Today in the Business of Podcasting
Gen Zers can recognize brands based solely on ‘sonic memes,’ report says by Alyssa Meyers
A new report from sonic branding agency amp finds members of Gen Z are able to identify brands based on sound alone. 75 members of gen Z were gathered to listen to a handful of sounds associated with brands and identify them, including branded sounds often used in TikTok memes like the iconic Windows Xp startup sound and Burger King’s Whopper Whopper song. 84% of respondents recognized the viral sounds, while 54% were able to identify the company without a list of options. 25% were able to do the same with branded sounds that hadn’t achieved virality. If a company’s sonic branding is strong enough, audiences might just do the marketing work for them by immortalizing it as a meme. [Source]
Are my podcast downloads declining because of iOS 17? by Dan Misener
Recent changes to auto-download behavior in Apple Podcasts with the iOS 17 update means fewer downloads for some. Misener lists three interconnected questions to ask and details how to answer them: are my podcast downloads declining in Apple Podcasts, is the size of my audience declining, and how many downloads does my average Apple Podcasts listener generate? With these three answered, a podcaster can gain a broader view of their Apple audience. Fewer downloads as more adopt iOS17 doesn’t necessarily mean the audience is shrinking. As Misener says: downloads aren’t people. [Source]
The Smartest Decision Spotify Has Made In Years by Eric Nuzum
Recently Spotify revamped their audiobook offerings to include fifteen hours of audiobook listen-time with the standard Spotify Premium subscription. Nuzum argues this is a shot in the arm both for audiobooks as an industry and Spotify. According to Wordsrated data on listener habits, the average audiobook consumer listens to 8 audiobooks a year. While the die-hard existing audiobook fans will find 15 hours a month constraining, new and light users now have the ability to casually listen without the constraints of pre-buying the book with cash or a credit-based system. A potential Kindle Unlimited-ification of audiobooks has the potential to bring more people to the medium and drive innovation. [Source]
For all its gains, podcasting still in early catch-up (IAB part 2) by Brad Hill
Last week the IAB released the mid-cycle supplement to their annual podcast advertising revenue report. As covered last week, this iteration of the report finds programmatic podcast advertising is growing but at a slower rate than the wide Digital market. Show-specific buying remains the top form of buying, unlike other mediums that prefer audience-based buying. Video podcasting is still less than 10% of overall revenue. Which leads to three takeaways from the IAB: scale programmatic, pivot to audience-buying, and expand to video. [Source]
As for the rest of the news… Digiday covers why Cirque du Soleil is leaning into influencer marketing (including a branded podcast from JAR Audio), a new forecast predicts TV ad viewership could fall 24% by 2027, and The New York Times’ Joy Robins appears on the Digiday podcast to discuss ad business, including the NYT returning to programmatic now that the industry has matured and given the company renewed confidence in the tools.
Research Database Snapshot
What it says: Nearly 3 in 10 kids 6-12 listened to a podcast in the last month.
What it means: Kids podcasting has a tremendous upside – 42% of Americans 12+ are monthly listeners.
Why it’s cool: It’s notoriously difficult to do quality kids research, especially with kids themselves, so is is important data to benchmark.
