Before I get into the news, a quick scheduling heads-up: this coming Thursday (June 26th) Sounds Profitable and SiriusXM Media / SiriusXM Podcast Network are hosting a free webinar at 2:00 p.m. EST. Unlock the Power of Purpose-Driven Podcasting will focus on two of podcasting’s fastest-growing audiences: Health & Fitness, and Self-Improvement. Hosts Tom Webster and Alexandra Caggia will break down how these audiences use podcasts to build daily routines, the surprising social role recommendations play in their content choices, and why these genres lead in openness to brand integrations and celebrity-hosted shows. Registration is free and open now.
The Live Connection: Why Podcasts Need to Get Off the Internet and Into the Room by Tom Webster
Live shows are not a new development in podcasting. There are some Welcome to Night Vale superfans who have racked up enough ticket stubs over the past 12 years to impress a Phish fan. But there’s more to podcast live events than ticket sales and running a merch table.
Webster starts with the importance of community and authenticity. I know I’ve typed up something about the power of authenticity in podcasts and podcast advertising at least once a month for the past three years. As the waters of media become more and more crowded with AI-generated content, genuine human-made contact and human connection is becoming more of a boutique offering. A quote from Webster:
“Live events are becoming the ultimate proof of concept for podcasters. They’re where you demonstrate that you actually know your stuff, that your insights aren’t just well-edited AI-assisted content, and that you can deliver value when there’s no delete key, no retakes, and no algorithm to fall back on.
I’ve seen this firsthand at conferences, where attendees will wait in line for twenty minutes just to say hello to their favorite host. These aren’t just fans—they’re customers waiting to happen. But increasingly, they’re also conducting a kind of informal authenticity audit. The question is whether we’re giving them something worth buying, and more importantly, whether we’re proving we’re actually worth following.”
And with that comes the value of monetizing live events. Lest we forget: Dropout’s Dimension 20 has put on sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden and the Hollywood Bowl this year. But even with podcast events outside the usual live show format, there’s a rich field of untapped monetization potential. VIP experiences, meet-and-greets, branded lounge spaces, networking cocktail hours, experiential marketing adds a lot of value on top of pure ticket sales. Not to mention the valuable content generated by the event itself even taking place. A show recording to sell to audiences with FOMO from not attending in person, highlight clips to share on social media, video content showing genuine interaction with audiences, weeks of newsletters inspired by organic conversations had at the event.
Looking Back at Cannes Lions
Cannes Lions was this week, meaning a fair few decision-makers in the world of advertising took the beaches of Cannes to make deals. A cabana factors in at one point (my sources unfortunately did not confirm if Copacabana factored in).
At the beginning of the week Digiday wrote up a vibe check for day one. A dark cloud hung over the event in the form of notable faces not attending this year. 2025 marks a Cannes where ad executives who do business in the U.S. but do not hold permanent citizenship are worried about potential issues at the border upon trying to re-enter the country, opting to simply stay in the U.S. and skip Cannes this year.
Reportedly there’s a bigger focus on efficiency compared to the more extravagant, chill roots of Cannes Lions’ legacy. Improvisational business meet-cutes on yachts have transitioned to tightly-programmed meeting blocks that maximize productivity and make the trip a worthwhile expense.
Also on Monday, the massively popular chat program WhatsApp announced it would start showing ads in-app for the first time. The ads will be located in the Updates section, and the company has been adamant they have no plans to place ads in chats or personal messages. As everything becomes advertising to some extent, it’s worth keeping the perspective of podcasting: ads have been present since the beginning, audiences are acclimated to them, and respond more positively to the brands involved than other formats.
Later on in the week, Digiday returned with another recap. This one finds a running theme: brands going beyond the usual dabbling in entertainment into formally investing in it. For example, Dentsu announced a global focus on sports and entertainment from their beach cabana. There’s also a shift towards marketers caring about the creative side of businesses in addition to the traditional sales relationships. Formats have taken a backseat to overall content slates and marketers now care who a particular publisher has attached to projects. Creators are now actively part of deal-making conversations, even when not physically in the room themselves.
Despite Economic Uncertainty, The Advertising Market Is Still Primed For Growth by Joanna Gerber
As the headline says, even with the current state of economic wibblyness, global advertising revenue is trending upward according to Magna’s latest global ad forecast. In the report, global ad revenue for media owners is expected to reach $979 billion this year, up 4.9% from 2024. A quote from Gerber’s reporting:
“In particular, search and retail media are continuing to grow, offsetting the loss of revenue from other channels. Magna predicts these channels will grow 8% to $359 billion.”
As InsideAudioMarketing’s reporting shows, the same report anticipates the U.S. ad market will grow 6.9% this year (excluding cyclical ad spending). Technically overall audio sales are expected to drop 2% this year in the U.S., but with the context that this stat is overall audio. Digital audio advertising is forecast to increase 3.7%, while over-the-air radio is expecting to decline (3.2%). Some areas might be in decline, but the home of podcasting is continuing an upward trend through the year (fingers crossed).
Finally, it’s time for my 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:
- The Audio Production Awards, presented by AudioUK and Audible, are back for their fifteenth year of celebrating excellence in the UK’s podcasting scene. Early bird entries are open now through August 31st, with a final deadline of Wednesday September 17th.
- Coming up on Wednesday, June 25th at 12:00 p.m. EST, Moneywise producer Jackie Lamport and Lower Street founder Harry Morton will be hosting an hour long webinar going over the process of taking a $150k/month audio podcast and to video production, including unfiltered metrics and observations about the process.
- Anthony Vargas of AdExchanger interviews several industry pros about Audiohook, and how the DSP is aiming to bring ‘viewability’ back with a new podcast panel with a pool of 250,000 U.S.-based podcast listeners.
- SoundStack has announced they are collaborating with the Associated Press to be their audio streaming partner.
- Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights has published the Spring edition of their Podcast Download report, which includes the finding of audio remaining the primary mode of how audiences consume podcasts (58%).
- Health & Spirituality podcast Almost 30 has signed onto the YAP Media Network, with the network facilitating DAI podcast ads, custom integrations,and 360° creative campaigns as of this morning.
