The Winners and Losers From the Amazon-Roku Deal by Mark Stenberg
Last month Amazon and Roku entered into a partnership that enables buying Roku inventory on Amazon’s demand-side platform. Stenberg’s piece goes over various sections of the advertising industry impacted by the deal, such as more direct-to-consumer brands being able to scale into doing connected TV advertising. A recurring issue in the world of podcast advertising is one of reach, with advertisers wanting to buy large amounts of inventory in one spot. While Roku and Amazon were sizable in their own rights, this team-up makes them impossible to ignore for those who want reach.
Can a podcast GROW while downloads DECREASE? by Seth Silvers
Story On Media CEO/lead strategist Seth Silvers shares the evolution of a client that changed their upload behavior back in May. Story On’s finding was that the creator in question had burned out from grinding to release more episodes in a shorter period of time. In early May the show switched gears to release fewer episodes per month. While Bumper’s dashboard shows overall monthly downloads decreased 20 to 30%, playback percentages remain consistent and overall listen-time increased with the implementation of quality-over-quantity.
Spotify Jam comes to Android Auto so your whole car can DJ by Adamya Sharma
The Android Audio version of Spotify has been updated to include Spotify’s Jam feature, which acts as a collaborative music hub where passengers in a vehicle can connect with multiple devices to queue up songs and adjust volume. While the Android Auto version of Jams makes downloads a more easily-accessible section to promote pre-loading songs for drives through areas with poor reception, podcasts are not mentioned. Jam’s presence in car entertainment systems acts as a slight shift back towards car listen-time being more for music and less for podcast co-listening.
In a similar vein to AudioUK’s open letter to the U.K. government in June, YouTube has published a white paper called Creator Consultation that makes the argument for UK content creation to receive government recognition and support akin to the support given to other UK media industries. Recommendations include educational bodies developing a new accreditation system for modular training with courses for developing business, creative, and technical skills to address the lack of cross-training options for content creators, and HMRC developing a “Creator” category to better address the requirements and resources needed for content creators to navigate taxes.
As for the rest of the news…
- The Podcast Host has launched the Indie Podcasters’ Survey 2025, an anonymous survey of podcasters’ experiences in 2025, with entrants entered into a drawing to win $500 in audio gear from Lewitt.
- Ossa has launched a public product roadmap and the Ossa Product Council, a rotating cross-functional group of users from across the podcasting ecosystem.
- Bestselling author Gretchen Rubin has signed to Backyard Ventures, growing their developing newsletter portfolio with Rubin’s suite of publications.
- Mondo Metrics has brought on two new members with sports pedigree, with Chris Trader as their new Senior Analyst and Britt Deise as Expert In Residence.
- Silver Tribe Media has brought on NPR alum Neal Carruth as General Manager, expanding their business in areas like news, tech, and self-help.
- Spooler, in collaboration with Pantheon Media and the San Francisco Travel Association, has published an interactive podcast puzzle focusing on the Grateful Dead in celebration of the band’s 60th anniversary.
- Tubefilter has an article charting the growth of OpusClip over the past two years, and their Clip the Future contest with prizes ranging up to a 14” Macbook Pro, $5,000, and a creator masterclass with Nick Nimmin.
