A Podcast Milestone, AI Disclosure, & More
Before we get started, you should know that we here at Sounds Profitable have given Gavin a richly deserved week off, so you are stuck with the potentially cringeworthy work of me (Tom Webster) as I attempt to keep this ship on the rails. See? Mixed metaphor. Screwing up already. Anyway, the NEWS!
The Adam Carolla Show Podcast Celebrates 4000th Episode
I remember when Adam Carolla was doing The Man Show with Jimmy Kimmel, that’s how old they are (not me). Interestingly, when they left that show in 2003, they were replaced by another podcaster you might have heard of: Joe Rogan. Small world. This is a significant milestone, and one that deserves to be celebrated. If you have been podcasting for any length of time, you recognize the effort and commitment it takes to do any kind of entertainment medium week after week and keep it fresh. PodcastOne’s release notes that Carolla’s show is believed to be one of the only podcasts in the world to hit that number. Congratulations, Adam!
As AI Podcasts Emerge, Advertisers Need Disclosure Now
In the wake of the recent Hollywood Reporter article about Inception Point AI’s venture to produce AI-generated podcast content, podcast agency Adopter Media has called for creators and publishers to disclose when the majority of a podcast has been AI-generated, in the same way that they have to tick a box for explicit content. The key issue, according to the article, is transparency. Without proper disclosure and controls, the author argues, AI-generated content risks damaging the credibility of the entire podcast advertising ecosystem. One thing is for sure, the platforms themselves are keenly aware of these issues: Spotify has been booting AI-generated music from its platform for years, and YouTube already has a checkbox for this kind of disclosure.
In A World of Endless Distractions, Music Demands Attention
On the surface, this article by Laura Devis in The Media Leader is about music, but read on and you’ll see the implications for podcasting. Devis points out how much the music in an advertisement does the “heavy lifting” for the ad not only by being recognizable, but also because it can be a shortcut for an emotion. She notes the power of Cadbury’s famous “gorilla” ad for its use of “In The Air Tonight” as a way to quickly conjure a feeling. I’d throw in how many times TV shows have used Jeff Buckley’s cover of “Hallelujah” in lieu of writing dialogue during an emotionally charged scene. We might not all be able to use Pearl Jam like Bill Simmons, but sonic branding continues to be an underexplored opportunity for podcasting. It’s always worth digging a little deeper for just the right emotional “hook” to consistently brand your show with.
As for the rest of the news…
- PRX announces Dovetail Spots, a new feature that will enable podcasters on Dovetail to seamlessly request and trade promotional spots or custom messages with other podcasts distributed via the platform.
- NumberEight signs a new podcast partnership with DAX US that maps DAX US inventory to “Interest-Based Affinity Audiences” defined by passions, life stages, and cultural moments.
- Podscribe announces new engagement, attribution, and security features, including updates to provide show-level engagement scores, vanity URL tracking, and a tab to track advertiser spend by publisher.
- Italy’s Podcasting Festival returns for its tenth year.
- And The Motley Fool debates which stock to buy right now: Spotify, or Sirius XM?
