Sounds Profitable

Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting: Edward Fuller writes about how to take full advantage of the podcast-heavy SXSW sessions this year, why NPR's Collin Campbell sees opportunity after a turbulent 2023, marketers are underinvesting in radio brand campaigns, and more.

Find links to everything covered in today's episode, as well as the full write-up, here.

Here's what you need to know from today in the business of podcasting. Spreaker introduces new Supporters Club, Quill publishes 2024 Marketing Trends Report, Spotify embraces French podcasting, Business Insider looks at ad load on video streamers, and Adelicious' Andrew Goldsmith talks about the importance of targeting 50+ demographics.

For links to all stories covered, check out the full writeup on Sounds Profitable.

This week in the business of podcasting we collected all of the revelant news for podcasting in the world of Super Bowl advertising, branded content was on the rise as new ad product growth in 2023, and the subtle key to podcasting's persuasiveness. Find all of the links to articles discussed and original reporting done by The Download in the website version of today's episode, which can be found here.

Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting:

Analysis Shows How Important Digital Audio Is Becoming For Retailers
Pepsi sat out the Super Bowl broadcast this year. That’s because it was everywhere else by Alyssa Meyers
Sports Podcasts Have Best Video Opportunity Survey Finds.
The Creator Economy: Boom Not Bust by Ross Adams

…as for the rest of the news: a new hub for the next generation of audio journalists in Canada has launched, Veritonic has launched the self-serve Brand Lift Pulse, Audiohook has announced partnership with Sounder to enable episode-level contextual targeting for podcast ads, and AdsWizz has announced the launch of synthetic voice ads on AudioGO.

Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting:

Most B2B content marketers have trouble creating the right content for their audience by Meaghan Yuen
The Value of Measuring the Upper Funnel for Podcast Ads by Paul Riismandel
The Top 50 Podcasts in the U.S. for Q4 2023 from Edison Podcast Metrics

…as for the rest of the news: Meghan Markle has signed with Lemonada to distribute the royal couple’s Archetypes podcast plus develop a new podcast, and Business Insider takes a look into how MrBallen became a true crime podcast empire.

Miles of article inches have been written about podcasting’s persuasiveness, but NPR’s Body Electric takes audience engagement to a new, physical level.

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

Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting:

Podcast Consumers Engage With Social Media And Listen To Episodes Within A Day Of Release by Lauren Vetrano
Most publishers grew their ad offerings last year, with a focus on branded content
Authentic Multicultural Narratives Create True Diversity in Audio Advertising by Antonio Francisco Lewis
Subscriptions, Not an Endangered Species
SiriusXM to Lay Off 160 Employees, About 3% of Workforce

Research Database Snapshot

Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting:

Acast expects short-term impact on listens from Apple update by Ella Sagar
This Year’s Super Bowl Is All About Reaching Gen Z by Alyssa Boyle
Slate reports best year by Max Tani
Perfection Thwarting Progress: Response to IAB Tech Lab's Missive on Google's Privacy Sandbox By Catherine Perloff

Here's what you need to know for this week in the business of podcasting:

The following stories feature reporting specifically by The Download:

How Much Podcasting Does a 30 Second Super Bowl Spot Buy?
Accreditation for Black-Owned Publishers in Podcasting
The Trade Desk to Lowball SSP Price Floors
Brand Marketing Grows, Performance Shrinks in WARC Data

And also from The Ankler: YouTube’s Place in Streaming

Quick Hits:

Reintroducing Podcasting by Tom Webster. The upcoming Sound Summit at SXSW, an official day for podcasting, will act as a way for podcasting to re-introduce itself to brands and agencies that might’ve only last encountered podcasting in its adtech infancy.
Spotify Reports Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings. Paid subscribers are up, raising one million over guidance numbers. The company expects their podcasting arm to turn a profit by the end of the year.
Podcast benchmarking: How did your downloads compare in 2023? By Sharon Taylor. The benchmarks present what count as ‘good’ download numbers for ap podcast, divided into percentiles.
The Art of Podcasting with Joe Rogan and His New Multiyear Spotify Partnership. The Joe Rogan Experience has renewed its contract with Spotify for hosting and distribution, but the former exclusive has now returned to open RSS distribution.

Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting:

The Trade Desk Plans To Lowball SSP Floor Prices
Podcast benchmarking: How did your downloads compare in 2023? By Sharon Taylor
The New York Times expects ad revenue to continue to decline in 2024 by Sara Guaglione
Warner Music to Cut 600 Positions or 10% of Staff by Ashely Carman