Month: March 2024

Blubrry’s New Vid2Pod Makes Any YouTube Channel Into An Audio Podcast

~ jen

A YouTube channel on its own isn’t a podcast. While there have been a number of tools available to audio-first podcasters for getting their shows onto YouTube, there hasn’t been anything that could easily turn a YouTube channel into an audio podcast. That problem is solved with Blubrry’s new Vid2Pod service:

You can now effortlessly publish podcast episodes from your video playlists into high-quality audio podcasts, opening your content to a new audience.

Whether you’re a seasoned podcaster or a YouTube first creator looking to expand your reach Vid2Pod is a set it and forget it video-to-audio podcasting tool, available as part of our Advanced Hosting plans and above.

YouTubers can get Vid2Pod up and running in a few simple steps: sign up for a Blubrry media hosting subscription; link a YouTube channel to Blubrry; enter audio podcast settings (including show artwork). Blubrry will then provide a podcast RSS feed that can be submitted to podcast apps/directories like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartMedia, TuneIn, and more. From there, the process is completely automated. Blubrry will pick up new videos from YouTube, convert them to audio podcast episodes, and publish those episodes to RSS.

Vid2Pod users will also get access to features already baked in to Blubrry media hosting like a free WordPress site and access to Podcasting 2.0 capabilities, including Value4Value donations and Live Item notifications. Vid2Pod users will be able to measure the reach of their audio podcasts using Blubrry’s industry-leading IAB certified statistics.

Blubrry’s new Vid2Pod service is available starting today, so YouTubers who want to try the service can get started right now. Vid2Pod should be a real game changer for YouTube-first creators who want to expand their reach beyond the walls of YouTube.

Flightpath Gives Publishers Tools To Support Baked In Sales Via Dynamic

~ jen

Flightpath, a pioneer in podcast ad optimization software, unveiled their latest technological breakthrough aimed at improving the reliability of episode targeted podcast ad sales and inventory management. With this new capability, Flightpath has expanded their industry-leading availability, triage alerts, and projected performance tools to fully support ‘faked-in’ or episode-targeted placements across supported podcast platforms.

“With buyers who prefer baked-in placements, podcast publishers are turning to episode-targeted ads using Dynamic Ad Insertion [DAI],” explains Sean Howard, CEO of Flightpath.  “Promising an episode locked placement is easy, but DAI makes living up to these promises difficult. Buyers expect these placements to be served in every download or listen within a set time period. Flightpath surfaces any problems that will impact delivery in addition to exposing any oversold events in the future.”

These alerts and reports work on all supported DAI platforms and free up sales and operations to offer these placements with confidence, while also maintaining the significant revenue opportunities from traditional DAI placements.

Key Features

Freedom to use baked in sales strategies while also enabling up to 3x gross revenues with DAI technologies

Confidence that episode locks are properly configured and going to deliver 100% of the time, as promised

Identify booked and oversold episode locked inventory across supported DAI platforms

All of this while monitoring all run-of-show and run-of-network campaigns

Trusted availability for episode targeted orders one year into the future

“Podcast publishers and networks need to unlock revenue potential while still addressing buyer demand for locked inventory,” stated Flightpath’s CRO, Laurie Belleau. “At Flightpath, we’re committed to empowering our partners with unparalleled visibility and paving the way for increased revenue by making ad inventory, placements, and campaign performance readily available in the context of multiple sales strategies.”

“As we manage hundreds of campaigns every week, it’s crucial to have a tool that can swiftly pinpoint and resolve any potential delivery issues,” added Ilwira Marciszek, AdLarge’s Senior VP and head of Revenue Operations and Digital Sales. “Flightpath empowers us to deliver with the reliability and accountability that our advertisers have come to trust from AdLarge.”

To learn more about Flightpath, please reach out to laurie@flightpath.fm.

PodBravo Revolutionizes Podcast Production With AI-Powered Content Repurposing

~ jen

PodBravo launched it’s new platform, an AI service designed to transform podcast content effortlessly. PodBravo leverages AI to generate transcripts, show notes, timestamps, titles, blogs, social media posts, and more with just a single click, revolutionizing the podcast production process.

“We are thrilled to introduce PodBravo, a game-changer for podcasters worldwide,” says George Lejnine, CEO of PodBravo. “With PodBravo, podcasters can effortlessly expand their audience reach and engagement without the burden of additional manual work.”

Key features and benefits of PodBravo include:

Automated content creation: Instantly generate transcripts, show notes, and other supplementary content.

Enhanced audience engagement: Reach a wider audience through multiple content formats tailored to various platforms.

Time-saving solution: Streamline podcast production workflows with efficient AI-driven tools.

“PodBravo empowers podcasters to focus on creating compelling content while our AI technology handles the rest,” adds Lejnine.

PodBravo became available on March 6, 2024, at a competitive price point. For more information on PodBravo, visit podbravo.com.

About PodBravo

PodBravo is a new provider of innovative solutions for podcasters, committed to simplifying and enhancing the podcasting experience. With a focus on leveraging cutting-edge technology, PodBravo aims the empower creators to maximize the potential of their podcasts.

Shure Unveils MoveMic, The World’s Smallest And Best Sounding Wireless Lavalier Microphone System

~ jen

Shure, the brand behind the world’s best wireless audio, introduced its newest line of wireless clip-on microphones, the MoveMic Microphone System. MoveMic delivers reliable, true broadcast-quality audio in an ultra-lightweight design ideal for content creators, videographers, and mobile journalists. It is the smallest, best-sounding, dual channel direct-to-phone wireless cavalier solution available, developed with a custom acoustic design and proprietary wireless software to ensure professional audio quality while on the go.

Shure’s discreet and durable MoveMic series connects directly to phones in both single — MoveMic One — and dual channel — MoveMic Two – configurations for use with our MOTIV and MOTIV Video apps on iOS and Android. For those seeking universal compatibility, the standalone MoveMic Receive and bundled MoveMic Two Receiver Kit seamlessly integrates with devices like cameras, computers, and third-party smartphone apps. MoveMic’s patented lavalier design and patent-pending wireless technology make it a reliable and flexible solution regardless of whether users are going direct-to-phone or connecting to the MoveMic Receiver.

“On-the-go interviews have become the primary way journalists, content creators, and TikTokers gather the thoughts, opinions, and experiences of people around the world,” said Eduardo Valdes, Associate Vice President of Global Marketing and Product Management at Shure. “The rise in this style of content has created an ideal opportunity to introduce an incredibly discreet, extraordinary-sounding wireless lavalier microphone system like MoveMic. We’ve applied our expertise as the leaders in professional wireless tools for performance, broadcast, and recording to create this super portable device. Creators will love that they can simultaneously send two channels of audio directly to their phone while keeping mics covert on camera.”

COMPACT, POCKET-FRIENDLY DESIGN – EASILY CONCEALED AND READY FOR ANYTHING: Nobody wants a big, bulky microphone distracting from their next shot. MoveMic was purposely designed to be almost invisible, weighing only 8.2g per microphone and measuring a demure 46mm x 22mm, with only a fraction of the microphone visible while work for an unprecedented level of concealment and portability. With an IPX4 rating. MoveMic was engineered for real-world use and is capable of withstanding spills, splashes, and the demands of recording outdoors.

24-HOURS OF RECORDING PER CHARGE: Each MoveMic wireless clip-on microphone features up to eight hours of battery life. Users can achieve two additional eight-hour charges with the charging case, giving creators an entire day of recording for every full charge. USB-C connectivity makes MoveMic universally chargeable with any USB-C capable charging platform.

EFFORTLESS, BROADCAST-QUALITY AUDIO – DIRECTLY TO YOUR PHONE: The proprietary Shure wireless software and custom acoustic design built into MoveMic makes it easy to capture high-fidelity, broadcast-quality voice recordings with minimal background noise, ideal for hectic, on-the-go recording situations up to 100 feet from the receiver source. The result of endless hours of development by Shure engineers is performance, reliability, and sound quality that you can count on that is only available in MoveMic products.

QUICK SETUP — ONCE PAIRED, ALWAYS READY: After paring MoveMic One and Two with a user’s preferred device, the microphones will automatically reconnect to the last-paired device when removed from the charging case and powered on. By eliminating setup time between shots, creators, journalists, and videographers can be ready to record in an instant.

FULL APP CONTROL: Designed to be paired with the free MOTIV Audio and Video apps, creators leveraging MoveMic One and Two can configure audio settings like gain, limiter, compression, noise reduction, and EQ. Additionally, users can record and livestream content to Facebook directly from the MOTIV Video mobile app, with YouTube livestream integration coming in spring 2024.

The MoveMic system and components are available now at shure.com and select retailers.

Price Brothers Announces Cloned Podcast Host-Read Ad Service

~ jen

Price Brothers, creators of digital audio advertising content using emerging technologies, announced the launch of its Contextual Advertising service for host-read ads.

This new offering improves podcast ads by leveraging dynamic targeting combined with voice cloning technology. The result are ads made more effective by adding context and relevance to heighten engagement.

“Research has shown that host-read ads in podcasts perform well,” said Dan Price, Partner, Price Brothers and Sister company Oink Ink Radio. “Meanwhile, research has also shown that adding context to audio ads, such as localization, increases effectiveness. The hurdle has been scalability. And so we began experimenting with cloning.”

Price Brothers’ Contextual Ad Service provides advertisers the ability to serve dynamically ‘stitched together’ creative content, relevant to a listener’s specific context and environment, while adding scale achieved by utilizing synthesized voice. “It would be impractical for every podcast host engaged by a brand like Staples, for example, to record 1,400 location addresses,” said Jim Price. “So we thought, ‘Why not clone the hosts’ voices (with their permission) and cobble together the new audio to efficiently create versions relevant to the listener.”

While many AI platforms may be created somewhat equally, the implementation of them has not. Says Dan Price, “The secret sauce for use was in perfecting what goes into the platform and how you input the data in order to achieve authentic results. People have been skeptical of the quality of cloned audio, and for good reason. Most sound fake and inconsistent. For months we experimented with the assets being loaded into the platforms we use. The specific sample reference audio and especially the technique of entering the text being processes by the platform is absolutely critical.” The results Price Brothers achieved have been startling.

The whole concept behind Price Brothers was as a creative user of emerging technologies. “We’re not a tech firm,” says Dan Price. “We set out years ago to identify the most promising digital tools at their inception, and then work with the developers as end-users of them. We’d experiment and push the envelope and request upgrades to the programs; we positioned ourselves as already doing creative work with those tools by the time they were being introduced to the industry.” As a result, Price Brothers produced some of the earliest dynamic work in the U.S. (for client Staples) and worked with Instreamatic fully 4 years ago on Interactive Audio executions.

While the results they’ve gotten cloning podcast hosts’ voices is being noticed, it’s the contextual component that is sure to catch the attention of advertisers. A listener’s location, the name or type of app they’re using, the activity they’re engaging in, are all available data points that can drive relevant messaging.

Despite their being significant, wide-spread concern over Artificial Intelligence and the governing of its boundaries, Price Brothers’ Contextual service for podcasts is a solution that not only benefits advertisers, but also provides a more engaging listening experience for audiences. And that is good for hosts and publishers. “We view it as using AI for good, not evil,” says Jim Price.

LiSTNR Unveils Game-Changing New App To Create An Even Better User Experience

~ jen

LiSTNR unveils a new and improved app experience with the introduction of several new features and significant enhancements.

The biggest app update since LiSTNR launched in 2021, the game-changing features were developed following extensive consultation and feedback from LiSTNR’s 1.8 million signed-up customer base.

The enhancements will make the LiSTNR app faster, more intuitive and personalized with a full re-design to deliver an exceptional experience for users.

New features include:

A simpler navigation featuring: Home, Discovery, and Library.

An enhanced, fully personalized homepage with a “For You” tab, giving users easy access to live radio and music stations, radio shows and podcasts they follow or have recently played.

New tabs to showcase the most popular content types including Radio, Podcasts, and Music (with Sport coming soon).

A re-designed Radio tab, highlighting all 99 Hit and Triple M local stations and their associated DAB+ stations. A more relevant experience is achieved by users’ postcodes informing the prioritization of local Hit and Triple M radio stations and local news appearing first.

A new, dedicated Music tab with a range of music stations to suit every mood and music-based podcasts.

The new Discover option enables intuitive search plus browsing by category and genre.

An improved Library provides access to all the content that users follow, have listened to and downloaded, plus the latest podcast episodes.

SCA Chief Technology and Operations Officer, Stephen Haddad, said: “LiSTNR has been developed from the ground up within SCA and this new version of the app, our biggest since LiSTNR launched, will deliver our 1.8 million-plus signed-up users a truly personal experience. We have listened to and taken on board user feedback to produce the ultimate user experience, making content easily accessible and the app faster and fun to use.

“As well as the new features and benefits, the LiSTNR app has undergone a complete re-design to look even more slick and to be even more intuitive. While users are listening, they will feel immersed in a world of great content, with all the information they could want at their fingertips. We are extremely proud of delivering an Australian owned and operated digital audio platform.”

SCA Chief Commercial Officer, Seb Rennie, said: “The LiSTNR app is enabled with best-in-class technology to deliver unique and unrivaled targeting, attribution, contextual solutions and advanced dynamic creative optimization for advertisers ensuring that this, along with LiSTNR’s highly engaged audience of more than 1.8 million users, means the most advanced and effective digital audio solutions are now available at LiSTNR.”

All LiSTNR users retain their user accounts and preferences as the new app launches. If users have auto app updates on, they do not need to do anything. If auto updates are off, users simply update the app on their smartphone and they will already be logged in. Once updated, users will experience a tour of the new features before exploring the app.

The new LiSTNR app is available now.

PodRoll Announces New Podcast Growth Technology – Dynamic Feed Drops

~ jen

PodRoll unveiled Dynamic Feed Drops, an industry-first solution designed to overcome the limitations of traditional podcast feed drops. Enabled by dynamic insertion, this innovative technology allows podcasters to leverage the audience acquisition power of feed drops with efficiency, control, and targeting.

Dynamic Feed Drops are promotional episodes inserted across PodRoll’s ecosystem of more than 30 podcast networks. The episode is added as the second most recent episode in a feed and works across al major podcast listening platforms. Once the host podcast publishes a new episode, the recommended episode is automatically removed from the feed, requiring no additional work from either podcaster. This innovative approach facilitates simple, standardized, and effective cross-promotion and converts recurring listeners with a direct link to follow the podcast in Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Unlike traditional feed drops, PodRoll’s Dynamic Feed Drops leverage technology to simplify running feed drops at scale, helping every promotional campaign reach its goal.

“With Dynamic Feed Drops, we’re modernizing one of the most powerful ways to grow a podcast’s audience,” said Jason Cox, CEO/CTO of PodRoll. “This technology ensures that every feed drop not only reaches its target audience, but does so in a scalable way that eliminates the manual work required with the traditional method.”

Dynamic Feed Drop placement is facilitated between buyers and sellers in the PodRoll marketplace. With real-time metrics and full self-service control, podcasters can launch campaigns to grow their show or accept campaigns to earn revenue.

“This technology enables podcasters to sell feed drops programmatically,” said Matt Turck, CEO of PodRoll. “We’re excited to bring a meaningful revenue stream to our partners that does not conflict with advertising inventory or impact any of their creative and publishing operations.”

Key Features for Buyers:

Scale Your Reach: Seamlessly place your episode across many podcasts with a single campaign

Targeted Spending: Control where your show is promoted across the PodRoll network

Pay for Performance: Your investment is tied directly to actual activity on your promoted podcast feed

Track Effortlessly: Natively identify recurring listeners generated from each campaign.

Key Features for Sellers:

Earn Effortlessly: Generate $50+ CPM for every promotional episode, all through programmatic sales

Simplify Your Workflow: No sales team or coordination needed, every campaign is approved and tracked from one dashboard

Maintain Control: Enjoy full content approval rights and manage your feed with ease; feed drops are automatically removed after your next episode is published

Dynamic Feed Drops are available immediately to all podcasters with a minimum $500 budget. This ensures that podcasts of all sizes can take advantage of this innovative growth strategy and set their content in from of active listeners on any podcast.

For more information on how to elevate your podcast growth strategy with Dynamic Feed Drops, visit https://podroll.fm.

About PodRoll

PodRoll is a podcast technology company, offering a range of solutions designed to solve the toughest problems for podcasters and advertisers. With a focus on innovation and transparency PodRoll is committed to enhancing the podcasting ecosystem for creators, advertisers, and listeners globally.

Libsyn Names Rich Selah As New EVP Of Sales For AdvertiseCast Marketplace

~ jen

Libsyn Syndication inc. (“Libsyn”), the leading all-in-one podcasting platform for creators and advertisers, announced the appointment of Rick Selah as Executive Vice President of Sales for Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast. Selah previously has served as Executive Vice President of Content Partnerships and Libsyn since 2022 and, in this new role, Rick will be responsible for spearheading the expansion of the industry leading AdvertiseCast marketplace and driving revenue growth.

“Advertisers are embracing podcast advertising as a trusted media channel that’s now on par with other dominant media channels with advanced audience targeting and attribution measurement capabilities — and our AdvertiseCast marketplace is leading the way,” said John W. Gibbons, Chief Executive Officer at Libsyn. “Rick will be instrumental in scaling our expansive podcast advertising portfolio of host-read, dynamic, and programmatic ad offerings. His wealth of experience in the podcast industry, strong advertiser relationships, and sales track record make him a valuable leader to drive our next phase of accelerated growth.”

As a seasoned sales leader, Selah brings decades of expertise in media industry sales. As Executive Vice President of Content Partnerships at Libsyn, Rick was instrumental in expanding creator partnerships and bringing massive shows like The Vial Files and Lore as well as ABC Audio to the Libsyn AdvertiseCast family.

Prior to Libsyn, Rick served as Co-Founder and President of PodAdReps (PAR), where he led advertising sales efforts for a diverse catalog of independent podcasts. His leadership resulted in the acquisition of PAR by Libsyn, further solidifying his impact on the podcasting industry. Rick’s career journey also includes significant roles such as Vice President of Sales at CastPlus and Vice President of Sales at Westwood One.

“Podcast advertising is gaining prominence with more marketers, and Libsyn AdvertiseCast has built a foundation for accelerated growth with its deep investments in innovative advertising tools and technologies,” said Rick. “I’m thrilled to work alongside Libsyn’s leadership team to lead sales and educate more brands on the immense potential of podcast advertising, empowering them to harness the medium’s power to engage on high-value audiences and achieve measurable outcomes. Together, we’ll continue to elevate the podcasting landscape and drive the proof-of-performance for advertisers.”

The expansion of leadership marks a pivotal moment for Libsyn as the Company celebrates its 20th year in podcasting. Libsyn has made substantial investments in platform tools for creators and advertisers alike.

About Liberated Syndication

Celebrating our 20th year in podcasting, Liberated Syndication Inc. (“Libsyn”) is the leading all-in-one podcasting platform for creators and advertisers to host, distribute, monetize, amplify, and measure their audio and video content. The Company hosts more than 75,000 shows and delivers over 8 billion downloads to listeners globally. Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast marketplace combines an industry-leading ad buying management platform with full-service capabilities that make it easy for podcast advertisers to initiate and manage highly targeted and measurable campaigns across thousands of shows. Visit libsyn.com or investor.libsyn.com for more information on the Company and the platforms that it powers.

Poddster Opens First International Studio In Singapore

~ jen

Poddster – a pioneering network of video podcast production studios and Dubai’s first podcasting community — has begun expanding globally with the launch of its first location in Singapore. The new Poddster location in Singapore’s Bukit Merah area is the company’s first to open outside of Dubai. Four large professional studios and an expansive community space for events and workshops occupy the state-of-the-art 4,000-square-foot venue.

Co-founded by serial entrepreneur Vuk Zlatarov in April 2022, Poddster became Dubai’s busiest and most-recognized podcast hub and now has three locations in the city. It aims to democratize high-quality podcast production, empowering individuals and businesses to document their knowledge and stories and experience the transformational power of podcasts.

The idea came in 2020 after Zlatarov launched his own podcast, The Change Officer, in hope of finding a smarter way to build meaningful relationships with people who could positively influence his life and business. Two years, and 200 episodes later, Zlatarov created Poddster, making professional podcast production available to everyone.

On the opening of the Singapore studios, Poddster Co-founder Zlatrov commented: “Our vision is to build a network of hubs that gather some of the most inspiring figures that can learn from each other and grow together through a transformative podcasting experience. Strategically, Singapore is one of the most important cities because it is a focal point for influential figures and commercial ventures across Asia Pacific. The podcast industry in Singapore and the wider region is expanding and listening to podcasts is becoming increasingly popular.”

Poddster’s Co-Founder and Asia Pacific CEO, Borko Kovacevic, added: “Singapore represents a really exciting market for us. It’s long been a premier destination for international organizations. Plus, statistics show the number of daily and weekly podcast listeners has increased by 53 percent over the last year, with listeners now tuning in to three to five podcasts a week. Over 90 percent of listeners in Singapore have reportedly taken action after listening to a podcast advert. This shows the demand is definitely there for high-quality studios like Poddster that prioritize consistent service quality.”

The company is set to continue its global expansion with plans to open in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Australia by 2025. According to YouGov, the number of podcast listeners is projected to rise to 504.9 million in 2024, with the MENA region among the highest proportion of podcast listeners worldwide.

Trixie Mattel To Host The Podcast Academy’s Fourth Annual Awards For Excellence In Audio On March 26 In LA

~ jen

The Podcast Academy, the preeminent professional podcast organization, announced that season 3 winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” Trixie Mattel LA Live Los Angeles. TPA also unveiled that it will bestow upon Malcolm Gladwell the esteemed Governors Award, which recognizes a podcast or individual for the compelling influence they’ve had on the industry.

Additionally, TPA will honor pop-culture podcaster, Ira Madison III with the Impact Award, which recognizes an individual or podcast that has made a significant, positive effect on its listeners.

The show will be live-streamed on The Podcast Academy’s YouTube channel – watch here from 6:00pm PT.

The Ambies celebrate excellence in podcasting and elevate awareness and status of podcasts as a unique and personal medium for entertainment, information, storytelling and expression. The ceremony will highlight 192 nominees across 27 categories with winners to be selected by every voting member of The Podcast Academy (TPA). Community Building Sponsor Wondery will highlight TPA’s Mentorship Program at the Ceremony. Full list of the 2024 nominees may be found here.

“On behalf of The Podcast Academy, we are thrilled to honor Ira Madison III with the Impact Award and Malcolm Gladwell with the coveted Governors Award,” said Donald Albright, chairperson of TPA. “As a writer and a podcaster, Ira is an authentic voice for the industry. He alongside his team have created unique content that spans pop-culture to politics while amplifying underrepresented voices. Furthermore, we are beyond privileged to recognize Malcolm Gladwell with the Governors Award. He’s been instrumental in shaping the medium with innovative content that he has, and will continue to have, a lasting effect.”

Trixie Mattel is an American singer, actor, drag queen and recognized “Skinny Legend.” She is also a Billboard Heatseekers #1 charting recording artist (One Stone, 2018), a wildly successful touring act, and one half of a comic duo with Katya on YouTube (“UNHhhh” & Netflix’s “I Like To Watch”). The New York Times best-selling author is the co-host of the popular podcast with Katya called The Bald and the Beautiful, which received the 2021 Queerties Award for Best Podcast in 2021. She stars in her own Discovery+ reality renovation show, “Trixie Motel” and released her double LP “The Blonde and Pink Albums’ to acclaim from Rolling Stone, Billboard, People, Vogue, NPR and more, as well as a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Stagecoach Festival, and Austin City Limits.

Ira Madison III is a cultural critic, TV writer, and host of the Crooked Media award-winning podcast Keep It. His work has been featured in GQ, Vulture, The Cut, and MTV News. As a television writer, he’s written for “Uncoupled,” “Q-Force”, “Nikki Fre$h”, and “Daybreak”. His debut essay collection Pure Innocent Fun will be published by Random House in early 2025.

Malcolm Gladwell is the author of seven New York Times bestsellers, including The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, Talking to Strangers, and The Bomber Mafia. He is the co-founder of Pushkin Industries, an audiobook and podcast production company that produces the podcasts Revisionist History, Against the Rules with Michael Lewis, The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos, and Broken Record.