Audio and retail are getting in tune with one another by Travis Clark
Industry experts interviewed by The Current agree that retail media networks could be a driver for programmatic audio as the next essential advertising channel. Currently, RMNs and audio platforms are beginning to find a symbiotic relationship. CTV (connected television) might be the current frontrunner for RMNs, but A Million Ads global CRO Paul Kelly says audio enables retailers to deliver an audience-centric experience, focusing not just on who the audience is but also where they are in the life cycle of the purchase. [Source]
Advertisers sue Meta for allegedly inflating ad viewership in $7 billion lawsuit by Nicola Agius
The suit claims Meta exaggerated ad viewership figures by up to 400%, leading advertisers to pay inflated premiums for ad placements on Meta-owned platforms. Advertisers involved in the suit say Meta used a “Potential Reach” metric to determine advertising costs, which uses the total number of social media accounts rather than individual users. Plaintiffs argue Potential Reach could easily include bots or fake accounts that inflate numbers. Meta denies the allegations and says Potential Reach is not used for pricing. As the advertising industry currently stands, walled garden metrics are not held to the same standards as open metrics, like podcasting. [Source]
Lex Fridman’s Podcasts Give Tech CEOs a Friendly Place for PR by Ellen Huet
Podcaster Lex Fridman has become a key podcaster for tech CEOs over the past few years, recording longform interviews with tech execs. Previous guests include OpenAI CEo Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and even celebrities like Kanye West and Joe Rogan. The appeal of podcasts like Fridman’s is clear, effectively replicating the same environment of a branded podcast. Both allow higher-ups within an organization to appear before the company’s most diehard fans without the heat of a press conference or stress of a live stream. [Source]
Insights From Leaders At The Top by Steven Goldstein
Last week at Evolutions by Podcast Movement, Steven Goldstein hosted his ninth “View from the Top” panel, gathering industry experts together. This year’s batch consisted of Goldstein, Drew Marcus (Senior Advisor at Guggenheim Securities), Dan Granger (Co-founder/CEO of Oxford Road), Jenna Weiss-Berman (Head of Audacy and Pineapple Media’s podcast initiatives), and Sarah Van Mosel (SVP of Podcast Strategy at SiriusXM.. The group covered the state of the business of podcasting, ad markets, video, and AI. The article includes a full transcript of the panels’ questions and answers. [Source]
I am a Creator by Evan Shapiro
Shapiro proposes what is widely referred to as the creator economy is on the verge of shifting to something more. He proposes the widely-accepted idea of the creator economy being synonymous with influencer marketing is not entirely true. And the required escape velocity from the inner circle of influencer marketing is relatively lower, as evidenced by some of the biggest podcast Patreon accounts only needing a little over 13,000 subscribers to break $1,000,000 in annual income. Shapiro proposes there is a coming shift from a creator economy into a community economy, a segment of media not focused entirely on reach, but instead built around monetizing the passions of specific audiences and niches. An economy uniquely suited for podcasting. [Source]
…as for the rest of the news:
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Historian Lindsay Graham has debuted QEZ, a game show podcast “where you win by being smart or pretending that you are.”
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Spotify Premium listeners in Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand will gain access to the Audiobook feature on April 9th.
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Friends and colleagues pay tribute to radio executive and entrepreneur Paul Chantler
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Libsyn Ads has published the March 2024 Podcast Ad Rates, including the average 60 second ad spot CPM ($21.95, four cents lower than February but on par with March 2023)
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iHeartPodcasts has launched the True Crime+ premium channel on Apple Podcasts, which InsideRadio reports is iHeartMedia’s first step into premium podcast subscriptions outside of the iHeartRadio app.
