RAIN: Radio, Audio, and Internet Newsletter

05/04/2022

REGISTER FREE: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WayLPlJ5RZSxfBIhrqAB5w
Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour, a top-30 podcast and leading NPR radio show. She has charted an unusual course through pro audio since 2011, moving from the security of a network content creator to startup entrepreneurship, then back to being a network star. We talk about risk, reward, uncertainty, and resourcefulness.

22/02/2022

On this week's Podcast Business Lunch: Kerri Hoffman, CEO of PRX. She has deep thoughts about audio, and a great sense of humor. Grab a sandwich and join us. 12noon ET Wednesday. Register now! Just takes a minute. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_etVOZtyVTlG68gYeGAU8Ow

11/02/2022

Did you miss lunch? (Podcast Business Lunch, that is.) Catch up here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHe83712ubE&t=2s

Mike Carruthers, creator and host of "Something You Should Know," a top-10 Apple charting podcast that started as a radio show in the 1980s. Fascinating hist...

07/02/2022

Join the RAIN Podcast Business Lunch on Wednesday 12noon for a fascinating conversation with Mike Carruthers, creator and host of "Something You Should Know." Did you know Mike started that show 28 years ago, and has produced over 8,000 episodes? Join us for a fun, chat-enabled conversation. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_76bYhTYgTfKb64jOfHNn4w

01/02/2022

The RAIN Podcast Business Lunch -- a new series starting Wednesday! Conversations with leaders in podcasting., starting with Tom Webster from Edison Research. Don't miss it -- Register now! It's free!
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_176Mqk9QRzWFSVFM77-yXg

24/06/2021

We compare Magellan AI's top podcast advertisers for April-May. As with podcasts themselves, the top ranked don't change much.


https://rainnews.com/betterhelp-continues-to-lead-magellan-ai-podcast-advertiser-list-we-compare-month-over-month-repeats/

If podcast rankers reveal stagnation at the top levels of popularity (they do), Magellan AI's monthly ranking of top advertisers shows the same characteristic. Looking at the just-released list of top 15 spenders in May, and comparing it to April, we see the same top five advertisers: BetterHelp, He...

21/06/2021

Facebook belatedly joins the audio age today … but just barely. The company is simultaneously launching Facebook Podcasts and the new Audio Rooms product. Click through for descriptions, details, and speculations. https://rainnews.com/facebook-expands-into-audio-and-video-rooms-and-podcasts/

17/05/2021

"Dying for S*x" wins Ambies Podcast of the Year; 23 category awards bestowed. Wwe count "top" networks. https://rainnews.com/dying-for-sex-wins-ambies-podcast-of-the-year-23-category-awards-bestowed-we-count-top-networks/

16/02/2021

UK-centered media and technology company Global has acquires nearly 9% of iHeartMedia, the largest American commercial radio group and top podcast publisher. We speculate a brewing battle of buyers.
https://rainnews.com/global-buys-into-iheartmedia-8-8/

05/02/2021

"2020 was the year none of us could have imagined," New York Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien said. Podcasting delivered $36M in revenue to the Times, up from $7M in 2019. "We expect podcast revenue growth to be strong into 2021," she predicted.

"2020 was the year none of us could have imagined," New York Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien said, and noted "an unending hunger for relief from it all." Some business relief came from the NYT's podcast performance -- that unit delivered $36M in revenue, up from $7M in 2019. ""We…

04/02/2021

Context & quotes from Spotify's earnings call. Radio is the "eye on the prize." Podcast investments will continue.

Much, but not all, of the conversation in Spotify's earnings call yesterday was about podcasting and the company's investments. CEO Daniel Ek also articulated the company's main strategic thrust.   "The primary opportunity, as we think about the long-term is in the linear radio experience by moving...

25/01/2021

Generous exchange & return policies hurt authors, publishers, and narrators. Amazon made changes. Are they enough? https://rainnews.com/audible-makes-changes-to-its-maligned-audiobook-royalty-rules/

When was the last time you returned a book you purchased? If it was an audiobook you bought in Amazon-owned Audible, you might have benefited from a relaxed and encouraging returns policy which allows a listener to trade one audiobook for another within a year from purchase. Great for customers;…

16/09/2020

Amazon Music Podcasts has launched. Our first-look review. Lots of screenshots.
https://rainnews.com/amazon-music-podcasts-launches-first-review/

Amazon Music has launched its expected Podcasts listening section. It is straightforward, cleanly presented, and unconcerned with innovation. (That last point not necessarily a bad thing for a mass-market platform.) We cruised through the mobile and web version of the new platform. Click through for...

16/08/2020

Latest episode of Pod Drop!
https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=15616130

Three new podcasts to check out! Literally! With Rob Lowe - A-list celebrity chat The Carlos Watson Show - Expert interviews with public figures The Syndicate - Incredible student-run black-market ma*****na

10/07/2020

Latest episode of Pod Drop, the most highly produced 5-minute podcast you'll ever hear. A flash briefing of new podcasts. Episode 12 - Unfinished Deep South, Consider This, The Gratitude Diaries.

APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pod-drop/id1516118983
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/0kcbPqrwGhfc88Qv1bhDoU?si=dVlBWFrpSYuZtARotQwOUA
GOOGLE: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9wb2Rkcm9wLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz?ved=0CBIQ27cFahcKEwiovITt27HqAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQBw

18/06/2020

New episode of Pod Drop from RAIN News. Five minutes, three new podcasts reviewed!
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/poddrop/Pod_Drop_ep9.mp3

Three (very different!) new podcasts! Live! From Tomorrow - A show within a show, serious and frivolous My Funeral Home Stories - Is this the True Death genre? RomComPods - Fun escapist romantic comedy fiction

11/06/2020

Episode 8 of RAIN's Pod Drop podcast -- a flash review of new podcasts. Listen now. Five minutes, three new podcasts, excerpts and atmosphere of each one. Hosted by RAIN president Brad Hill.
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pod-drop/id1516118983
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0kcbPqrwGhfc88Qv1bhDoU?si=dVlBWFrpSYuZtARotQwOUA

07/03/2020

The 4th Annual RAIN Podcast Business Summit is in the books!