excited to empower Spreaker users to utilize Attribution by Magellan AI to gain access to in-depth information about advertising campaigns,” said Jim Ballas, Head of Publisher Partnerships at Magellan AI. “By connecting attribution data with the robust data that we are already aggregate, advertisers and brands will be able to gain even greater insights into the power of podcast ads.”

Attribution by Magellan AI enables advertisers to access third party delivered impression verification and full-funnel attribution data, from views through conversions and transactions, allowing advertising to optimize and increase ROI on their podcast campaigns.

Attribution by Magellan AI is currently in beta, with plans to make it widely available in Q1 2023. Publishers and podcasters can currently onboard at no cost. Sign up for the beta program today by visiting https://www.magellan.ai/attribution

Libsyn Supports Sounder Customers By Offering Complementary Hosting

~ jen

Liberated Syndication Inc. (“Libsyn”), the leading ‘Podcasting As A Service’ platform, announced that it is offering all current customers with a podcast hosted on Sounder.fm to move to Libsyn at no cost for the first six months.

Sounder.fm recently announced that they will no longer be supporting Podcast Hosting and Advertising services. Sounder’s hosting platform will shut down on January 31, 2023, and all advertising solutions will stop operating on December 31, 2022.

“We are saddened to hear that Sounder has made the decision to depart the podcast hosting and advertising business,” said Rich Romano, Vice President of Marketing at Libsyn. “We would like to extend an invitation to all Sounder customers to come to Libsyn, for the first six months, at no costs. We will make the transition as seamless as possible for them – to have their hosting and advertising services up and running quickly.”

Sounder.fm customers with a current, active podcast can sign up for all Libsyn hosting packages up to and including $20, then contact Libsyn Customer Support at sounder@libsynsupport.com to receive a full credit.

Sounder.fm customers will be credited up to $20 a month for the first six months with Libsyn. Must move a current and active podcast on Sounder.fm to Libsyn to qualify for the offer.

Nominations Announced For 2022 Audio Productions Award

~ jen

Poppy Jay & Rubina Pabani, have been confirmed as the hosts of this year’s Audio Production Awards ceremony to be held on Wednesday 23rd November. The Awards, sponsored by Audible, will be held at a gala evening at the BFI on London’s South Bank.

The APAs, organized by AudioUK (the trade body which champions and supports independent audio production businesses in the UK), celebrate outstanding achievement in audio production across a huge range of audio content including; podcasts, audiobooks, sound design, radio, presenting and more.

Producer, Sound Designer and Presenter Axel Kacoutié received nominations across three categories, as did Producer Victoria Ferran, nominated for Best Arts & Culture Producer, Best Entertainment Producer and Producer of the Year.

Presenter category nominees include talkSPORT’s Leanne Sanderson for Best New Voice, Claudia Wrinkleman and Rob Beckett for Best Presenter, BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Throwback Party hosts Joel, Keke and DJ Silk for Best Ensemble Cast, and Minnie Driver for Bonnier Books UK for Best Narrator.

Carousel, an organization supporting learning disabled people to fulfill their creative ambitions in the arts, received a first time nomination for the Grassroots Production Award. Newcomer Talia Augustidis for Message Heard received two nominations for Best New Producer and Best New Voice. Plus a new category for 2022, Publisher or Network of the Year, proved “tough competition,” said judges.

Bernard Achampong, Founder of Unedited, Vice Chair of AudioUK and Chair of Judges said:

“This year we received a record breaking number of entries across the 22 categories which reflects the sheer growth, creativity and talent working in this space. It is so encouraging to see, and such an exciting industry to be part of. Our vision is to champion the most outstanding producers whose work we will listen back to in 20 years time and all be proud of. Congratulations to all the nominees, I’m looking forward to raising a glass to the winners of 2022.”

Audio Production Awards 2022 Nominees

Best Arts & Culture Producer

Hannah Dean – Falling Tree Productions
Hannah Hufford – BBC Audio
Geoff Bird – Freelance
Lyndsay Fenner & Victoria Lloyd – Storyglass
Steven Rajam – Overcoat Media
Victoria Ferran – Just Radio

Best Audiobook Producer

Chris Thompson – Penguin Random House
David Beck – Wireless Theatre for Audible
Kathleen Moroney – Red Apple Creative for Audible
Laura-Leigh Smith – String and Tins for Audible
Lily Ridett – Freelance
Tanya Hougham – HarperCollins

Best Branded Sound Producer

Adam Venton – Little Monster Media
Ali Rezakhani – BBC Sounds
Chris Nicoll – WIZZFX
Kenny Southavy- Reelworld
Luke Berry – BBC Popular Music Station Sound
Sam Parker – WIZZFX

Best Drama & Fiction Podcast

Andrew Mark Sewell – B7 Productions
Barnaby Eaton-Jones & Ian Haig – Idea Hat Productions
Celia de Wolff – Pier Productions
Jacqueline Rayner – Big Finish Productions
Melanie Harris – Sparklab Productions
Nicholas Jackson – Afonica

Best Ensemble Cast

Elis James & John Robins – Audio Always
Helen Brown, Terri Sweeney, Emma Goswell & Been Khetani – Effin Hormones
Joelah, Keke & DJ Silk – 1Xtra’s Throwback Party
Kat Anderson & Natalia Anderson – Expat Immigrant Podcast
Kim Davis & Raffaella Coleman – The Scene
William Hanson & Jordan North – Audio Always

Best Entertainment Producer

Adem Waterman – Absolute Radio
Lorna Skingley – 7digital
Lucy Dearlove – Storyglass
Meera Kumar – Buddy
Ore Olukoga – TBI Media
Victoria Ferran – Just Radio

Best Factual Producer Sponsored by In:Quality

Axel Kacoutié – Falling Tree Productions
Eva Krysiak – Freelance
Joshua Kelly – The Guardian
Kate Taylor – Audible
Redzi Bernard – Falling Tree Productions
Russell Finch – Wondery

Best Lifestyle & Society Producer (New for 2022) Sponsored by BetterHelp

Andrew Gold – Freelance
Anouska Tate – Freelance
Lina Prestwood – Scenery Studios
Sangeeta Pillai – Soul Sutras
Selina Ream – Somethin’ Else
Sylvie Carlos – Unedited

Best Music Producer

Arthur Hagues – Prison Radio Association
Helen Watherhead – Audio Always
Jack Howson
Kate Callin – Multitrack
Keana Bernard – BBC Audio
Nate Goodman – We Are Grape

Best Narrator

Andy Serkis – HarperCollins
Julie Hesmondhalg – Harper Collins
Kristin Atherton – Penguin Random House
Minnie Driver – Bonnier Books UK
Tom Alexander. HarperCollins
Tracy Wiles – Almost Tangible

Find more categories HERE.