In just two weeks Part 2 of The Advertising Landscape, focusing on Attention and Trust, will debut in a free webinar with Tom Webster. Registration is open now for the presentation looking into why podcast listeners actually pay attention to ads and why they trust brands they hear about on their favorite podcasts. Attendees will also be the first to receive the new report direct to their email inbox. Sign up now!
International Listenership Reports
This week several different reports on audio performance around the world have been released, let’s go through a few! First up we start in Australia with Digital audio revenue soars as broadcast radio remains flat by Nathan Jolly. Commercial Radio & Audio has published a new report using data compiled by analytics firm Milton Data, which covers ad revenue for ARN, SCA, Nova Entertainment, Nine and several smaller Australian outfits.
According to the report, Australian commercial radio networks hit $262.1 million AUD in Q1, a 1.2% year-over-year increase. They also have seen their digital audio revenue increase 32.7% year-over-year. The sector, which includes streaming, online radio, and podcasting, reached $22.9 million AUD in Q1.
Next, onto the UK. Thursday at Podcast Show London featured a bushelful of new data on how UK audiences are listening. Ofcom has published Audio listening in the UK 2025. Key findings include one fifth of the time spent listening to audio in cars is now used on music streaming services and podcasts. Over a fifth of UK adults listen to podcasts on a weekly basis, with Spotify being the most widely-used platform for listening. BBC Sounds takes up second place, though YouTube and Spotify outrank it when respondents were asked to list services they use “most often.”
Meanwhile Edison Research also debuted The Infinite Dial UK 2025 this morning. 66% of those aged 16+ in the UK have ever listened to a podcast (33 million people), a 59% increase from 2021. As AdWizz regional director, UK & Ireland, Ollie Chadwick says: podcasting is no longer emerging, it has arrived.
Spotify iOS users can now buy audiobooks directly from the app by Anna Washenko
Apple has approved a new app update for Spotify, allowing users in the U.S. to see the cash price of individual audiobooks and buy ‘top up’ hours for audiobook listening if they want more than the 15 listen-hours included with Spotify Premium by default. This brings Spotify back closer to the original plan for direct-purchase audiobooks back in 2022, which was cancelled in lieu of the current listen-hour system due to Apple restrictions on payment processing and a ban on directing app users to go purchase things on a website outside of Apple’s ecosystem.
Now, with the Epic Games v. Apple court ruling in favor of Epic Games, direct purchases within Spotify iOS can use external payment methods beyond the one subject to Apple fees. Thanks to some help from an iOS-using Sounds Profitable member (thanks, Lauren!) we can also confirm Spotify on iOS redirects to a payment page outside the app whenever users sign up for a premium podcast subscription.
Amazon Joins the Prebid Party With Its Own Adapter by Andrew Byrd
On Wednesday Amazon Publisher Services announced they have added a Prebid adapter that will allow publishers to connect APS to existing Prebid integrations. With such a big player in the advertising space hopping on board, this further cements Prebid’s place in becoming an industry standard. Now instead of publishers needing fragmented solutions, they’re able to integrate Amazon demand into an open-source framework. In a world where Google built their own alternative to open bidding, someone with Amazon’s clout siding with the open source option is a good step forward for normalizing industry standards and open source solutions.
Finally, it’s time for our Quick Hits. These are articles that didn’t quite make the cut for today’s episode, but are still worth including in your weekend reading. This week:
- This week Bryan Barletta interviewed Emi Norris, Head of Spoken Word Operations at Amazon Music, about the ongoing Amazon campaign running podcast ads on a digital billboard in Times Square.
- After a year of development – the LA Times Studios has debuted L.A. Crimes, a new true crime podcast hosted by Madison McGhee that interviews Los Angeles Times reporters, crime experts, and pop culture personalities about headline-grabbing crime cases.
- Podglomerate SVP of Marketing and Audience Development Joni Deutsch and podcast critic Alice Florence Orr are teaming up on June 12th at 2 p.m. EST for the free webinar How to Get your Podcast Reviewed by the Media.
- Apple Podcasts Manger – Middle East, Turkey, India & Africa, Rami Boraie, announced on LinkedIn that Apple Podcasts for Creators now has a new section of their site dedicated to templates, guides, and marketing materials designed to enable podcasters to present their shows as well as possible in Apple Podcasts.
- Podcast tech startup Listener.com has officially launched, following their acquisition of Podkit. The tech startup consolidates performance metrics across major podcast platforms (Spotify, YouTube, Apple) as well as social media platforms to give podcasters a view of their reach in a unified dashboard.
- Predictive analytics platform Flightpath launched their predictive video suite tomorrow during Podcast Show London, providing analysis and reach projections based on how audiences consume and behave online across properties.
- Sundaze PR has appointed former Acast Marketing and PR Director Molly DeMellier as Chief Operating Officer, along with founder Sarah Jackson serving as CEO.
