Month: April 2023

Libsyn Honored As Bronze Stevie Award Winner For Product Innovation In 2023 American Business Award

~ jen

Liberated Syndication Inc. (“Libsyn” or the “Company”), the leading all-in-one podcasting platform for creators and advertisers, today announced that it was named the winner of a Bronze Stevie Award in the product innovation category in The 21st Annual American Business Awards.

The American Business Awards are the U.S.A.’s premier business awards program. More than 3,700 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in a wide range of categories. Libsyn was recognized for Achievement in the Product Innovation category for its evolution from a podcasting pioneer with the best hosting solutions to a one-stop destination for all podcasting services and a leading podcast advertising marketplace – achieved through investments in product innovation and expanded partnerships.

Libsyn has established itself as the premier, all-encompassing platform for creators and advertisers alike by executing on its platform strategy and robust product roadmap. The company is delivering on its mission to unlock the creative potential of the full spectrum of creators – from independents to established creators – and enable more advertisers to access highly sought-after podcast advertising inventory to reach an engaged podcast audience via its AdvertiseCast marketplace.

“We’re honored to be recognized as a podcasting industry innovator,” said Libsyn’s CEO, Bradley Tirpak. “Podcasting has reached an inflection point with surging popularity and listenership growth that’s driving increasing advertiser demand. We’ve invested significantly in our platform innovations and that’s enabling use to deliver industry-leading tools and insights for creators, scale our advertising business, and drive international expansion.”

More than 230 professionals worldwide participated in the judging process to select this year’s Stevie Award winners. Details about The American Business Awards and the list of 2023 Stevie winners are available at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA

The Podcast Show 2023 In London Announces Preview Night Line-Up

~ jen

The Podcast Show, the biggest international festival for the business of podcasting, is back for a second year. This one-of-a-kind event is open to industry professionals, independent podcast creators, business leaders, emerging talent and fans alike, and will see the podcast community gather at The Business Design Centre in Islington, London. Day and night, thousands of visitors are expected from around the world, with visitors from over 35 countries already represented.

For the first time, a special Preview Night will take place on Tuesday 23rd May, 6pm until 9pm. Ticket-holders will be the first people to enter the Business Design Centre and walk the show floor – they’ll get a sneak preview of the activations and exhibitions ahead of the doors opening to the public the following day, as well as some complementary drinks, music, networking opportunities, and the chance to share the floor with some of the biggest names in the industry.

Nihal Arthanayke, UK radio and TV presenter, will host the evening. Fearne Cotton (Broadcaster and Founder, Happy Place) will present the inaugural International Podcast Trailblazer Award to Ashley Flowers, recognizing the global impact she has made on the podcast industry. Flowers hosts the #1 true crime podcast Crime Junkie, and is the founder and chief creative officer of audiochuck, one of the top media and podcasting companies in the world, generating over 2 billion downloads with listeners in over 170 countries. Flowers said – 

“I’m so grateful to The Podcast Show for this incredible honor. To be recognized for our work at audiochuck at an event that acknowledges the many talented storytellers in our industry means so much to me, and I can’t wait to celebrate with our Crime Junkies in London!”

Following the presentation, Holly Bolt, Global Managing Director, Entertainment at YMU Group will be ‘in conversation’ with Fearne Cotton about her phenomenally successful Happy Place podcast and the wider Happy Place brand which includes the festival, app and books imprint.

The Podcast Show is thrilled to announce the support of an International Industry Advisory Panel, consisting of a group of figureheads from across the global podcast community. They are advising the Show across all aspects of the festival to make sure it’s as meaningful and helpful as possible to the podcast community. The panel includes:

Bernard P Achampong (Founder of Unedited)

Christina Moore (The Podcast Academy founding member)

Donald Albright (President & Co-Founder at Tenderfoot TV)

Jenna Weiss Berman (Executive Vice President of Podcast at Audacy, which bought her company Pineapple Street Studios)

Jennifer Dollard (Acast’s Director of Content for Ireland)

Jez Nelson (EVP, Co-Head of Global Podcasts at Sony Music Entertainment)

Lee Brown (VP, Global Head of Advertising Business & Platform, Spotify)

Megan Bradshaw (Senior Podcast Manager at Amazon Music for UK, Australia and New Zealand)

Oren Rosenbaum (Partner & Head of Audio at UTA)

Ruth Fitzsimons (Former Managing Director at Podfront UK)

As well as Nihal Arthanayake hosting the features moments on the night, he will also moderate a keynote session with members of the Advisory Panel titled, ‘A Glimpse at the Global Market.’

The Business Design Centre is a stone’s throw away from Kings Cross train station and the Eurostar. Passes are on sale now at thepodcastshowlondon.com, 

including £65 Preview Night tickets, £69 (Day Passes) and £127 (2 Day Passes), with a limited number of £30 tickets for those aged 30 and under. Produced by AV Media & Events (AVME), a joint venture between SME London and GetOnMedia.

Pledging to support the Equality in Audio Pact, The Podcast Show encourages and nurtures continued opportunities, including supporting gender balance, minority groups including LGBTQIA+ and ethnic diversity among panelists, speakers and those in attendance. For more information about the act, visit equalityinaudiopact.co.uk

Pro Podcast Announces LinkedIn Partnership

~ jen

Pro Podcast has announced its production partnership with LinkedIn, which will see them oversee the production, strategy, and amplification of their series Take The Lead.

Darcy Milne, head of podcasting, said “it’s a pleasure to take the skills and expertise that has come from producing almost 300 podcast series and apply it to a brand we all know and love.”

The most recent episode features a live episode from the Salesforce World Tour where global leaders came to gather and shared around the theme of “embracing equity.”

The episode features:

Grace Kerrison, Head of Sales Solutions, APAC, LinkedIn

Fiona Low, VP/Group Director of Global Marketing, Worley

Gail Moody-Byrd, Vice President of Marketing, LinkedIn Sales Solutions

Colin Timm SVP & Country Manager at Salesforce

Carrie Smith CMO, Accenture

Sally Mack, Head of Revenue Operations, Safety Culture

Earlier this year, Pro Podcast announced its rebranding effort, the expansion of its team and their exclusive podcaster portal designed to provide a seamless creation experience.

“We are committed to delivering the best podcasting experience to anyone looking to refine their message and attract the right audience,” says Darcy who founded the company in 2016.

LinkedIn is the latest to enlist the support of Pro Podcast and are joined by Xero, Lifeline, SES, Acast, Mediaweek and a range of independent podcasters, including Nova’s Tim Blackwell, Lux Listings Gavin Rubinstein and Logan Paul for Australian Productions. 

Acast Elevates Sales Team To See Growing Podcast Sales In Australia And New Zealand

~ jen

Acast, the world’s largest independent podcast company, is pleased to announce updates to its sales team in Australia and New Zealand.

To address the increased and evolving demand of the AUNZ podcast sales market, former Group Sales Leads Kate Digby, Teresa Ly, and Brice Crosswell have been promoted to Group Business Directors. Their teams are responsible for bringing global advertisers to the Acast Marketplace and delivering high-impact, integrated branded content partnerships, utilizing the latest ad-tech and programmatic advertising.

Additionally, Ciaran Tobin has been promoted to Key Account Director, Independent Agencies from his previous role as Senior Account Manager. Ciaran and his future team will service the increased demand Acast is seeing from independent agencies nationally.

“We are so pleased to promote Kate, Teresa, Bryce, and Ciaran to their new roles. They are hands down some of the most knowledgable, creative and hardest workers in podcasting,” said Henrik Isaksson, Managing Director for Acast in Australia and New Zealand. “Acast’s ad techie best in class – and the momentum of our local team is incredible to see. We believe in promoting talent from within and reimagining organizational roles to meet market demand. The promotions in the team will enable us to further expand our offering to podcasters, publishers and advertisers and support wider development as podcast advertisers increase demand for innovative and seamless solutions in our region.”

As Acast continues to grow its share in Australia and New Zealand, the region remains a top priority for the company and its stakeholders. The newly announced positions within the sales team reflect Acast’s ongoing commitment to that growth and to meeting the evolving demands of the market for advertisers and podcasters alike.

 

Frequency Drives 3x Efficiency For Audacy With Podcast Vetting Automation

~ jen

Frequency, the next generation of ad management for the audio industry, and Audacy Inc., a leading multi-platform audio content and entertainment company, reveal how technology is fueling Audacy’s dramatic increase in podcast sales productivity. Since using Frequency’s automated workflows, Audacy’s podcast vetting process is now 3x more efficient.

Audacy is driving sales speed and scalability with automation. Having used Frequency’s platform to vet 10K+ requests across ~200 podcasts, the results are in:

  • Hundreds of hours saved for the ad ops team
  • 300% faster responses from shows
  • Happier team members
  • More revenue supported and captured

Frequency’s unique ad management platform for audio is the necessary infrastructure Audacy needs to conduct individual vetting requests for thousands of advertisers. Audacy can turn around RFP’s quickly, include more pre-vetted shows, and win larger budgets.

“A 3x more efficient vetting process is a huge advantage. We’re responding faster and minimizing human error. Our ad ops team, talent, and agency partners are happier and less frustrated too,” said Danny Kutrick, Senior Director, Podcast Operations & Traffic, Audacy. “Without the typical ad ops pain points, we’re scaling with ease. There’s no doubt that Frequency is an essential platform for audio publishers to improve workflow, save time, and make money.”

“For too long, Podcasting has been held back by the process to get an ad placed, approved, produced, and delivered,” said Pete Jimison, CEO of Frequency. “Audacy has been an amazing partner leading the charge with us to automate all of the manual work, saving their team time to focus on stronger partnerships with talent and sponsors, and opening up new revenue opportunities.”

Audacy and Frequency have been working together since 2019 when Audacy first signed on to use Frequency’s platform. Audacy saw immediate advantages with Frequency’s copy rotation and contextual ad serving tools.

The two companies are excited to unveil additional podcast sales optimization features and integrations later this year.

Companies that want to become more efficient should look to tech to make it happen. Frequency offers audio publishers essential infrastructure to move quickly and accelerate podcast, radio, and streaming sales growth. 

Serving 4B+ ad impressions a month, 1K users tap into Frequency to automate workflow, centralize campaigns, and maximize revenue. Frequency simplifies the ad ops process and speeds up vetting by 3x+.

Tom Dark Launches Darkside Media

~ jen

Tom Dark has launched Darkside Media, a multifaceted media company which specializes in TV promotion and podcast production. Darkside Media represents a new chapter in the career of the award-winning music TV and podcast expert who rose through the ranks during a 19-year career at Warner Records to become the label’s Head of TV Promotions and Podcasting.

Tom Dark says, “I’m incredibly excited to announce the launch of Darkside Media. After nearly 2 decades in Warner Music family, creating first-class TV and podcast campaigns, I’m looking forward to bringing my expertise to a whole new roster of artists and podcasters. Our mission is to deliver must-see and must-hear moments that elevate artists and engage audiences. From the instant impact of a TV performance to the intimacy of a long-form podcast chat, we are dedicated to telling stories and showcasing talent. Utilizing unrivaled media relationships built over 19 years, Darkside will deliver top-tier TV and podcast promo placements, alongside uniquely compelling podcast productions, remaining committed to developing the next generation of talent. The future’s bright, the future’s Darkside.”

Darkside Media specialise in developing and executing impactful promotional TV campaigns for a wide range of artists, earning coverage across the media spectrum including studio performances, interviews, award shows, documentaries, music channel playlists, and more. Highlights of Dark’s career to date have been included a primetime breakthrough TV moment for Griff with an unforgettable BRIT Awards debut; an inventive cross-generational moment for Eliza Rose at the MOBO’s; Liam Gallagher’s gloriously entertaining appearance on Googlebox; plus further coverage for the likes of Royal Blood, Foals, Ghetts, Kano, Michael Bulblé and many more.

The company’s podcast spans both promotion and production. Tom Dark was the first major labor plugger to make podcasts a key of promotional campaigns, successfully uniting with artists with the UK’s leading podcasts – notably placing Josh Groban on James Acaster and Ed Gamble’s Off Menu, Lianne La Havas on the renowned Song Exploder; and Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil on Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place. Meanwhile, Darkside Media’s podcast production services span everything from ideation to award nomination, including development, distribution, guest booking, and social/promotional strategy.

Darkside Media will also see Tom Dark expand on his prior experience with talent spanning both podcasts and music. The company’s roster starts with the frighteningly popular This Paranormal Life podcast, which has won both a British Podcast Award and an Irish Podcast Award, as well as the rising alt-pop renegade Rory Powers who has already earned support from BBC Introducing and Hot Press. In addition, Darkside will offer consultancy for bespoke music or podcast projects.

Tom Dark’s previous award honours, include Warner Records UK winning Promotions Team of The Year at the 2018 Music Week Awards as well as Independent Podcast of the year at the 2020 Pod Bible Awards for Monkey Tennis, the definitive Alan Partridge fan podcast which he co-founded and co-hosts.

Oprah Winfrey Network – OWN – Signs Renewal Agreement To Keep Its Podcasts On SiriusXM

~ jen

SiriusXM announced a multi-year extension which keeps OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network’s slate of podcasts, including its flagship Oprah’s Super Soul – with the leader in audio.

Under a new agreement between SiriusXM subsidiary Stitcher Media LLC and OWN LLC, SXM Media, the advertising sales group of Sirius XM Holdings Inc., will maintain exclusive global audio and video ad sales rights to OWN’s suite of podcasts. Stitcher will also retain exclusive rights to distribute these shows across all podcast platforms via the SiriusXM Podcast Network.

The agreement also provides resources to develop new podcasts and content by OWN.

This renewal continues a relationship that began in 2017 with the launch Oprah’s Super Soul podcast, and has since expanded to a network of several inspiring shows that altogether have a combined reach of nearly 100 million downloads each year. They include: Eckhart Tolle: Essential Teachings, Oprah’s Master Class, The Oprah Winfrey Show: The Podcast, Trials to Triumph and Iyanla: Fix My Life.

“We are excited to continue provide listeners with intentional, thought-provoking and fascinating podcast programming through out collaboration with SiriusXM,” said Tara Montgomery, Creative EVP, Programming, Production and Development at OWN. “Our hope is that listeners see themselves reflected in the content shared and stories told and that they have an opportunity to learn, grow and leave feeling encouraged and inspired.”

“The team at OWN have a deep understanding of their audience, which enables them to create the kind of programming that keeps their listeners engaged,” says Daniel Osit, Vice President of Content Partnerships & Podcast Strategy at SiriusXM. “We’re honored that OWN continues to trust in SiriusXM’s ability to help them reach new audiences, and we look forward to the development of new content by OWN.”

New episodes of OWN’s podcast will continue to be available on the Stitcher and SXMapps, as well as all major podcast listening platforms.

Veritonic Achieves SOC 2 Type II Certification

~ jen

Veritonic, the industry’s comprehensive audio research and analytics platform, announced that it has successfully completed the Security Organization Control (SOC) 2 Type II auditing procedure. The audit, conducted by Prescient Assurance, a leader in security and compliance attestation for B2B SAAS companies worldwide, validates that Veritonic has effective, enterprise-level security for customers’ data in the Veritonic platform.

This certification enables Veritonic’s clients to use the platform with continued confidence, allowing them to make more informed audio advertising and branding decisions utilizing the data and analytics they need to increase their reach and ROI.

“Leading brands, agencies, and publishers around the world trust the Veritonic platform. Therefore, it was crucial to provide the highest standard of security and compliance for current and future customers,” said Veritonic CEO and Founder, Scott Simonelli. “The completion this phase further demonstrates our dedication to protecting our clients’ data, ensuring it is properly stores and secured in the process.”

About Veritonic

World-renowned brands, agencies, publishers, and platforms rely on Veritonic’s comprehensive audio research and analytics platform to research, test, and measure the ROI of their audio assets and campaigns pre-market, in-market, and post-campaign. The resulting insight enables clients to gain confidence in their audio investment, mitigate risk through optimization, and increase their return as they engage consumers with compelling audio experiences.

Acast Launches Audience Segments Targeting Capability On Self-Serve Advertising Platform

~ jen

Acast, the world’s largest independent podcast company, launched Audience Segments on its self-serve advertising platform. The new capability enables advertisers booking campaigns through the self-serve platform to target listeners based on Nielsen Audience Segments across Acast’s more than 92,000 podcasts.

Available now to advertisers in the US, Canada, and Australia, Audience Segments marks Acast’s commitment to democratizing the podcast advertising industry by brining professional-level features to brands of all sizes and levels of the podcast buying experience.

“We built our self-serve advertising platform as a response to the market demand from advertisers and have continued to innovate in ways that keep their needs central to the product,” said Niklas Lagerberg, Product Manager at Acast. 

“We’ve seen not just more advertisers, but more experienced advertisers booking podcast campaigns through the self-serve platform. These seasoned marketers expect the same experience that they receive when working with the Acast sales team: efficient buying and accurate audience targeting at scale. Audience Segments brings this first-class experience to the self-serve platform by enabling more accurate audience targeting at the moment of ad injection.”

Acast introduced its self-serve advertising platform in November of last year and since launch, the platform has continued to expand to fit the needs of its growing client base. Throughout that growth, Acast has worked with advertisers of varying sizes and levels of expertise in podcast advertising to meet needs across the marketing funnel. From small and medium sized businesses eager to increase brand awareness to household name brands leveraging podcasts to drive purchases, Acast’s self-serve advertising platform has proved to be a valuable marketing tool.

One of those brands to leverage Acast’s self-serve advertising platform was Tortoise Media, which booked a campaign to promote their own slate of podcasts across content categories including the Curious Thinkers collection as well as News and Politics.

“As a media brand, we know podcast advertising would be a seamless inclusion to our media mix. What we didn’t know was just how easy Acast’s self-serve platform would be to book the campaign, identify our target audiences, and measure the results,” said Claudia Collins, Head of Marketing and Membership at Tortoise Media. “Even though we were booking our own campaign, the Acast team was there to answer any questions we had so we never felt alone in the process.”

Previously, advertisers booking campaigns through Acast’s self-serve platform could only target podcasts by listener demographics, location, and show content category. Leveraging Nielsen Audience Segments and extensive insights, Acast’s Audience Segments targeting feature provides an extra layer of intelligence to its self-serve platform. This effectively enables brands to target listeners within specific segment categories including Business Leaders, High Income Earners, Tech Enthusiasts, Travelers, Parents, Pet Owners, and more.

Similarly to working with a dedicated sales team, Acast’s self-serve advertising platform allows advertisers to effectively measure their campaign performance at every step of the conversion funnel. Acast works with third party vendors including Podsights, ArtsAI, Claritas, Veritonic, and others to enable pixel-based solutions for impression tracking, verification, brand uplift, attribution, and more.

Fiction Podcast App Apollo Unveils Redesign and Launches Apollo+ Subscription Service

~ jen

Apollo, the popular mobile app dedicated to fiction podcasts, announces a major redesign of its platform and the launch of Apollo+, a new subscription service for ad-free listening and access to exclusive content. Available for free on iOS and Android devices, Apollo cuts through the noise of 5 million podcasts, curating a catalog of 9,000+ fiction shows, each categorized by its genre, format, and additional tags.

Rebuilt from scratch after assessing the mistakes and successes of the prototype launch, the latest playback and discovery update brings a faster and more responsive experience to the entire app. Listeners can explore up-to-date editorial playlists, find the show they want to listen to, and save it to their library for later. Apollo makes finding new fiction podcasts easier and more accessible to a broad audience.

Apollo+ was introduced on April 24, 2023. It features 49 shows from independent creators. Participating shows and creators include Wooden Overcoats, Tonia Ransom’s Afflicted, Bloody FM’s SCP Archives and Mayfair Watchers Society, Sarah Rhea Werner’s Girl in Space, Marsfall, Jordan Cobb’s Janus Descending and Primordial Deep, Observer Pictures, Tel Minear, Next Chapter Podcasts, and more. 

Apollo+ subscribers enjoy ad-free listening, premium content previously found only on individual Patreon and Supporting Cast services, and early access to new shows and features.

For a single subscription of $9.99 per month, Apollo+ listeners support multiple fiction creators at once. 70% of the net revenue is retained by creators, proportionately distributed based on minutes listened. The more listeners enjoy a creator’s show on Apollo +, the more that creator will earn. Annual pricing options are available, with a one-year subscription offering three months for free.

New shows and creators to support will be added to the Apollo+ lineup monthly, ensuring a constant stream of fresh content for members. To explore the full catalog of shows available on Apollo+, visit apollopods.com/shows.

For more information about Apollo, visit the website.

If a podcast you know is missing from Apollo, let us know at hello@apollopods.com. Creators interested in joining the Apollo+ program can reach out to the team. Agreements are not platform-exclusive and creators always own their content.

About Apollo

Apollo is a mobile app available for iOS and Android devices that is dedicated exclusively to fiction podcasts. With a catalog of over 9,000 shows categorized by genre, format, and additional tags, Apollo offers an unparalleled listening experience for fans of fictions shows. The platform committed supporting independent creators, fostering creativity, and revolutionizing the podcast landscape.