Tag: LibSyn

Libsyn Sponsors IAB Upfront & Unveils April 2023 CPM’s

~ Jen Thorpe ~ Leave a comment

Liberated Syndication Inc. (“Libsyn”), the leading all-in-one podcasting platform for creators and advertisers announced its sponsorship 2023 IAB Podcast Upfront and April 2023 Podcast Advertising Rates, including the highest and most accessible CPM categories.

2023 IAB Podcast Upfront

Libsyn is a proud VIP Sponsor of the 2023 IAB Podcast Upfront, a marketplace event specifically designed for brands, agencies, and media buyers to preview the latest in innovative podcast programming. The event will take place in NYC at Quorum by Convene (1221 Avenue of the Americas) and virtually on IAB.com.

Chris Bowlby, Head of Brand Partnerships at Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast, and Meredith Krantz, Director of Brand Partnerships at Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast, will both be on hand to delve into the insights-rich, brand-safe, addressable, and scalable opportunities available to advertisers seeking to reach targeted and niche audiences.

“We’ve seen a real shift from advertisers taking a test-and-learn approach to fully integrating podcasting into their media strategy,” said Dave Hanley, Chief Revenue Officer at Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast. “As advertisers look to optimize their investment strategies, we continue to provide additional tools and solutions to show the efficiency and efficacy of their campaigns in a much more precise and transparent way.”

Stay tuned for the IAB’s seventh annual Podcast Ad Revenue report on May 11, 2023 for podcast advertising results and growth projections.

April 2023 Podcast Advertising Rates

The following rates, which are denoted as cost per thousand or CPM, are published monthly by Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast, the industry’s premier podcast advertising marketplace that connects advertisers with podcasters. The Company releases pricing and provide greater insight into podcasting advertising as a monetization vehicle. The data is derived from actual sales data across AdvertiseCast’s network of thousands of shows, including more than 225 exclusive podcasts.

For April 2023, the average CPM rate was $23.07 for a 60-second ad spot. That figure has increased almost $1.00 (or 4%) over the last month (March 202 avg. CPM rate: $22.09) and has decreased year-over-year (April 2022 avg. CPM rate: $23.84).

The three highest CPM categories in April based on delivered advertising were:

Technology: $28

Education: $26

Business: $25

Moreover, three categories where advertisers can effectively tap into highly engaged audience at more accessible CPM rates include Arts, Music, and Fiction, which averaged around the low twenties in April.

Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast combines an industry-leading ad buying and management platform with full-service capabilities that make it easy for podcast advertisers to initiate and manage highly targeted and measurable campaigns, while providing maximum return for creators. Historical monthly CPM rates can be found on AdvertiseCast’s website at www.advertisecast.com/podcast-advertising-rates.

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

~ Jen Thorpe

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

Libsyn Powerful Publishing And Content Management Program Now Available en Español

~ Jen Thorpe

Liberated Syndication Inc. (“Libsyn”), the leading all-in-one podcasting platform for creators and advertisers, announced that its powerful publishing and content management platform is now available in Spanish. The Spanish-language integration represents an important step in Libsyn’s ongoing commitment to creator empowerment for traditionally underserved populations like the Hispanic community.

Specifically, Spanish-speaking creators can now take full advantage of Libsyn’s trusted hosting platform that offers in-depth IAB stats on episode and show performance, Canva platform integration, episode snippets, and custom audio players. Specifically, the language setting is available on:

  • The Libsyn homepage, sign-in, the blog, and support page
  • The sign-up, plans & pricing, features, and monetization pages
  • The Libsyn dashboard
  • The knowledge-based articles
  • The tooltips & guides page
  • The invoicing page

Beyond offering the language setting via its support page, Libsyn is also offering ‘Help Desk’ support, providing Spanish language assistance.

The Spanish-language integration is part of the Company’s greater mission to bring more opportunity and visibility to diverse creators to foster a more inclusive podcasting ecosystem. The Company has commissioned and supported the launch of Edison Research’s Latino Podcast Listening Report – important research that tracks emerging habits and preferences among Latino listeners – for two consecutive years; hosted a dedicated Libsyn Latino Podcasters Meetup to further explore what the research findings mean for the future growth of the Latino community and the broader podcasting industry; unveiled grassroots effort, dubbed #ClaimPodParity,  which aims to uplift, educate, and nurture female audio creators; and partnered with BIPOC Podcast Creators to help build a premier talent pipeline of multicultural creators and professionals in podcasting.

Libsyn is exploring the integration of additional languages in the future to better serve the broad array of diverse creators in the booming podcasting space. Stay tuned!

Backyard Ventures Uses Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast

~ Jen Thorpe

Liberated Syndication Inc. (“Libsyn”), the leading all-in-one podcasting platform for creators and advertisers, announced a strategic deal between Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast, the industry’s premier podcast advertising marketplace that connects podcasters, and Backyard Ventures, a full-service partnerships business for creators. The collaboration is designed to ensure Backyard Ventures’ roster of creators maximize the full potential of their content with the addition of Libsyn’s Automatic Ads, a programmatic advertising solution.

Austin-based Backyard Ventures specializes in connecting its clients with premium brand partners. The company supports brand development and revenue generation across podcasts, social media, video, and newsletters, and represents such notable podcast creators as Ryan Holiday, A Little Bit Culty, Boss Babe Podcast, Chasing Excellence, and Granger Smith. The Libsyn partnership enables those creators to access the flexibility and speed of programmatic buying and build a revenue stream from their podcast with little to no additional effort.

Libsyn’s Automatic Ads allow creators to monetize their podcast by dynamically inserting ads. The automatic ads solution lets creators to choose where they want their ads to run – pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll. Unlike live reads, Automatic Ads are just that – automatic – not a permanent part of a podcast. They are inserted in real-time and even allow creators to monetize their back catalog. For brands, Automatic Ads enables contextual relevance, buying efficiency, and dynamic insertion, allowing advertisers to reach high-value audiences with relevant messages.

Matt Cisneros, Founder of Backyard Ventures, said, “Since day one, Backyard Ventures has been fully focused on creating the most opportunities and revenue for our clients and this partnership with Libsyn further solidifies our efforts. Our roster of clients is the lifeline of this business and offering a programmatic partnership will only aid in our efforts in offering premium service.”

“Backyard Ventures is a fast-growing independent entity with a strong leadership team that has a great eye for high quality shows. Our new pilot partnership is focused on developing effective monetization efforts for a select group of podcast clients,” said Dave Hanley, Chief Revenue Officer, Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast. “We’re looking forward to pushing the boundaries of what programmatic podcast advertising is capable for both Backyard Ventures’ burgeoning roster of creators and the brands that are leveraging podcasts as part of their marketing mix.”

Libsyn Adds Seasoned Podcast And Digital Sales Leader Meredith Krantz

~ Jen Thorpe

Liberated Syndication Inc. (“Libsyn”), the leading all-in-one podcasting platform for creators and advertisers, announced the appointment of Meredith Krantz as Director of Brand Partnerships, based in New York. She will be responsible for driving brand partnerships and sales of direct, programmatic, and integrated podcast-first campaigns for Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast, the industry’s premier podcast advertising marketplace that connects advertisers with podcasters. Krantz joins Libsyn from Cumulus Podcast Network, owned and operated by Cumulus Media, where she served as Vice President of Digital Partnerships.

“With a diverse growing listenership, podcast advertising remains a bright spot – especially as more advertisers look to take advantage of the new programmatic capabilities,” said Chris Bowlby, Head of Brand Partnerships at Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast. “Meredith brings an impressive audio and digital media background and a passion for podcasts, and we’re thrilled to have her join our team to build and strengthen relationships with East Coast brands and agencies as we scale our next phase of advertising growth.”

With a track record in partnership building, consultative sales, and new business development, Krantz brings a decade of podcast industry and more than 15 years of multi-platform expertise spanning branded content, live events, and digital audio. At Cumulus Podcast Network, she led the go-to-market strategy for the creation of sales of podcast-first branded solutions for the podcast network. Previously, Krantz served as Senior Director of Partnerships at The Atlantic focused on driving sales of branded content programs, display and programmatic advertising campaigns for the publisher.

Before that she held senior sales positions at Slate and digital ad networks, TargetSpot and Undertone. At these organizations, she successfully introduced and educated advertisers on best practices for working with emerging digital channels and her work resulted in impactful programs for clients, including Volvo, HSBC, Remy Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, IHG, BMW, and Shell, among others.

Krantz holds a Bachelor of Science in Literature and Dance from Sarah Lawerence College.

Libsyn Provides 2022 Financial Update

~ Jen Thorpe

Liberated Syndication Inc. (“Libsyn” or the “Company”), the leading all-in-one podcasting platform for creators and advertisers, provided a financial and operational update for 2022.

Founded in 2004, Libsyn was the first podcast-hosting platform and one of the first companies to help podcasters monetize their content. Over the past few years, podcast monetization has experienced rapid growth, and Libsyn is strategically positioned to benefit from the increased podcasting demand among both consumers and brand advertisers. Libsyn continues to experience significant growth from its focus on podcast monetization through advertising sales.

In 2020, Libsyn earned revenue of $25.8 million, nearly all of which was derived from the Company’s hosting business. In 2021, the Company amplified its focus on helping podcasters monetize their content, and the Company increased revenue by 63% to $42.1 million, which included approximately 37% from advertising sales. In 2022, Libsyn continued its growth resulting in a 39.4% increase in preliminary unaudited revenue to $58.7 million, including over 57% from advertising.

Other operational highlights for 2022 include:

  • Launched new proprietary programmatic advertising capabilities with its Automatic Ads solution for podcasts hosted on Libsyn – achieving significant scale with an early limited release, on track to deliver 75 million monthly impressions.
  • Signed several large exclusive podcast shows to the network, including Lore, the award-winning, critically acclaimed podcast about true-life scary stories that has been downloaded over 400 million times.
  • Renewed several of its exclusive sales relationships, including The NewsWorthy, Moms and Mysteries, and The Michael Savage Show.
  • Completed its acquisition of Julep Media, Germany’s leading podcast advertising Company, and launched operations in Spain and Canada.
  • Completed an integration with Apple Podcasts that allows Libsyn’s creators to publish Apple Podcast Subscription content directly from the Libsyn hosting platform.
  • Completed its YouTube data integration partnership to feed real-time, IAB-compliant data into its hosting platform and advertising marketplace.

“The advertising market has been challenging for many companies, and we have not been immune to those macro trends. Still, we remain optimistic that both host-read and programmatic podcast advertising will continue to grow as podcast consumption shows no sign of slowing down,” said Libsyn’s CEO Bradley Tirpak. “According to the Infinite Dial 2022 from Edison Research, in 2022, 62% of those aged 12+ in the U.S. (an estimated 177 million people) have now listened to a podcast, up from 57% last year. We are extremely well-positioned to take advantage of this continued growth in podcast listeners through both our enhanced hosting services and our increasing ad sales capabilities.”

Other financial highlights include:

Recently entered into a new loan agreement with First Commonwealth Bank replacing its old agreement. Upon the closing on February 1, 2023, Libsyn has a term loan payable of $10 million cash and equivalents of $8.7 million, and the ability to draw up to an additional $2 million from a revolving line of credit.

  • Completed its financial audits for 2019 (restarted), 2020, and 2021.
  • Reported positive adjusted EBITDA in every quarter during 2022.
  • Total shares of common stock issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022, were 30.9 million.

As previously announced in April 2022, the Company consented to the revocation of the registration of the Company’s shares of common stock by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Therefore, the shares are no longer traded on the OTC Markets or a national securities exchange. However, shareholders at that time remain shareholders today, and the ownership interests of shareholders remain intact. The Company is actively evaluating alternatives to facilitate liquidity to shareholders in 2023.

Libsyn’s estimated, unaudited financial results and certain business metrics as of and for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, presented above are preliminary and are subject to Libsyn’s quarter-end and year-end closing procedures and further financial review. Libsyn’s independent registered public accounting firm has not audited, reviewed, compiled, or performed any procedures with respect to this preliminary financial information. Libsyn’s actual results may differ from these estimates as a result of the completion of our quarter-end and year-end closing procedures, review adjustments, and other developments that may arise between now and the time our financial results for the fourth quarter and year are finalized.

Libsyn Unveils February 2023 Podcast Advertising Rates

~ Jen Thorpe

Libsyn Syndication Inc, (“Libsyn”), the leading all-in-one podcasting platform for creators and advertisers, announced its February 2023 Podcast Advertising Rates, including the highest and most accessible CPM categories.

“Programmatic accounts for just 2% of total podcast ad revenues. While this is still nascent, in the last six months, AdvertiseCast is experiencing growing adoption of our Libsyn Auto Ads solution as more brands and agencies seek to buy podcast advertising programmatically like they purchase other digital ads,” said Dave Hanley, Chief Revenue Officer at Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast. “What sets our open market apart is our ability to bring together content, audience, technology, and transparency to deliver meaningful results for advertisers.”

The AdvertiseCast February 2023 Podcast Advertising Rates

The following rates, which are denoted as cost per thousand or CPM, are published monthly by Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast, the industry’s premier podcast advertising marketplace that connects advertisers with podcasters. The Company releases the figures to empower the podcaster and advertiser communities to readily monitor market pricing and provide greater insight into podcasting advertising as a monetization vehicle. The data is derived from actual sales data across AdvertiseCast’s network of over 2,900 shows, including more than 225 exclusive podcasts.

For February 2023, the average CPM rate was $22.04 for a 60-second ad spot. That figure is down approximately 1% compared to last month (January 2023 avg, CPM rate: $22.28) and has decreased year-over-year (February 2022 avg. CPM rate: $23.25).

“Although the podcast ad market remains resilient, we are seeing a couple factors pushing rates down for us,” said Hanley. “Given the market uncertainty, we are working aggressively with our agency and brand partners to offer them great value. In addition, our network has gone up market representing several larger podcasts, this carries natural rate compression, and those large audiences carry more weight in our calculations.”

The three highest CPM categories in February based on delivered advertising were:

Technology: $27

Education: $25

Kids & Family: $25

Moreover, three categories where advertisers can effectively tap into highly engaged audiences at more accessible CPM rates include Music, Leisure, and Fiction, which averaged around the low twenties in February.

Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast combines an industry-leading as buying and management platform with full-service capabilities that makes it easy for podcast advertisers to initiate and manage highly targeted and measurable campaigns, while providing maximum return for creators. Historical monthly CPM rates can be found on AdvertiseCast’s website at: www.advertisecast.com/podcast-advertising-rates.

Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast Signs Exclusive Ad Partnership With The Viall Files

~ Jen Thorpe

Liberated Syndication Inc. (“Libsyn”), the leading all-in-one podcasting platform for creators and advertisers, today announced an exclusive, multi-year advertising deal between AdvertiseCast, the industry’s premier podcast advertising marketplace that connects advertisers with podcasters and The Vial Files, an award-winning pop culture podcast hosted by Nick Viall – a TV personality, best-selling author, and former star of ABC’s ‘The Bachelor.’

The Viall Files will leverage AdvertiseCast’s full-service advertising platform, including Libsyn’s Automatic Ads solution to augment their host-read program with programmatic ad revenue and Libsyn Subscriptions to build listener membership for its subscription-based, ad-free content.

Launched in 2019, The Viall Files is a weekly multi-episode podcast that discusses relationships, pop culture, and provides real and unfiltered dating advice. It has amassed over 100 million downloads with an average of 5 million listens per month. The series was nominated for a People’s Choice Award in 2020 and voted one of the Top 10 Podcasts of 2019 by AP.

On Mondays, listeners call in to “Ask Nick” for advice on all aspects of their lives. On Tuesdays, during ‘The Bachelor/The Bachelorette’ seasons, Nick ands team recap each episode. And on Wednesdays, he has one-on one, in-depth conversations with a special celebrity, pop culture, or expert guest, in which the past have included Nikki Glaser, Justin Long, Jim Jeffries, Josh Peck, Meghan Trainer, Steve-O, January Jones, Taylor Lautner, Maria Menounos, Kelly Osbourne, Brian Baumgartner, and Chrishell Stause. They sometimes challenge the way he looks at the world – and no topic is off limits as Nick gets intimate taking inspiration, friendship, family, dating, and sex with his guests and audience.

“Nick has built an incredible team of podcast professionals who understand their listeners and embrace the underlying principles of both audience and revenue growth. Our sales team is ecstatic to represent The Viall Files and are already actively introducing new brand and agency partners to the show,” said Rick Selah, Senior Vice President, Content Partnerships, Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast.

“I’m elated to bring The Viall Files over to the razor-sharp team at Libsyn. We have some amazing things planned to continue growing The Viall Files into an undeniable media brand, and Libsyn has built an incredible home to expand and flourish under,” said Nick Viall, Creator, Producer, and Host, The Viall Files.

Libsyn’s AdvertiserCast empowers brands to effectively target and reach a fast growing and coveted podcast audience and helps creators to monetize their audio and video content. The marketplace combines an industry-leading ad buying and management platform with full-service capabilities that makes it easy for podcast advertisers to initiate and manage highly targeted and measurable campaigns, while providing maximum return for creators.

Libsyn’s Julep Expands Into Spain

~ Jen Thorpe

Julep Media GmbH (“Julep”), Germany’s largest independent platform for podcast advertising – a Liberated Syndication Inc. (“Libsyn”) company, announced its expansion into Spain with a localized version of its podcast platform and the appointment of two audio and sales experts to drive growth for the region. Based in Madrid, Madelón Lánchez (previously at LBK. Immersive Audio Productions, S.L.), will be responsible for Partner Management, and Javier Huertas, based in Barcelona (previously at TikTok and Httpool, where he was Spotify Partner Director), will serve as County Director, Spain.

Julep has been part of Libsyn, the leading U.S.-based all-in-one podcasting platform for creators and advertisers, since 2022. The acquisition bolstered Libsyn;s presence in international markets, enabling the company to become the global destination for creators looking to monetize and brands looking for exposure to the fast-growing media market. In addition to its core market of Germany, Julep is already active in Austria and Switzerland. Spain marks Julip’s fourth European territory, with continued international expansion for the Libsyn subsidiary expected this year.

New Roles for CEO Steffen Hopf and Vice President, Sales Maik Lenze

Effective immediately, Steffen Hopf and Maik Lenze are taking on added roles as a result of the expansion. In addition to his role as CEO of Julip, Steffen Hopf has been appointed Head of International at Libsyn and will focus on further growth across Europe. Maik Lenze, Vice President of Sales at Julep since July 2020, is also County Director for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, taking on primary responsibility for Sales and Podcast Artist Management in the D (“Germany”) A (“Austria”) and CH (“Switzerland”) region.

Steffen Hopf, CEO, Julep and Head of International, Libsyn, stated: “By entering the Spanish market, we are continuing to scale our growth internationally with the active support of our parent company, Libsyn. I am pleased to welcome Madelón Lánchez and Javier Huertas, two proven sales and audio experts in Spain, to our world-class team. I am also delighted that the operational development of our business in the DACH region will be led by Maik Lenze. I wish everyone great success in their new roles.”

About Liberated Syndication

Founded in 2004, 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 content. In 2021, the Company hosted over 75,000 shows with 5.8 million podcast episodes and delivered over 6 billion downloads to listeners globally. Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast marketplace combines an industry-leading ad buying and management platform with full-service capabilities that make it easy for podcast advertisers to initiate and manage highly targeted and measurable campaigns on over 3,000 shows.

Based in Munich, Germany, Libsyn’s Julep Media platform is the leading podcasting hosting platform and advertiser marketplace in Europe. Libsyn also powers podcast membership platform, Glow, and web hosting platform, Pair Networks.