New Features From Spotify
Two new facets have been unveiled on the podcasting side of Spotify this week. First up: Podnews reports the streamer is experimenting with automatically-generated transcripts and automated chapters, currently viewable on Accidental Tech Podcast. And on the Spotify for Podcasters dashboard, users can now see “Consumption Time” in their metrics for a given episode. For a full breakdown of how useful Listen Time is as a metric and how Spotify’s version can be used, see Dan Misener’s breakdown on Bumper.
RAJAR Data Release Q1 2024
A new infographic from RAJAR charts the listening habits of questionnaire respondents in the UK. 89% of the UK population tunes into radio on a weekly basis. On average a listener consumes 20.5 hours of live radio a week. On the podcasting side of audio, 33% of UK residents surveyed listen to podcasts at least once a month. [Source]
Publishers’ Q1 earnings show promise, but also room for improvement by Kayleigh Barber
Digiday charts the total Q1 revenue for Buzzfeed, Dotdash Meredith, Dow Jones, Gannett, and The New York Times. Four of the five saw digital advertising grow year-over-year. While 2024 numbers are largely more promising than 2023, they’ve yet to reach the highs of 2022. Subscriptions remain a strong income generator, with the NYT adding 210k net new digital subscribers over the quarter. A lot of that growth is attributed to bundle and multi-product subscribers. [Source]
…as for the rest of the news:
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Spooler has used generative AI to synthesize transcripts of the legendary Brown v. Board case, a landmark moment in civil rights in the U.S.
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AdWeek covers YouTube’s presence this Wednesday during an upfront session in New York.
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A new infographic from AdWeek tracks respondents’ preferences on different forms of media for different topics. Podcasting snags second place in both “Ideas and Inspiration” and “Instruction and practical advice.”
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The Media Leader covers Spotify’s presence at Advertising Week Europe, including the company’s ambition to make advertising at least 25% of its overall business model.
Research Database Snapshot
What it says: The latest ranking of top podcasts by average weekly downloads according to Triton Digital
What it means: Triton’s Podcast Metrics service measures participating publishers and is certified by the IAB Tech Lab
Why it’s cool: The top three shows for rank growth last month were all SiriusXM Media properties.
