Sounds Profitable

Today in the business of podcasting:

• Audion and YouGov’s new study of 1,000 French adults finds YouTube is the top listening platform in France at 61%, ahead of Spotify at 38%. Most listeners use more than one platform, and 66% often or sometimes use a video platform to listen without watching.
• Creative Screenwriting talks with QCODE and Daylight Media’s Shiva Nassab about adapting podcasts for film and TV. QCODE favors horror, thriller and sci-fi, and wants ongoing shows that can run past season one.
• Flightcast launches automated YouTube-to-Spotify distribution for $100 per month. Creators can send individual videos, playlists or a whole catalog to Spotify, and future uploads syndicate automatically.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today’s episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download’s newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Today in the business of podcasting:

• SiriusXM’s CFO cited 20% growth in podcast advertising revenue on the Q3 earnings call, while ad revenue in the Pandora and Off-Platform segment grew 1% to $419 million. Forbes reports the company has kept its shows on YouTube and other ad-supported platforms rather than signing slate deals with streamers.
• Scalable’s Kaya Yurieff and Jasmine Enberg call the 2026 midterms an “everything election,” arguing no single channel, including podcasts, will define it. Sounds Profitable’s The Podcast Landscape 2026 finds 26% of likely voters who consume podcasts weekly say a candidate’s appearance could make them more likely to vote for that candidate.
• PodcastOne says multiple strategic parties have approached it about a potential acquisition, and its board has formed a special committee to oversee the process. Podnews reports shares rose around 50% on the news.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today’s episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download’s newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

This week in the business of podcasting:

• Sounds Profitable, Coleman Insights, and Locked On are hosting a webinar on November 5 at 2pm ET, “The Power of Community: Why Podcasts Matter.” It presents new research among 2,000 Americans on how podcasts build connections with listeners.
• Tom Webster shares survey findings from 5,473 U.S. adults on whether audiences would watch an AI-generated show. Among people who lost a favorite show, 45% would at least somewhat likely watch a new AI season, 41% would not, and views on AI hosts predicted the answer best.
• The Small Business Administration now classifies creator-led businesses, podcasters included, under NAICS 5121. That could make it easier for creators to access microloans up to $50,000 and 7(a) loans up to $5 million.
• Beehiiv now offers dynamically inserted podcast ads. Publishers can open their inventory, including back catalog episodes, to programmatic buyers alongside host-read ads, and keep 50% to 60% of programmatic revenue.
• Tenderfoot TV turned a Radio Rental story into a stop-motion LEGO-style short film on YouTube. Apple Podcasts launched “The Greatest Stories Never Seen,” four animated videos built from podcast audio.

To find links to these, and every article covered in this week’s episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download’s newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Today in the business of podcasting:

• Tom Webster shares new Sounds Profitable research from a survey of 5,473 Americans on whether people would watch an AI-generated revival of a canceled favorite show. The split is nearly even, at 45% likely and 41% unlikely, and views on AI hosts predict the answer best.
• RAJAR now measures both listening to and watching podcasts in the U.K., putting total weekly podcast consumption at 35% of the population, up from 26.9% for listening alone.
• Triton Digital completes what it calls the first fully automated, AI-to-AI audio ad buy, with agents negotiating and booking a campaign in minutes instead of days.
• Digiday looks at how political campaigns are hiring creators ahead of the midterms, with AdImpact expecting $12 billion in total spending.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today’s episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download’s newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Today in the business of podcasting:

• Sounds Profitable, Coleman Insights and Locked On Podcast Network host a November 5 webinar on new research showing how podcasts build community, including that 43% of Americans surveyed have taken a podcast-related community action.
• Apple’s Safari 27 now blocks identity-resolution vendors including Unified ID 2.0, LiveRamp and ID5, and early data shows effective CPMs down 4% on iOS and 11% on Mac.
• Beehiiv adds dynamic ad insertion for podcasts through AdsWizz, with publishers keeping 50% to 60% of programmatic revenue.
• Acast reports record Q3 net sales of SEK 802.3m, up 25%, with North America up 54% and listen-and-view monetization up 20%.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today’s episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download’s newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Today in the business of podcasting:

• Instagram is testing Features, a new tool for horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long, aimed at podcasters, comedians and other long-form creators. It lets Reels link to full videos and recommends them on Explore.
• Former Apple Podcasts executive Steve Wilson joins Netflix to lead podcast content acquisition, starting as a consultant. The hire comes as Netflix cuts about 6% of its workforce.
• Supporting Cast data across six partners shows members who use their audio benefits churn at 1.3% a month, compared with 3% for those who don’t. The gap adds up to roughly $82,000 in revenue per 1,000 members over three years.
• Nearly 60% of Americans get news from social media, but creators say monetizing it is hard. Brand safety concerns and unpredictable platforms leave most of them preferring subscriptions to ads.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today’s episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download’s newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Today in the business of podcasting:

• Tenderfoot TV turned a Radio Rental episode into a LEGO-inspired stop-motion short on YouTube, while Apple Podcasts launched The Greatest Stories Never Seen, four animated videos built from podcast audio. Both pair original audio with new animation instead of filming hosts at a desk.
• The U.S. Small Business Administration now classifies creator-led businesses, podcasters included, under NAICS 5121. The agency says the classification covers 27 million creator-led businesses, and public comments are open through November 20.
• YouTube hit a record 15.8% of U.S. TV viewing in August, with adults 50 and older up 9%. That strengthens Google’s pitch for TV ad budgets and puts pressure on networks to defend their rates.
• Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert fell out of Edison Research’s top 50 U.S. podcasts, a sign that shows with a stronger YouTube presence are rising over shows built on legacy podcast apps.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today’s episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download’s newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

This week in the business of podcasting:

• Right Side Up and Sounds Profitable host a free October 28 webinar on how AI use and discovery affect podcast ad budgets, drawing on The Podcast Landscape 2026 research.
• Tom Webster breaks down the Super Spenders report, finding that the 11% of podcast consumers who spend $300 or more account for roughly 62% of recalled podcast-driven spending.
• Spotify launches Memberships, letting creators keep 90% of earnings from paid fans, while YMH Studios explains why 12 of its comedy shows launched on day one.
• Bumper releases a free tool for sharing YouTube engaged views with advertisers, after YouTube’s change to how it counts a view nearly doubled views for the average podcast.
• AudioStack argues podcast buying has outpaced podcast creative and makes the case for dynamic creative matched to each episode’s content.

To find links to these, and every article covered in this week’s episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download’s newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Today in the business of podcasting:

• Tom Webster breaks down the new Super Spenders report, finding that the 11% of podcast consumers who spend $300 or more account for roughly 62% of recalled podcast-driven spending, and why they use more platforms and genres than other listeners.
• Podscribe and ART19 launch an integration that makes baked-in host-read ads measurable in HLS-delivered podcast episodes, with Daylight Media the first publisher live.
• Spotify’s Memberships launch, as YMH Studios’ Alan Abdine explains why 12 of its 35 comedy shows are offering paid memberships on day one.
• AudioStack argues podcast buying has outpaced podcast creative and makes the case for dynamic creative that matches each episode’s content.
• The Walrus will launch a Canadian podcast network in spring 2027, hosted on Acast with revenue shared with creators.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today’s episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download’s newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Today in the business of podcasting:

• Signal Hill Insights’ Demos+ study of more than 3,000 monthly US podcast consumers finds the audience now skews Independent at 39%, with Democrats at 33% and Republicans at 29%, ahead of the 2026 midterms.
• Substack is adding dynamic ad insertion to the podcasts it hosts, with early access opening this week, and Sounds Profitable’s Bryan Barletta tells Adweek buyers will want more detail on attribution partners, DSPs, and analytics.
• Point-To-Point Marketing’s Podcast Study 2026 of 1,205 US podcast consumers finds 74% listen to local radio weekly, and 47% of daily radio listeners say host-read ads strongly influence them to try or buy.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today’s episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download’s newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.