Sounds Profitable

Articles covered: Breakdown of FTC Endorsement GuidelinesYouTube Tests Crackdown On Ad BlockersThis LinkedIn article could have been a video podcast.
Quick Hits: Spotify hits the 100,000 mark for video podcasts MediaMath Files For Bankruptcy, Owes Hundreds Of Millions.mowPod Supercharges Self-Serve Platform with AI-Powered Ad Copy and Precision Targeting

Articles covered: The Podcast OpportunitySXM Shuts down StitcherFilm and TV have collapsed over the last decade.Quick HitsLong Read- Podcasts, a hot advertising medium by Ruby Derrick ThePodcastHost.com Publishes ‘IndiePod Manifesto’ Off the Back of Independent Podcaster Census DataAcast Unlocks Largest Self-Serve Marketplace of Podcast Influencers For Media Buyers

With the upcoming release of Sounds Profitable’s study The Podcast Opportunity, Tom reflects on the idea of podcasting being considered ‘neither fish nor fowl’ in the advertising world. Credits:

Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

Articles covered:
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Registration is open for next week’s Sounds Profitable webinar for the upcoming study The Podcast Opportunity: Buyer Perceptions of Podcast Advertising. The presentation is on June 28th at 3p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The new study uncovers the latest thinking from buyers on the current state of podcasts advertising, and the strengths and weaknesses of buying the medium. 

In a bonus video from this week’s Product Deepdive, Podscibe’s Amelia Coomber demonstrates a new tool in the platform that uses ChatGPT, trained with the GARM framework, to generate a risk assessment for the podcast. The content rating system generates a visualization that shows what content is flagged, an automatic summary of what was said, and timestamps to check out the offending content directly. 

Streaming Audio and YouTube Measurement now offered in Magellan AI. As of last week, Magellan AI supports the measurement of streaming audio campaigns, as well as podcasts. Advertisers can now confirm impression delivery by channel and measure ad performance through custom KPIs. Magellan also launched the ability to measure YouTube impact. 

Acast launches new tech integrating publishers’ paywalls with podcast platforms. The tech, dubbed Acast+ Access, will enable paywalled news outlets to produce podcasts that are siloed and only accessible to those who pay for the site’s premium subscription.

Ausha Launches Ausha PRO, a new sub-brand dedicated for Branded Podcasts. Ausha PRO includes the features of Ausha with the added benefits of enhanced support, advanced customization of promotional materials, multi-user access for collaborative management, and platform configuration performed in-house by Ausha staff. 

This week, Tom looks at some recent data on popular podcast genres from Pew in light of Spotify parting ways with Meghan and Harry and their podcast Archetypes. What can we learn from the past about the future of celebrity podcasting? Credits:

Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

This week's stories: Podcast listeners well disposed to political ads (Veritonic)Let’s Think about Podcast Consumers, Not Just ListenersCan A Million Ads Simplify Hyperlocal Audio Ads By Creating Even More Of Them?Partner Events: “Demystifying Brand Lift: Measuring How Audio Ad Campaigns Resonate with Listeners.” “How Creative Testing Drives Success in Audio.”“The Podcast Opportunity: Buyer Perceptions of Podcast Advertising”Quick Hits:

What AI Will Never be Able to Do That People Can by Scott Klass. With AI discourse focusing on the hypotheticals of replacing on-air talent, SoundStack CMO Klass addresses the need for a human experience in the customer service side of advertising. 

Is the podcast bubble starting to burst? by Nick Bonyhady. A look at podcasting’s listener growth (and recent lack thereof) in Australia, showing there’s less of a balloon and more of a new normal catching up to the statistical anomaly of the surge in new podcasts spurred by pandemic.

Podsights goes free-to-use and rebrands as Spotify Ad Analytics by Reem Makari. Rebranded to Spotify Ad Analytics, the platform offers free pixel tracking and has expanded to more countries. Brand lift studies are still Spotify app only, but are included for free with campaigns that meet a minimum spend and reach threshold. 

Podscribe Launches Automated Ad Scoring The new tool, powered by ChatGPT, automatically grades the quality of ad reads on a scale of 1 to 10 using criteria like how clearly the product was endorsed, and how personalized the recommendation was.

Narrativ Launches Mobile App Open Beta. Generative AI startup Narrativ generates audio versions of news articles and monetizes via audio ads. The mobile app currently hosts content from several collegiate newspapers and will soon incorporate national news and Associated Press articles.

Programmatic ad placement has been stuck on the waterfall for long enough. It’s time to lay the foundation for Header Bidding in podcasting.

Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

Articles covered: Spotify to Slash Podcast Workforce, Combine Parcast and Gimlet Studios in New Round of Cuts“How Do We Pivot?”: Podcasting Turns to M&A and Cost-CuttingWhy advertisers are reconsidering keyword blocklists as brand safety approaches to hard newsGrowing Up with Podcasts: The Gen Z Podcast Listener ReportThe State of Audio Technology ReportIs YouTube Eating Podcasts? Cumulus Media And Signal Hill Insights’ Podcast Download – Spring 2023 ReportHot Pod coverage of audiobook surveys.Quick Hits

iOS 17: What’s new for Apple Podcasts. During the 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced upcoming changes in iOS 17 that will impact Apple Podcasts. Search filters, episode art, and a new listening experience are among the new features. Developers currently have access to a beta, while public beta testing is slated for later this month. 

Podcasting’s Biggest Opportunity by Tom Webster. Podcasting is becoming more competitive and less collegial every year. Is that a good thing, a bad thing, or just inevitable? Tom Webster suggests there is still an important job we all need to collaborate on first. 

Triton Audio Marketplace Expands Basis Technologies Partnership to Support Advertising Across Digital and Broadcast Radio Segments. The new arrangement aims to enable marketers to streamline and consolidate content across all audio segments (podcasting, streaming, and terrestrial broadcast radio) via the Triton Audio Marketplace. 

Canadian Branded Podcast Agency Seeks Bad Reviews for its New Show. JAR Audio’s new ‘tell all’ about the branded podcast industry, pitched as part advice column and part sketch comedy, is asking be ruthlessly critical of the show during its upcoming launch window. 

Podcasting is becoming more competitive and less collegial every year. Is that a good thing, a bad thing, or just inevitable? Tom Webster suggests there is still an important job we all need to collaborate on first. Credits:

Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

This week on the Download: Why podcasters are selling subscriptions through third-party vendorsFuture of TV Briefing: CTV continues to be a black box to programmatic marketersPublishers large and small put their resources into first-party data - Digiday ResearchAustralian digital audio ad spend climbs to $51.9 millionQuick Hits: The Podscape, a collaborative effort between Magellan AI and Sounds Profitable, will be publishing a new edition this summer! In the interest of making this snapshot of the podcasting industry as accurate as possible the Podscape is putting out an open call: Is your company missing from the current edition? Notice something we omitted? Submit Updates HerePeabody-Nominated Content Studio Project Brazen Launches Platform for “Fearless Storytelling” by Alex Ritman. The new content platform features a special focus on journalism “that reveals hidden aspects of the world around us.”