Search for ‘revenue’

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October 21, 2024:
October 17, 2024:
    One of the oldest public radio podcasts, This American Life, has launched a premium subscription version of the show, citing a collapse in the podcast ad market. “We’re doing this out of necessity,” says Ira Glass in an email: “the ad market’s changed a lot in the podcast industry and it has affected nearly everyone making shows like ours.” He added: “we expect our ad revenue to be a third less than what we brought in just a few years ago”. The branding is “This American Life Partners” - Glass also suggested other names of “This American Lifeboat” or “This American Life Support”.
October 15, 2024:
    Audioboom released its Q3/24 trading update. The company saw revenue up 34% y-on-y to $18.8mn; and a record eCPM (revenue per thousand downloads) to $66.06, up 79% from last year (and up 9.9% from last quarter). The company made $1mn EBITDA profit.
October 14, 2024:
    Podcasting Made Simple Live is a virtual event taking place this Thursday, from 11.30am to 4pm Eastern. There are a number of speakers aimed to help podcast creators grow influence, revenue, and expertise. Tickets are normally $97, but follow this link to get in, free, thanks to Podnews. (You’ll even get replay access, too!)
October 10, 2024:
    Mics to Millions today has Jeremy Enns as guest, from the Podcast Marketing Academy and the Scrappy Podcasting Newsletter. We're told "he shared some incredible insights and takeaways on how podcasters can increase revenue by combining their podcast with an email strategy, specifically looking at how adding a newsletter can boost their income." - get off our land, Enns!
September 30, 2024:
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September 12, 2024:
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September 3, 2024:
August 22, 2024:
August 20, 2024:
    This means that Apple Podcasts is now available for the first time on Android devices. While it isn’t an app in the Play Store, it’s now easy to install Apple Podcasts on any Android phone. As a side-effect of being a web app, premium subscriptions aren’t subject to revenue share with Google.
August 12, 2024:
    Audacy released its Q2/24 financial report. It doesn’t break out podcasting; its “digital” revenue, including podcasting, was up 12% year-on-year, and represents 25% of the company’s net revenue. It made a slight loss of $3mn.
August 9, 2024:
    iHeartMedia released its financial report for Q2/24. Podcast revenue was up 8.1% year-on-year to $105mn - a slowing of growth, which the company expects to return to double-digits. Podcasting accounts for 11.3% of the company’s revenue (no change on the quarter).
August 6, 2024:
July 26, 2024:
July 24, 2024:
    Audioboom published its H1 2024 results. eCPM (revenue per 1,000 downloads) was up 38% in Q2. Revenue is up 7% in total, and adjusted EBITDA profit is $0.3mn.
July 18, 2024:
    Exclusive: Do keyword-based brand suitability tools mean news podcasts aren’t getting the ad revenue they deserve? Writing for Podnews today, Seekr’s Pat LaCroix shares ten popular news podcasts which are flagged by blunt keyword-based tools as being a risk to advertisers - yet gain high ‘civility’ scores. There’s more at Oxford Road’s annual CAO Summit today.
July 17, 2024:
July 16, 2024:
    At Libsyn Ads, CRO Dave Hanley and CIO Trevr Smithlin are leaving the company, three years after the acquisition of AdvertiseCast by Libsyn in 2021. “As significant shareholders & friends of the company, they remain strong supporters of the business,” says CEO John W Gibbons. “We’ve crossed a lot of ground together over the last 3 years, transforming Libsyn from a Hosting platform into a full-suite, monetization and hosting service company generating tens of millions of dollars in revenue for podcasters. It’s been a blast, wildly successful, and game-changing in so many ways.”
July 12, 2024:
    We’re hearing that some Megaphone customers are experiencing significant delays in monetisation approvals for new shows. The company normally has a 30 day waiting period; but publishers suggest a longer delay, resulting in lost revenue.
July 3, 2024:
June 25, 2024:
June 5, 2024:
May 30, 2024:
    With Airwave: The History of China’s Chris Stewart says: “I've enjoyed a very positive partnership with Airwave. In terms of overall audience growth, revenue-sharing, and sponsorship deals, I've been very impressed with what they've done for my show.”
May 21, 2024:
    With Airwave: All Creatures Podcast’s Chris Mortensen says: “Joining Airwave media has been seamless and such a joy. We have seen a big jump in our All Creatures's podcast revenue and growth. The team handles so much for us that it has let us work on other aspects to grow our podcast."
May 16, 2024:
    Spotify’s Megaphone podcast host, which is no longer IAB certified, has sent an email to publishers with the news that they will no longer be able to set minimum prices, or “price floors”, for ads sold by the Spotify Audience Network (SPAN). “The current ad ecosystem on Megaphone operates as a waterfall, with each ad request hitting direct-sold, then SPAN, then VAST/programmatic,” explains podcast ad-tech newsletter The Download: its publisher Bryan Barletta says the move may let SPAN take more inventory, and prevents a publisher from maximising their revenue.
May 10, 2024:
May 9, 2024:
    Breaking: A slow-down at mid-tier companies has resulted in US podcast ad revenue growing 5% in 2023, according to the eighth annual US Podcast Advertising Revenue Study from the IAB and PwC, published minutes ago. The figure hit $1.9bn, missing a widely-expected $2bn figure; growth was out-paced by digital overall (+7.3%).
May 7, 2024:
    The number of listens dropped 12% year-on-year, attributed to changes in iOS 17. However, average revenue per thousand listens increased to $34.30 (up year-on-year from $24.10).
May 1, 2024:
April 30, 2024:
April 26, 2024:
April 24, 2024:
    Ad revenue grew 18% Y/Y. “Podcast advertising revenue grew faster than music, driven by significant growth in impressions sold ... partially offset by softer pricing. The Spotify Audience Network saw high single digit Q/Q growth in participating publishers and shows.” The company doesn’t split out podcast revenue.
April 22, 2024:
    Spotify is the largest global digital audio advertising company, with ad-supported revenue in Q4/23 of €501mn ($533mn), compared with SiriusXM $479mn; iHeart digital audio revenue $317mn; Cumulus digital revenue $221mn; Audacy digital revenue $69.1mn; Acast $45mn. All these other companies are IAB members.
April 19, 2024:
April 17, 2024:
April 16, 2024:
    Expect some internet ad revenue numbers from the IAB later today.
April 15, 2024:
April 10, 2024:
March 21, 2024:
    The news has been heavily criticised by commercial competitors, who are solely reliant on ad revenue. News Media Association chief executive Owen Meredith said it would “wreak havoc on commercial players right across the media and advertising sector”, while Måns Ulvestam of Acast - which sells ads on BBC podcasts outside the UK - was quoted as saying the ads “will cannibalise every other podcast's revenue”.
March 14, 2024:
March 11, 2024:

Thank you! Ken Beyer and Tom Teodorczuk both became personal supporters last week - getting a mention in every email and our thanks for helping us reduce our reliance on advertising revenue. You can be like them

March 7, 2024:
March 5, 2024:
    True crime shows aren’t getting their fair share of podcast ad revenue, in spite of being one of the most popular genres, and skewing younger and more female. IAB Australia has released an excellent report looking at the genre, how it performs for advertising, how to write the best creative for it, and why brand-safety tools might be letting this genre down.
March 1, 2024:
    iHeartMedia released its Q4 financials. Podcast revenue was $132 million, up 17% for the quarter, and up 14% for the whole of 2023. The company claims growing demand for podcast advertising.
February 28, 2024:
    Cumulus Media released its Q4/23 financial results. Podcasting revenue fell by 8% in 2023 - the most negatively impacted part of the business.
February 27, 2024:
February 19, 2024:
    NPR’s podcasting strategy SVP, Collin Campbell, is interviewed by Current. He suggests that Apple might consider recognition for nonprofits when it comes to taking 30% revenue from podcast subscriptions; and says that “the overlap between podcast and broadcast [audiences] is almost in single digits now”.
February 14, 2024:
    Spotify’s Megaphone is looking for more inventory for political advertising this year, aiming to take advantage of a predicted election spend across all media of over $15bn. Podcasters who block political categories won’t get that incremental revenue, the company is saying to publishers via email.
February 8, 2024:
February 7, 2024:
    Spotify released its Q4/23 results. Total revenue grew 16% Y/Y to US$3.9bn; all the company’s figures met or exceeded expectations, with the company now having 602mn monthly users. The company lost $81mn in the quarter, a better figure than was flagged in December.
February 5, 2024:
    Spotify tells Podnews that The Joe Rogan Experience podcast saw a 45% increase in revenue in 2023; and since the podcast went exclusive to Spotify, overall podcast consumption on the platform has increased by 232%. The company also tells us that: “his guests, often fellow podcasters, have seen on average a 47% increase in engagement on their own podcasts following their appearance on JRE”.
February 2, 2024:
January 31, 2024:
    Acast told us: “Podcasters working with Acast rely on advertising revenue, which is made possible through Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI). We’re actively talking with relevant parties to ensure podcasters are able to effectively maximize the benefit of the YouTube distribution channel.”
January 30, 2024:
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January 23, 2024:
January 18, 2024:
    Mics to Millions is a new show from the health and wellness podcast booking agency PodWritten, with successful podcasters showing the steps they’ve taken to grow their shows. The first three episodes cover what it takes to reach 20 million downloads, the importance of podcasting SEO, and how to monetize your podcast with multiple revenue streams.
January 16, 2024:
    As the US’s first election contest of 2024 takes place, news podcasters have flocked to Des Moines IA, like Brad Mielke, the host of ABC News’ flagship daily podcast Start Here, seen here recording yesterday’s episode from his hotel room “studio”. It’s said that podcasting will benefit with increased ad revenue during the election period; if this image is anything to go by, so will pillow manufacturers. Elections are also planned this year in the UK and India.
January 15, 2024:
    London-based podcast publisher Audioboom has just posted a trading update for Q4/23. Q4’s revenue, at $19mn, was up 37% quarter-on-quarter, and up 5% year-on-year. Downloads for the quarter were only down 0.75% year-on-year, in spite of the auto-download changes in Apple Podcasts.
December 6, 2023:
    It’s been a year since Acast launched the company’s self-serve ad platform. Milly Botes, Sr. Director of Product, looks back at the last year in a blog post; 40% of advertisers have booked repeat campaigns, 15% of revenue come from host-read sponsorships, and it was the first form of advertising for 40% of podcasters on the platform.
December 1, 2023:
November 28, 2023:
    Podcast creators won't need to sign any agreement with Auddia to have their show carried and their ads stripped. "Our app is really just acting as a smart recorder, and allows users to automatically skip commercial breaks on supported shows. Because of that distinction, and that we don't technically alter the episodes in any way, we don't necessarily need an agreement to proceed," a spokesperson for the company told Podnews via email, adding: "because of how our technology works, it doesn't result in less revenue for podcasters any more than someone manually skipping an ad, which to my knowledge doesn't negatively affect revenue per episode today." The company does, however, plan to offer a partnership with creators in the future, offering what it calls "attractive revenue-per-listener-per-episode."
November 23, 2023:
    Exclusive: The host of fiction sci-fi anthology podcast The Program has published their report for 2023: detailing revenue, downloads, recommendations, and other parts of the podcast's growth in the year. It's super-useful for any podcaster to read.
November 10, 2023:
November 9, 2023:
November 8, 2023:
November 2, 2023:
November 1, 2023:
October 27, 2023:
October 25, 2023:
    Spotify is in profit again (PDF); surprising analysts who were expecting the company to lose money this quarter. Revenue was up 11%; operating expenses were down 13%.
October 16, 2023:
October 11, 2023:
October 3, 2023:
    In what the media regulator calls a "major step forward" but others call an attempt to crush free speech, Canada's CRTC has moved into regulation of podcasts. The new rules "ensure online streaming services make meaningful contributions to Canadian and Indigenous content". The CRTC requires all online services with more than CAD $10mn (USD $7.3mn) in revenue that operate in Canada and that offer podcasts, to register with the government before Nov 28.
September 29, 2023:
September 25, 2023:
September 19, 2023:
September 4, 2023:
    The company is also to introduce "a new revenue share model for creators using Automated Ads". We've no more detail as yet on that; they're being expanded outside the US.
September 1, 2023:
August 31, 2023:
August 28, 2023:
August 15, 2023:
August 11, 2023:
August 10, 2023:

Thank you to Red Circle, which becomes our latest gold supporter today. Red Circle is a place to host your podcast and grow your revenue, and have a number of great tools to help you do both. Podnews supporters like RedCircle help fund our free news, jobs and events boards - and more to come - for everyone; and our funding model means we don't rely on either advertising or supporters, allowing us to be objective in our reporting. We'd love it if you supported us too.

August 9, 2023:
August 7, 2023:
    Audacy released its Q2/23 financial results.. "In June, we successfully negotiated an early exit to an onerous podcast ad representation contract," the company said, which resulted in a $10.4mn charge: the company didn't say who (it's one of their two biggest), or split out podcast revenue data other than to say that RPM (revenue per thousand downloads) grew by 38%.
August 4, 2023:
August 2, 2023:
    SiriusXM released its Q2/23 financials. Podcast ad revenue was higher, though not split out in the results; programming costs were higher too. Pandora fared less well, selling fewer ads, and reaching 3m fewer people per month. The word "Stitcher" doesn't appear once in the results; the podcast app closes at the end of this month.
August 1, 2023:
July 31, 2023:
    Boostagram Ball, a new music show from Adam Curry, published its first episode last Friday. As the songs are played in compatible podcast players, like Fountain, Podfans, Podverse and others, 90% of boosts or streaming sats will go directly to the artist. It uses the RemoteItem feature of the new podcast namespace, which even allows band members to split their revenue how they'd like. Listeners also see album art from the song and more details.
July 26, 2023:
    Podcast ad revenue was up 30+% year-on-year, "with sold impressions across Original and Licensed podcasts and the Spotify Audience Network hitting an all-time-high, partially offset by softer pricing." Podcasts showed improved profitability.
July 20, 2023:
    Danish premium podcast company Podimo released a financial report for 2022. Revenue tripled from DKK 45mn (US$6.7mn) in 2021 to DKK 152mn (US$33.7mn) in 2022; but the company's losses also tripled, to DKK 328mn (US$49mn). Talking about the deficit, CEO Morten Strunge is quoted as saying “When we enter a new market, we must have a minimum catalog of content from day one. After all, you can't just launch a subscription service with one podcast."
July 12, 2023:
    Podcast advertising is going great, suggests Rephonic - it's increasing as a percentage of total audio ad revenue, as well as in comparison to other types of online advertising.
July 7, 2023:
    US podcast ad revenue is now worth $1.8bn
June 27, 2023:
June 26, 2023:
    Podcast ad monetisation company Audioboom issued a profit warning. "the Company expects the revenue and adjusted EBITDA for the current financial year to be lower than previously anticipated", it said, adding: "The Company has adjusted the approach taken to calculating its minimum guarantee offers for podcast partners". Shares fell over 27%.
June 15, 2023:
June 2, 2023:
May 26, 2023:
    At APM Studios, 73% of the network's hosts are people of color, which is up from 37% just one year ago. In today's Podcast Business Journal, Tom De Napoli, the VP of Revenue Strategy at APM Studios, tells us about the company's set of principles for working with brands, and its focus on diverse voices. Subscribe, free, to our weekly newsletter covering the business of podcasting and join 8,000 others.
May 25, 2023:
May 17, 2023:
    Podcast hosting and analytics platform Captivate has launched a new membership and tipping product, allowing podcasters to launch subscriptions and receive income directly from listeners. The company also launched the “Captivate Creator Suite,” a toolkit that brings together Captivate’s market-leading workflow and revenue tools.
May 15, 2023:
May 12, 2023:
May 11, 2023:
    Audacy published its Q1/23 financials. Excluding the loss of Crooked Media (which switched to SiriusXM in May), podcast revenues would have been up 14%; but they fell in real terms (the company didn't say by how much). However, locally-produced podcasts are the most profitable part of the business, the company said.
May 10, 2023:
May 3, 2023:
April 28, 2023:
    SiriusXM released its Q1/23 financials. Podcast revenue was up by 34% (though overall revenue declined by 2%). Cumulus Media also released their Q1/23 financials. Digital revenue (including podcast ads) was up by 23% (though total revenue slumped 12%).
April 26, 2023:
    Spotify released its Q1/23 financial report. Podcast revenue grew by nearly 20%, "driven by Original and Exclusive podcasts where sold impressions grew strong double-digits and CPMs increased high single-digits. The Spotify Audience Network saw double digit Q/Q growth in participating publishers and shows."
April 24, 2023:
April 20, 2023:
April 10, 2023:
    In the Netherlands, all thirteen Dutch regional public broadcasters have agreed to remove personally-targeted, cookie-based advertising from their websites and apps, in favour of contextual advertising. The companies join national broadcaster NPO, who did similar in 2020 - with a result of increased revenue. Contextual advertising is increasingly used in podcasting by companies like Acast and Soundstack.
April 7, 2023:
    Comedy podcast network Starburns Audio has closed, reports Ashley Carman in Soundbite. A "significant drop in advertising revenue" was to blame.
April 4, 2023:
March 22, 2023:
    YouTube also claims "podcast specific analytics", saying "this is distinct from current analytics offered". In case you wonder what they look like, Podnews Daily's data has an overview, a content screen, and audience; a revenue screen is also available to podcasts large enough to get access.
March 17, 2023:
    Audacy released financial results. Podcasting revenue was down 8% y/y. Excluding the loss of Crooked Media (which switched to SiriusXM in May), revenues would have been up 14%. The company claims 9% increase in Q4 downloads.
March 8, 2023:
March 3, 2023:
March 1, 2023:
February 21, 2023:
    The owner of ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Australia, HT&E released its annual report. It claims 4.7mn monthly podcast listeners, and 2.4mn registered users on the iHeartRadio app in the country. Digital revenue was AU$14.6mn (US $10mn), up 56% y/y: 4.6% of total audio revenue (the group also owns out-of-home businesses).
February 15, 2023:
    LiveOne, the owner of PodcastOne, released a quarterly financial report. Ad revenue grew by 3% to $26.1mn in the nine months ending Dec 31; PodcastOne is the bulk of this revenue. The company will spin out PodcastOne before the end of March.
February 13, 2023:
February 3, 2023:
    SiriusXM released its financial results for 2022. Off-platform ad revenue was up 34% to $475mn for the year, "with podcasting driving most of this growth". Overall results for the company were mixed; Pandora saw 9% fewer monthly active users.
February 1, 2023:
    Podcast ad revenue wasn't split out, but was up "in the mid 30% range Y/Y". Podcasting also delivered "improving profitability". The Spotify Audience Network saw "healthy double digit growth Q/Q"
January 27, 2023:
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December 29, 2022:
    Insider claims that podcasting's listener growth has slowed, though ad revenue is still growing at double-digit rates. "Podcasting’s next frontier is beyond North American markets", the article concludes.
December 21, 2022:
December 7, 2022:
December 2, 2022:
November 14, 2022:
November 9, 2022:
    Acast released its financial report for Q3/22. Revenue was SEK 321m ($29.8m), up 21% y-on-y, or 1.9% q-on-q. It claimed 1.3bn listens, with average revenue of SEK 0.24 per listen ($22 per thousand listens). It made a loss in the quarter of SEK65m ($6m), though improved its profit margin.
November 4, 2022:
November 2, 2022:
October 28, 2022:
October 27, 2022:
October 26, 2022:
    Spotify has reported its Q3/22 earnings. It has 456m monthly active users (up 20% y-on-y). Ad revenue, led by podcasting, is up 19% y-on-y and 7% q-on-q, at €385m (12.8% of the company's total revenue). The company lost €228m in the quarter; they predict a loss of €300m in Q4 (but suggest they may also raise their prices, following Apple's price hike).
October 21, 2022:
    Audioboom's Q3 revenue is down by 5% year-on-year, according to the company's latest trading update - even though it saw a 9% increase in downloads. Revenue per thousand downloads is down by nearly 9%, and the number of brand advertisers has dropped by 10%. The company blames "headwinds impacting advertising demand".
October 18, 2022:
September 26, 2022:
September 22, 2022:
September 15, 2022:
September 13, 2022:
August 11, 2022:
    Veritone's financial report for Q2/22 shows revenue up 78% year-on-year. It was below expectation, leading to a stock market slide. Neither their release, nor their earnings call, mentioned podcasting once.
August 8, 2022:
    Audacy released its financial report for Q2/22. The company made $69m from "digital", including podcasting, up 18% year-on-year. Podcast downloads grew 40% year-over-year; revenue from podcasts was up in the "upper teens", though (unlike others this week) the company didn't give numbers. Overall, the company was "adversely impacted by declining macroeconomic conditions and ad market headwinds".
August 5, 2022:
July 28, 2022:
    Spotify published its Q2/21 financial report. which out-performed market expectation. Ignoring currency fluctuations, ad-supported revenue (including podcasting) is up 31%; the platform now has 4.4m podcasts. "The number of (monthly active users) that engaged with podcasts grew in the substantial double-digits Y/Y and per user podcast consumption rates continued to rise," though no numbers were given.
July 26, 2022:
July 25, 2022:
July 19, 2022:
    Audioboom's H1/22 financials were released, showing revenue was up 79% on the same period last year. Profit was $2m, up from last year's $0.2m, and the company's doing 124m downloads a month (up 35%). Shares fell, though, after the company noted "a softening in advertiser demand for Q3/22" because of lower consumer spending.
July 15, 2022:
July 14, 2022:
July 8, 2022:
June 27, 2022:
    How are shows doing with earning money through streaming sats? CurioCaster posts their top 35 chart, including how much revenue has been earnt. Podnews is there at #11!
June 17, 2022:
    A new free podcast host in Germany has been launched by full-service podcast agency Podcastbude ("Podcast Booth"). The company places advertising within shows, and shares the revenue with the creator.
June 9, 2022:
    Spotify held a virtual Investors Day, with speakers from the company including Maya Prohovnik, above. The company said it brought in around €200m ($215m) in podcast revenue last year. Podcasting lost the company €103m ($110m), though is expected to turn a profit within two years.
June 6, 2022:
May 31, 2022:
May 27, 2022:
May 19, 2022:
May 10, 2022:
May 9, 2022:
    The IAB US Podcast Advertising Revenue Study will be presented this morning at Podcast Upfront: we're expected to learn how podcast advertising grew in 2021, and whether the US podcast ad market is now over $1bn. In 2020, the report suggested it had reached $842m.
May 6, 2022:
May 2, 2022:
April 27, 2022:
    Breaking: Spotify has just released its financial results for Q1/22. "Growth in the number of (Monthly Active Users) that engaged with podcast content continued to outstrip total MAU growth, podcast consumption rates grew in the double digits Y/Y, and podcast share of overall consumption hours on our platform reached another all-time high," the company says. The company also reports "a favorable revenue mix shift towards podcasts and growing marketplace activity".
April 26, 2022:
    Targetspot's owner, AudioValley, has published its 2021 annual results. Revenue is up 44.5%; Targetspot earned €26m (US$27m) in revenue, though the company lost €6.4m (US$6.8m) overall.
April 15, 2022:
April 12, 2022:
    Audioboom released a Q1/22 trading update. For the quarter, revenue was $19.7m (more than double year-on-year) and the company earned $0.9m EBITDA profit (30x higher year-on-year). It said that it has contracted revenue of $60.5m for this year already: more than it brought in during the whole of 2021.
April 5, 2022:
March 18, 2022:
    In a piece entitled Podcasting's International Subscription Revenue Opportunity, Variety carries research from YouGov across different countries, with attitudes on willingness to pay for subscription shows and podcast listening frequency. Brits are least likely to want to pay for podcasts; Indonesians the most likely.
March 16, 2022:
March 7, 2022:
March 4, 2022:
    Acast is to hold a number of events for International Womens Day. It is also to close its podcast app, claiming that the app does not "support the company's vision of a completely open podcast ecosystem". The company also admits that few people used it, saying: "the shutdown of the app will not have any noticeable effect on Acast's revenue or the number of listens." They'll continue operating the RadioPublic app, however, which - on iOS - last got an update in September 2019.
February 24, 2022:
February 23, 2022:
February 7, 2022:
February 3, 2022:
    Spotify released its Q4/21 financial results. Total monthly active users grew 18% year-on-year to 406m, and ad revenue grew 40%. The company fell back into operational loss, losing $44m in the quarter, and expect to lose $75m in Q1/22.
February 1, 2022:
    A Morgan Stanley client note today lowers Spotify's target price to $300 - albeit still a 50% upside from its current price of $196.26. They say Spotify's revenue growth will come more from advertising than subscription money; and that international growth will help the company in spats like JRE. Morgan Stanley owns 7% of Spotify. Meanwhile an Arete Research client note sent last week set a target price of $158 and advises clients to sell stock; criticising the company's lack of delivery of marketed shows and features, highlighting its expansion into audiobooks and other distracting areas, and mentioning that its recent expansion into 90 new markets wasn't reflected by any spike in total users.
January 31, 2022:
January 28, 2022:
January 17, 2022:
January 13, 2022:
January 10, 2022:
    A few hours ago, Audioboom released its 2021 results to the stock market. The company made its first net profit ($1.4m vs a loss of $3.3m last year), and revenue was up 125% year-on-year. In Q4, their revenue per thousand downloads was $55.85, up 49%. Stuart Last, CEO, said: "Achieving profitability on both an adjusted EBITDA and net basis is transformative, establishing a self-sustaining business funded for continued growth, and reshaping shareholder value."
December 29, 2021:
December 17, 2021:
    Data: Why would Spotify want to bring more radio shows to their platform by buying Whooshkaa? Some numbers: 92% of US adults listen to radio every week; 28% listen to podcasts. 46% of all US audio listening (by time) is to AM/FM/satellite radio; 6% is to podcasts. US AM/FM radio brings in $14.1bn of yearly ad revenue (in 2019); US podcasting is around $824m (2020).
December 6, 2021:
December 1, 2021:
    The chart also gives us some understanding of the performance of Apple Podcasts Paid Subscriptions - Bad Blood: The Final Chapter is #1 in the list, and said in September that they had 6,000 subscribers. (That was $16,000 a month in revenue after Apple's cut).
November 26, 2021:
    First look: The host of indie fiction podcast The Program has given Podnews readers the first look at his growth, marketing and revenue in 2021. A case study like no other, you'll see his download figures, revenue, the effect Apple Podcasts promotion has on his show, the release of a soundtrack album, and his plans for the future. There's something to learn here for every podcaster.
November 22, 2021:
November 11, 2021:

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November 10, 2021:
November 5, 2021:
    iHeartMedia's Q3/21 results say that podcast revenue was $64.1m for the quarter - that almost doubled (184%) year-on-year. It accounts for 6.8% of the company's revenue.
November 4, 2021:
November 1, 2021:
    You're one in a billion - new data available by subscription from Omdia suggests that this year the number of global monthly podcast listeners will reach 1 billion people for the first time. Global podcast ad revenue for 2021 will be $1.9 billion.
October 28, 2021:
    In the quarter, podcast ad revenue grew 627% year-on-year, and is ahead of its plans. Revenue per listening hour is growing (and unlike music, the costs don't increase with them). But podcasts are expensive for Spotify, and "a drag on overall gross margins".
October 19, 2021:
October 18, 2021:
October 15, 2021:
October 7, 2021:
October 4, 2021:
October 1, 2021:
September 22, 2021:
September 21, 2021:
September 9, 2021:
    In a client note, Richard Kramer, an analyst from Arete Research has criticised Spotify. "Taking shows exclusive reduces their reach and attractiveness to advertisers," he notes, adding that "few titles are popular enough to bring in new subscribers to offset the loss of ad revenue from greater reach". Creators also face risks in other areas, like event ticket sales, merchandising, or books: Brené Brown's book sales dropped after she became a Spotify exclusive. After focusing on financials, he concludes: "We think Spotify needs new management and a new approach", recommending his customers sell the stock.
September 7, 2021:
    Magellan AI has partnered with Ad Alliance to analyse over a hundred podcasts in the German-language podcast market of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Ad revenue for the market has increased 220% in a year.
September 3, 2021:
August 30, 2021:
August 25, 2021:
    Spotify will now let all US-based Anchor podcasters sell podcast subscriptions. They have added more price points, and - if a listener opts-in - publishers will have their email address. Unlike Apple, you can't subscribe in-app: and also unlike Apple, Spotify won't take any revenue cut (after payment platform fees) until 2023, when it'll be just 5%. International listeners gain access to paid content next month; and international creators can sell shows "shortly after".
August 18, 2021:
August 17, 2021:
August 12, 2021:

more than half our company's revenue depends on podcasting. We're a small business. We rely on this platform. You'd think Apple could get it right with the money and talent they have at their disposal. Very frustrating.

August 10, 2021:
    Podimo has launched Podimo España, an Apple Podcasts channel for its Spanish-language podcasts. The company says it will grow audiences and revenue for their exclusive Spanish podcasters. The company also has Podimo Latino, for Latin American publishers.
August 9, 2021:
August 5, 2021:
    Cumulus Media saw record digital revenue, including from podcasting, in Q2/21, according to their financial report; though podcasting didn't make any other appearance in their earnings call.
July 29, 2021:
    Spotify's podcast ad revenue has jumped 627% year-on-year, according to their revenue announcement today: Joe Rogan and Megaphone helping the increase. We learnt that Podz cost the company $53.4m; and Greenroom $67.7m. The company appears to have stopped reporting the number of monthly users who listen to podcasts. They have 365m monthly users; last we heard, 25% of them (91m) listen to podcasts.
July 28, 2021:
July 26, 2021:
July 21, 2021:
July 20, 2021:
July 15, 2021:
July 14, 2021:
July 13, 2021:
July 2, 2021:
    Analysis: One podcast host tells Podnews that the slump started in late May (the new iOS app was rolled out on May 24); two hosts we've spoken-to report a 27% drop in Apple downloads month-on-month. Podcast publishers have contacted us reporting similar. Since Apple accounts for around 40% of all downloads, the industry might see an overall 11% drop in June: perhaps translating to a $7.7m loss in ad revenue. It will be fixed, of course; but because the Podcasts app is part of the operating system, it needs to wait for the next iOS update.
June 24, 2021:
June 23, 2021:
June 14, 2021:
June 11, 2021:
June 7, 2021:
June 2, 2021:
    From the HubSpot Podcast Network: Entrepreneurs on Fire With over 100 million listens of his 3000+ episodes, JLD has turned Entrepreneurs On Fire into a media empire that generates over a million listens every month and 7-figures of NET annual revenue 8-years in a row.
May 26, 2021:
May 25, 2021:
    From the HubSpot Podcast Network: Entrepreneurs on Fire With over 100 million listens of his 3000+ episodes, JLD has turned Entrepreneurs On Fire into a media empire that generates over a million listens every month and 7-figures of NET annual revenue 8-years in a row.
May 21, 2021:
    Podclips is one of a new set of podcast apps that offers clips of podcast shows as a form of curation. However, it appears today that it takes podcast audio without permission and re-hosts it on its servers, which denys podcasters stats and revenue; and, by clipping shows up, removes valuable context. "This is wholesale theft," said Jason Calcanis, the host of This Week In Startups, adding "they refused to take our audio content down until I sent letters to their hosting company. You can link to our audio files, and if a fan makes a clip or two I’m generally ok with it, but to take entire shows without permission is insane."
May 13, 2021:
    From the HubSpot Podcast Network: Entrepreneurs on FireWith over 100 million listens of his 3000+ episodes, JLD has turned Entrepreneurs On Fire into a media empire that generates over a million listens every month and 7-figures of NET annual revenue 8-years in a row.
May 10, 2021:
May 6, 2021:
May 5, 2021:
April 29, 2021:
    Q1/21 revenue is 5% up at SiriusXM, which owns AdsWizz, Simplecast, Stitcher and 99% Invisible. Revenue was boosted by Stitcher and AdsWizz revenue. Pandora has lost 8% of its monthly users over the past year, though.
April 28, 2021:
April 27, 2021:
    50% of podcast ad revenue went to the 500 most popular podcasts
April 26, 2021:
April 22, 2021:
    Hires: New hires at CNN Audio: Robert Mathers, Podcast Business Operations Manager; Jon Dianora, Director of Podcast Revenue Partnerships; and Rafeena Ahmad, Product Manager, was previously at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Wait, What?, and NPR.
April 21, 2021:
    The Podcast Index twitter account says: "Wake me up when any podcast app developer can add the Subscribe button and share a % of the revenue." Their value4value method gives revenue to independent app developers as well as podcast publishers.
April 15, 2021:
April 12, 2021:
April 8, 2021:
April 6, 2021:
    Audioboom has partnered with MAPP Media to expand their podcast monetisation efforts in the UK. Audioboom will focus on host reads; MAPP Media will 'deliver revenue through a second window sales model'.
April 2, 2021:
March 29, 2021:
March 22, 2021:
    The IAB has published its Annual Report, predicting that "in 2021, [US] podcasting will be a $1 billion market". The organisation had $33.2m of revenue in 2020; $6.4m of that is from the IAB Tech Lab, who work on the podcast measurement standards.
March 10, 2021:
    NB: Since podcasts will now stream by default, this will have a negative impact on your download figures, and that of Apple's market share - but may open up more revenue from DAI. We think you might warn your clients in advance.
March 9, 2021:
    AdLarge has made some promotions to their senior management team. Donelle Brown has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Marketing Insights & Client Relations, and Ilwira Marciszek is now Senior Vice President, Head of Revenue Operations and Digital Sales.
March 2, 2021:
February 25, 2021:
    Entercom did their Q4 2020 earnings call. Digital revenue was up 23% year-on-year, though the company didn't break out podcasts.
February 24, 2021:
    Cumulus Media, owners of Westwood One, says it achieved more than 1bn downloads in 2020, and podcasting is "pacing up more than 30% in Q1". Podcasting revenue grew 40% last year. "We've made our bet on partnership arrangements with talent as opposed to going out and spending a lot of money on IT or infrastructure," said CFO Frank Lopez-Balboa. The company uses Spotify-owned Megaphone.
February 19, 2021:
February 9, 2021:
February 5, 2021:
February 4, 2021:
February 3, 2021:
    A MediaRadar study ($) says that ad-spend on podcasts was up 11% year-on-year in Q4 2020. "The top five podcast producers in terms of ad revenue last year were NPR, iHeartRadio, Barstool Sports, Wondery and The Daily Wire, which collectively captured 33% of all podcast ad revenue".
February 1, 2021:
    Targetspot has appointed Alexandre Ouhadi as its new Chief Revenue Officer. Ouhadi was previously Head of Global Sales & Business Development at Proctor & Gamble in Singapore.
January 29, 2021:
January 26, 2021:
January 14, 2021:
January 12, 2021:
January 11, 2021:
January 1, 2021:
December 31, 2020:

25% of this revenue is from licensing deals to TV, companies like Stitcher Premium and Amazon's Audible, as well as its own Wondery Plus service and licensing with overseas partners.

December 18, 2020:
December 10, 2020:
    The New York Times has warned that digital advertising is likely to be down -5% in Q4 2020, and overall ad revenue down by -20%. The newspaper company has a large podcasting division.
December 8, 2020:
December 4, 2020:
    This means it now works with all private RSS feeds, including those from Memberful - who are sponsoring our podcast this month, and offer a simple way to create a members-only podcast feed and earn more revenue.
December 1, 2020:
November 25, 2020:
November 17, 2020:
    Podcast host Libsyn has published its 2020 third quarter financial results. The company's podcast hosting revenue for the quarter grew by 15% year-on-year. However, Libsyn's ad revenue continued to fall, down by 22%; and the payoff to the company's former CEO made the company lose over $2m this quarter. Libsyn also owns Pair, an internet hosting company.
November 12, 2020:
    Australia's largest podcaster, the ABC, is to put 23 of its most popular podcasts onto Spotify in a six-month trial, after placing Coronacast on the platform earlier this year. The ABC's Cath Dwyer told Podnews: "It's a big opportunity for the ABC, and we're really excited to reach audiences that might not find us on other platforms." On Spotify, some shows will carry advertising, like YouTube and other platforms; revenues will help fund content making, and shows continue to be ad-free in the ABC's own apps. In total, the broadcaster, which is government funded, has more than 175 shows.
November 11, 2020:
November 10, 2020:
    Podcasting is profitable for iHeartMedia - podcast revenue grew 74% year-on-year (downloads are up 71%), and new advertisers are also spending with the company in other places too. (Overall, the company has seen a 22% decline in revenue, and made a $32m loss). Bob Pittman, the CEO, committed that "50% of the new podcasts we launch on the iHeart Podcast Network will be from female and diverse creators".
November 9, 2020:
November 6, 2020:
November 5, 2020:
    Podcast ad-tech host Megaphone is still losing money but revenues increased significantly in the first nine months of 2020. Graham Holdings Company also owns Slate, Foreign Policy, and kids podcast publisher Pinna; all these companies lost money, though Pinna's revenue is also increasing.
November 2, 2020:
October 22, 2020:
October 12, 2020:
    Our cover story: In "The Tech Stuff" below, we highlight the most exciting news for independent podcasters for some time: the proposal of a set of new tags for RSS from The Podcast Index. For podcasters, this could mean better discoverability and accessibility, more revenue and protection against piracy.
October 7, 2020:
    Meanwhile, podcasting will kill radio, claims Acast UK's Susie Warhurst, speaking at a UK webinar. That was denied by Phil Riley, a veteran broadcast executive, pointing at revenues for podcasting currently being less than 10% that of radio. He accused podcasting of being "a little too big for its boots".
September 28, 2020:
    Podcast publisher Wondery is up for sale, says Bloomberg. The company's revenue is to surpass $40m this year, says the report; and that the company is looking for more than $200m.
September 23, 2020:
September 4, 2020:
August 31, 2020:
    The next version of Overcast, the world's third biggest podcast app, will remove one way for podcasters to earn revenue, and highlight another as a concern. A new "privacy screen" in the app's latest beta release adds a brightly-coloured warning alert for any podcast that may earn revenue from dynamic advertising and geolocation. And for smaller podcasters, the "donate" button, launched in August 2018 by the app's developer, Marco Arment, will be removed "because nobody used it and it’s not worth today’s app-review risk", he writes - referring to Apple's notoriously strict app approval process. The donate button is also in apps from Breaker, RadioPublic, PodcastAddict, Castro, and our own podcast pages. (From Sounds Profitable, here's more about how geolocation works in podcasting).
August 20, 2020:
August 17, 2020:
August 11, 2020:
August 7, 2020:
    iHeartMedia, the owner of iHeartRadio, says that its podcast revenue grew 103% year-on-year in Q2 - total digital revenue was $93m. Unique podcast listeners grew by 30% year-on-year; downloads grew by 62%. Revenue for the quarter across the company, however, was down by 46.6%: we can blame the pandemic for that.
August 5, 2020:
July 30, 2020:
    Podcast revenue is small , but outperformed other advertising on Spotify.
July 22, 2020:
July 20, 2020:
    "The externalized nature of the [podcasting] revenue model causes inefficiency for all stakeholders," says strategy consultant Paul Hanke, writing in The Startup, highlighting how things are changing in the podcasting business, and predicting three main players for podcasting in the future.
July 16, 2020:
July 14, 2020:
July 13, 2020:
July 7, 2020:
    The purchase price for Stitcher is said to be US$300m. Scripps bought Stitcher in 2016 for $4.5m, and then combined it with Midroll Media, the podcast-advertising company it had acquired the year before for $50m. Stitcher made $17.1 in revenue last quarter.
June 8, 2020:

Thank you to Podimo for becoming our latest gold supporter. Podimo is an open podcast platform that offers personally curated recommendations to users, while supporting creators through a brand new revenue share model.

June 5, 2020:
    Zoom, which almost everyone uses for video conferencing these days,released their first-quarter's figures: revenue has increased to $328m from $122m a year ago.
June 2, 2020:
    The IAB has released a report of internet advertising revenue for 2019. Digital audio advertising revenue reached $2.7bn, an increase of 21%. That number includes all forms of audio streaming, not just podcasting - but the bureau attributes a 25% growth in audio revenue on mobile devices, in large part, to podcasting.
June 1, 2020:
May 27, 2020:
May 18, 2020:
    The Google Play app store has suspended Podcast Addict, the most-reviewed Android podcast app, for having podcasts in it that mention the coronavirus. The note from Google says that content in the app about COVID-19 had not been approved by government entities or public health organisations. As Reclaim The Net reports, suspension of the app also immediately stops all ad revenue and all in-app payments; an appeal process takes at least seven days. Xavier Guillemane, the app's independent developer, tells Podnews: "I cannot believe that they would really want to ban the app for this reason", and points out that this policy should also apply to all web browsers, news apps and social networks. Existing users can continue to use the app.
May 13, 2020:
    Cumulus Media, owners of Westwood One, said in their earnings call that their podcast revenue was up 60% year-on-year in March. Downloads were also up year-on-year by 50%.
May 11, 2020:
    US podcast network PodcastOne has been purchased by LiveXLive Media for $18.1m. Norm Pattiz will join LiveXLive "as a significant shareholder" and remain with PodcastOne. The release claims that PodcastOne brought in $27.5m revenue in 2019, with shows like Adam Carolla and The Jordan Harbinger Show.
May 7, 2020:
    Podcast ad revenue for the New York Times rose by 30% in Q1 2020, COO Meredith Kopit Levien said during an earnings call. CEO Mark Thompson also noted that the number of subscribers is now at an all-time high of over six million. However, total advertising declined 15% for the company, and they're expecting it to get worse before it gets better.
May 1, 2020:
April 21, 2020:
April 14, 2020:
April 8, 2020:
    Audioboom's revenue for the first three months of this year was up by 40% from the same time last year, according to a trading update. The US$4m secured loan that the company obtained (Feb 13) wasn't used. The company has also started using Voxnest's IAB-certified measurement.
April 2, 2020:
March 30, 2020:
    Podsights has published a piece about the current effects on podcast advertising from the coronavirus. It reports downloads are holding steady; but that many downloads have moved to later in the day. The company estimates that advertising revenue is going to be down for Q2 by about 20%. (Also: almost half of all podcast publishers surveyed said they were making podcasts about the coronavirus.)
March 18, 2020:
    Axios, the three year-old start-up media company, has inked a deal with Pushkin to produce a new daily podcast. A brief announcement says: "Axios will capitalize on its newsroom, its Smart Brevity style - the punchy approach that has made them a leading morning read for their email subscribers for content - and its ad sales team to drive revenue. This partnership will leverage Pushkin’s audio smarts and network to create a must-hear daily tentpole news podcast." It's due to launch in summer. They're hiring for a host, senior producer, associate producer and exec producer.
March 11, 2020:
March 5, 2020:
    Matt Giovanisci is working on an experiment, kicked off by a tweet of a story from Podnews. The Money-Making Podcast Experiment is designed to answer: will a niche podcast in a category with low competition gain listeners, sell more products, and increase revenue?
March 3, 2020:
    What's needed to help podcasting hit $2bn in podcast revenue? The results of a survey (including from Podnews readers) from Westwood One points to a need for better attribution and data; a more robust idea of a 'test buy', and a monthly reach of 44%. (That current figure is 32%; but new data is out later this month.)
February 28, 2020:
    In an earning summary, The New York Times says The Daily has achieved 1 billion downloads. Podcast revenues look to have increased by 26% to $71m, though this accounts line also includes revenue from the NYT's branded content studio and from Wirecutter - it's 13% of the company's ad revenue.
February 27, 2020:
    Exclusive: Podio, the "Middle East's Leading Podcasting Platform", has released a report into the podcast industry in Lebanon and Levant. The report says that fewer than 100 podcasts are being produced in the region; and 48% of listeners want to listen to local content, but don't do so. Fewer than 6% of independent podcasters in the area have generated revenue from their podcast: but there is sudden hype for podcasting there, and marketing spend is expected to rise significantly. You can download the report here.
February 26, 2020:
February 18, 2020:
February 12, 2020:
February 11, 2020:
February 7, 2020:
February 6, 2020:
February 5, 2020:
February 4, 2020:
January 24, 2020:
January 20, 2020:
January 15, 2020:
    Wild Speculation Corner: Audioboom's own website's highlights two "entertainment" podcasts; and No Such Thing As A Fish has been with the network since September 2016. In 2017 it was doing 6m downloads per month (which may have doubled by now), and is described as a "key contract" in Audioboom's recent updates. But then, also described that way, and doing brilliantly, is The Totally Football Show.
January 13, 2020:
January 6, 2020:
    Canadian podcast producer Fable and Folly Productions have produced what they call the missing Patreon dashboard - containing a set of supplemental metrics and data from your own Patreon account. "Building a community is about revenue, audience growth and retention. In other words, it’s a business. And we believe it’s time we start measuring it like one," said the company's EP, Sean Howard.
January 3, 2020:
    Jack Rhysider has shared the statistics for his podcast Darknet Diaries in 2019. He highlights the main reasons why the podcast has significantly increased in downloads; the apps that downloaded his podcast, and Patreon revenue.
December 27, 2019:
December 24, 2019:
December 19, 2019:
    Libsyn also runs its own podcasting advertising business. It earnt $1.57m in 2017 from podcast advertising, but earnings fell to $1.26m in 2018, and in the first nine months of 2019, ad revenues slumped further to just $438,000. As we reported in October, their terms and conditions forbid podcasters on their platform to carry any advertising without written permission, and require Libsyn to also sell ads on behalf of publishers. Some who've contacted us suggest that the restriction of Podsights may be for reasons other than privacy.
December 4, 2019:
    In a memo obtained by Podnews, the Sony Music podcasting team has been announced. Emily Rasekh (Entercom, CBS Radio) is Senior Vice President of Business Development and Operations, Podcasting; reporting to her are Brittany Hall (Pandora, Megaphone), Vice President of Sales, Podcasting; Ryan Zack (Megaphone, Acast), Vice President of Revenue Operations, Podcasting; and Christy Mirabal (Stitcher, Panoply), Vice President of Marketing, Podcasting. Emily reports up to Dennis Kooker, President, Global Digital Business & U.S. Sales and Tom Mackay, President, Sony Music Film and TV A&R, who add: "Together this leadership team strongly positions us to super-serve the podcast community, help them reach larger audiences on more platforms and further grow our podcasting business opportunities around the world. With a rapidly expanding number of creative partnerships and with the strength of our best-in-class capabilities, we are confident they will keep enhancing Sony Music’s compelling value proposition in the podcasting industry. "
November 15, 2019:
    Libsyn's revenue continues to increase, according to its Q3 2019 report. For its podcasting business, Libsyn earnt US $10.5m in revenue in the first nine months of 2019: up 14% from $9.2m in the same period last year. Libsyn has 67,000 podcasts on its platform, and also owns an internet hosting company, Pair.
November 11, 2019:
November 1, 2019:
    "Most podcast advertising is very rudimentary and not personalized," said SiriusXM CEO Jim Meyer on an earnings call. "Frankly, this area is ripe to be disrupted and improved." The company owns Pandora, which has seen a 5% increase in subscriber revenue.
October 31, 2019:
    The screenshot in the above story would appear to indicate that the app achieves somewhere in the region of 210m ad impressions per month (263M for the period shown). The typical earning from an AdMob banner is anywhere from $0.15 to $1.50 per thousand; assuming it's $0.15, that could represent $32,000 in monthly revenue from ads. Contacted by Podnews, the developer of Podcast Addict declined to comment to our nosy enquiries about revenue, which is fair enough.
October 23, 2019:
October 22, 2019:
    In the US, the IAB release their half year 2019 internet advertising revenue report. Digital Audio, a category which includes podcasting as well as online radio and music services like Pandora, increased 30.1% year-on-year to $1.2bn. The IAB add: "Digital Audio advertising's share of the total internet advertising revenue pie remains insignificant at 2.1%".
October 16, 2019:
    A few small tweaks to Google Podcasts on the web have been spotted. Most importantly, the service is now prominently linking to publishers' websites (rather than hidden behind a menu option as previously). (Neither Apple Podcasts nor Spotify appear to link to publisher websites at all, depriving podcasters of potential revenue).
October 7, 2019:
    Podcast publisher Audioboom has published its financial results for Q3 2019. Revenue was $5.7m for the quarter (up 86%); the company has 45% more advertisers year-on-year; and it's earning $27 CPM.
September 25, 2019:
September 24, 2019:
    Podcast host RedCircle has unveiled new monetisation options - exclusive content and monthly donations. Their monthly donations product joins a one-off tipping service which they launched earlier in the year.
September 16, 2019:
    Podcasts will be bigger than radio next year in terms of NPR's revenue: according to Deborah Cowan, the organisation's CFO. She's expecting to earn $55m from podcasting next year. NPR is profitable, and overall revenue grew 10% year-on-year.
September 13, 2019:
September 10, 2019:
September 9, 2019:
    Magna predicts slower growth for US podcast advertising revenue, predicting that it'll hit $1bn in 2022. Their report uses data from the IAB, who in June predicted it'll hit $1bn a year earlier. US radio ad revenue for 2018 was $13.4bn, but Magna says that radio revenue will drop by 5% every year from hereon in.
September 3, 2019:
August 29, 2019:
August 27, 2019:
August 20, 2019:
    The latest episode of The New Media Show, recorded at Podcast Movement itself, included Lindsay Bowen from Pandora let slip that the company will share advertising revenue with podcasters; and an unusual pronounciation of Cochrane. (Blubrry)
August 15, 2019:
August 9, 2019:
    US broadcaster Cumulus, the owner of Westwood One, saw 5.9% revenue growth in Q1 2019, driven by growth in podcasting, according to their investor call. They claim 52 million downloads for March 2019 (which would put them at #5 in Podtrac's rankings); and that their podcasting business is profitable.
August 1, 2019:
July 29, 2019:
July 19, 2019:
July 18, 2019:
    Audioboom's revenue is up by 171%, the company announces today, revealing its financial results for the first half of 2019. The company says it's growing four times faster than the wider industry, and on the way to profitability. 88% of Audioboom's revenue comes from the US market, but it also says it's successfully growing its UK business.
July 3, 2019:
    Does cryptocurrency form part of the future of podcast revenue solution? And is the solution an industry body? Anthony Gourraud writes a long opinion piece.
June 17, 2019:
June 10, 2019:
    Bill Rosenblatt thinks podcasting's future as an ad-funded medium is not rosy:
June 7, 2019:
    Audioboom has expanded their ad sales team, hiring Jessica Landman (New York Public Radio) as Sales Director and promoting Jordan Imsho to Junior Sales Director.
June 6, 2019:
    Podbean has unveiled PodAds, an ad management system for podcasters, which can be used to ensure ads appear on the right days (and in the right places, thanks to geo-targeting). Unlike others, the service does not take a cut of ad revenue.
June 4, 2019:
May 30, 2019:
    The total (US) ad revenue for podcasting is projected to be $600m this year: but only 15% of podcasts monetise their content, says Anna Ratala from zvook: "If half of the remaining podcasts were monetizing at the current rates, that would mean an additional $1.7B of ad revenue that could be generated by podcasts." Zvook is, unsurprisingly, "a tech-enabled platform to help monetize the long tail of the podcasting industry by matching brands with podcasts".
May 21, 2019:
    The largest independent podcast host Libsyn has released its Q1 earnings report. Libsyn's podcast revenue increased by 16% to $3.3m (and, including Pair Networks, the company got $6.28m in revenue, up 24% year-on-year). Libsyn now hosts 62,000 shows (and 4.9m media files); it claims it's responsible for around 35% of the Apple Podcasts top 200, and delivered over 5.1 billion downloads in 2018.
May 17, 2019:
    Stitcher have announced two new senior hires: Sarah van Mosel (Market Enginuity, Acast, WNYC) has been hired as Chief Revenue Officer, and Daisy Rosario is Executive Producer.
May 1, 2019:
April 30, 2019:
    RedCircle launched. It's a podcast host offering tools like free hosting, analytics and a cross-promotion marketplace to help smaller podcasts get heard. The company has $1.5m of funding, and is built by five ex-Uber software people; it plans to earn revenue by selling advertising within podcasts. The Verge has more.
April 26, 2019:
April 25, 2019:
    Luminary appears to be fighting back with PR: Matt Sacks, the co-founder and CEO of Luminary, has written a long piece explaining Luminary's model, the sole post in a hastily-erected Medium blog. Manoush Zomorodi is also interviewed in Digiday hawking the company, saying "As a creator, it’s hard to get a production off the ground if you don’t know you have a steady income". Her podcast Note To Self is relaunching as a Luminary-funded production. Luminary have also placed sample episodes of all their premium podcasts in Apple Podcasts (and therefore most other places).
April 17, 2019:
    TMZ is reporting about a legal matter between Chris Hardwick and Cadence13. Hardwick didn't make an episode of ID10T between mid-June and mid-November, which TMZ claim is in breach of contract. The website also reports that Cadence13 has made about $394K in ad revenue from the show.
April 9, 2019:
April 5, 2019:
April 4, 2019:
    Audioboom have posted record quarterly revenue of US$4.6m. The company has also signed a number of new shows, and says that its revenue per thousand listens is up 67% to $23.77.
March 28, 2019:
    Spotify has published new podcast terms and conditions. It'll take 40 minutes to read. Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports on Spotify's recent purchase of podcast production company Parcast: "one person close to the negotiation said that Spotify is paying more than $100m in cash and earn-outs to buy Parcast. The price equates to an enormous multiple on Parcast’s limited revenues, this person added."
March 20, 2019:
    Jacobs Media is, once more, bringing the radio industry to Podcast Movement with their now well-known Broadcasters Meet Podcasters portion of the conference. One of those broadcasters that goes is Cumulus, who own the Westwood One Podcast Network. Last year, it earnt US $12.5m "in profitable podcasting revenue" according to CEO Mary Berner.
March 19, 2019:
    In a statement, Libsyn says its podcasting revenue grew by 30%, and in total the company earned double the amount of revenue year on year: earning over US $22m. The company has $11m in the bank. Congratulations to them. (Cough)
March 14, 2019:
March 8, 2019:
March 5, 2019:
    Scripps, who own Triton Digital and Stitcher, have seen revenue grow by 41% in Q4 2018, according to new results from the company. Revenue for Stitcher, which includes Midroll, was up 64% to $16.7 million.
February 27, 2019:
    Podcast host ART19 has hired two executives from Stitcher as part of an expansion plan. Korri Kolesa is the company's new COO, and Lex Friedman is joining as Chief Revenue Officer. The company is planning new advertising products.
February 25, 2019:
    PodcastOne in Australia, run by Southern Cross Austereo, has doubled its downloads year-on-year to 100m. It claims 60 "authors", according to SCA's CEO Grant Blackley, who says that it should move into profitability towards the middle of next year.
February 19, 2019:
    The #2 radio advertiser in 2017 is now also the #2 podcast advertiser, according to data from Magellan's podcast ad report for January. Magellan details all 110 ads the company found in the US top 2,000 Apple Podcasts trending chart. The top three: #3 Indeed, #2 Geico, and #1 ZipRecruiter. While this does show that US radio's $15.9bn annual revenue is beginning to come to podcasting (which stands at a more meagre $314m), none of radio's other big advertisers are yet visible in the podcast top 15.
February 14, 2019:
    Pandora's plans for podcasting are explained in this conference session video from AdWeek's BrandWeek with Alex White, who's VP of Content and Programming for Pandora. He says Pandora earns three times more ad revenue than the entire podcasting industry.
February 11, 2019:
February 8, 2019:
January 31, 2019:
    The Economist, a UK newspaper, says revenue through Acast has increased 50% year-on-year for their five podcasts. Podcast ads in the UK, according to Digiday, fetch around US$12 CPM.
January 30, 2019:
    SoundCloud may have lost a co-founder this week (Jan 28), but Music Business Worldwide reports that its 2017 accounts (just filed in the UK) say that its revenue grew by 80% and topped US$100m. SoundCloud "also surpassed its full year 2018 growth plan".
January 22, 2019:
January 11, 2019:
    Notwithstanding this, listener reaction is predictably fierce. Responses include "the arrogance of the BBC is breathtaking", and that the decision is "bonkers - not good bonkers, bad bonkers". The app has also been poorly-reviewed. As a side note: the BBC monetises its podcast listens outside the UK with Acast, so exclusivity also removes revenue for the corporation. Podnews estimates the BBC is the world's second-largest podcaster, after NPR.
January 8, 2019:
    Patreon tells Podnews that the number of podcast creators on their platform has quadrupled over the past three years, and Patreon has seen an eightfold increase in revenue in the podcasting category.
January 7, 2019:
    The Hustle and Flowchart alert us about their recent podcast episode with Trevr Smithlin, founder of AdvertiseCast (here). "He gave us some specific strategies to monetize and grow podcasts in 2019." The hosts also said some nice things about Podnews in their email, which was nice and a sure-fire way to be mentioned.
January 1, 2019:
    The hosts of Thriving Launch "bring in six-figure revenue through their podcast and related business activities while spending months of the year on the road, living the digital nomad lifestyle," says a Forbes blogger's profile of them . Those who care about ratings and charts might like to note: the podcast had just four reviews in 2018 and is currently just in one country's podcast charts: Uzbekistan.
December 28, 2018:
    Voxnest has published The State Of The Podcast Universe Report (pdf). It looks at the podcast marketplace across the globe, and reports that podcasting is growing fastest in India; while the podcast market in China is "huge": earning at least ten times more revenue than the US.
December 17, 2018:
    Podcoin is an app that rewards you for listening to podcasts. 10 minutes listening earns one "podcoin". To earn $2 to spend on Amazon, assuming you could listen to podcasts for three hours a day, you'd be listening for over three months. Listen to three hours of podcasts every day for 18 years, and you could afford a set of Bose headphones. The app uses the ListenNotes API, and has no visible method of earning revenue.
November 30, 2018:
November 2, 2018:
October 17, 2018:
    Slate launched What Next, their daily news podcast for your evening commute, today. Their launch communication mentions that it's a month's test, before "a brief hiatus to tinker and refine", and a return in January. Podcasting represents 28% of Slate's revenues, and is forecast to increase to 35% next year.
September 24, 2018:
September 6, 2018:
    AdAge reports that women are driving podcasting growth. According to a study from Westwood One, "time spent with podcasts significantly grew among women, from 4.6 hours per week in 2017 to 5.5 hours per week this year, a 20 percent uptick year-over-year. Time spent among men may be reaching a plateau, however, growing 3 percent to 7.6 per hours per week in 2018."
August 23, 2018:
August 14, 2018:
August 8, 2018:
July 27, 2018:
July 25, 2018:
    AdsWizz has launched a podcast platform partnership program with a set of podcast hosts including Blubrry, Libsyn, Voxnest, StreamGuys and EmpireStreaming. The program offers 'massively accelerated revenue growth' to podcasters on those platforms.
July 24, 2018:
July 19, 2018:
    Audioboom have published positive half-year results, showing that revenue is 43% up vs this time last year; operating loss has reduced by 18%; total downloads have increased by 14%. The Board also claims that they have enough funding to see the company through to profit.
June 22, 2018:
June 19, 2018:
June 15, 2018:
    They've signed a deal with Formula One to produce a weekly podcast. "Audioboom will pay a guaranteed fee per podcast uploaded to is platform in addition to a revenue share on sponsorships, pre, mid and post roll advertising."
June 12, 2018:
    Podcasting revenue in the US was a record $314m in 2017, according to the IAB. In 2016, the figure was $169m, representing 86% growth year-on-year. Recode reports this figure in a sneering article as "close to nothing".
May 10, 2018:
    Sports podcasts are 'generating huge revenue' says a sports industry website, quoting 'absolutely bonkers' income for some.
May 9, 2018:
May 7, 2018:
    Amazon announced their new "In-Skill purchasing" system, to allow skills authors to make revenue with smart speakers.
May 3, 2018:
    Spotify (the second-largest source of podcast listening) posted their first quarterly earnings data as a public company. 170m users, 75m paid subscribers. Revenue €1.14bn (US$1.36bn). It's still losing money.
April 27, 2018:
    Audioboom's proposed acquisition of Triton Digital is continuing, according to a release. The company will 'make a further announcement' in 'the next three weeks'. Audioboom expect revenue to be around £4.7m for the twelve months 'till November, but lost £4.6m.
April 17, 2018:
    The New York Times write about Parcast, who they call a "little known podcast network". "The company’s revenue in the first quarter of 2018 was 95 percent of what it had earned through the entirety of 2017".
March 26, 2018:
    A Forbes blogger says that podcasting is growing, but that sustained growth seems unlikely. Bill Resenblatt cites a fragmented content industry, and a lack of stats.
March 1, 2018:
February 7, 2018:
February 5, 2018:
January 26, 2018:
    Midroll publish the second half of their 2018 forecast, focusing on ads, metrics and revenue. Unsurprisingly they're forecasting their best year yet. Interestingly, they plan to correlate Apple's stats with Stitcher's stats.
January 18, 2018:
    YouTube makes significant changes to their monetisation platform: they now require creators to have, at a mimimum, 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watchtime within the past twelve months: otherwise they will no longer share revenue. In a discussion on Reddit, one Redditor makes the point that this probably ensures quality content for advertisers. (Of interest: 4,000 hours of watchtime will reward creators who make longer videos).
January 16, 2018:
    Slate, the online magazine, says that podcasting now accounts for 25% of its revenue. It is doubling its staff (from five to ten), and today unveil a newly-designed website that promotes podcasts. This year, they plan to fully shift away from Panoply and do their own ad sales.
December 19, 2017:
    UK-based podcast host audioBoom has had a "transformational year", says a financial website. Their financial year ended Nov 30: 696m downloads (up 60%); 12,426 "content channels" (podcasts?); revenue £4.8m, US$6.4m (up 250%); but the company still made a loss of £4.5m (US$6m).
December 8, 2017:
December 7, 2017:
    Data from iHeart, the US radio company. They claim 100m registered US users to their app, and "10,000 shows, 525 of which are made in-house". Podcasting has grown 60% since January. "We’re able to sell specific [sponsorships for] bigger shows, because that creates a better revenue opportunity. Local stations monetize [smaller shows with] the people already buying their station and morning show."
November 27, 2017:
November 9, 2017:
    Cinema releases straight to DVD? How about books being released straight to audiobooks? The Chicago Tribune reports that just this is happening, as they try to accelerate growth. "Audiobook publishers saw the third consecutive year of sales growth nearing 20 percent, with revenue of more than $2.1 billion in 2016"
November 2, 2017:
    Wonder how to monetise your podcast? So has Cameron Reilly, writing a piece in Medium about Podcast Pricing Bands - premium subscriptions appear to work. "40% of our revenue came from people choosing the higher payment options".
September 19, 2017:
    A good piece about monetising podcasts, and the challenges in the 30-second ads that you might typically hear. With stats showing, apparently, that NPR is making $1.4m per month from podcasting (average revenue per listener per month is 3.8 cents). By way of comparison, UK radio earns 3.6 cents per listener per HOUR; but then, those 12 minutes of ads probably help.
September 7, 2017:
    audioBoom report quarterly revenues are up 329% year-on-year. More stats: Monthly users have grown 11% quarter-on-quarter; ad impressions are up 24%; quarterly revenue is up 32%. Yesterday, we reported that they're also killing their free accounts.
August 25, 2017:
    PodcastOne's partner in Australia, Southern Cross Austereo, says they "may charge advertisers more to be in podcasts than on the radio". "The time will come where we can achieve not only comparable, but potentially premium CPM for that". The CEO also signalled more investment into podcasting. Profits for the company, which has radio and TV assets in Australia, were up 40.7% up year-on-year.
August 1, 2017:
    Anchor has launched a migration service to allow podcasters to switch hosts. Free, and with plans to share revenue from preroll ads later.
June 28, 2017:
June 19, 2017:
    An Audio and Podcasting Fact Sheet from Pew Research - a nice overview of the US radio and podcasting market, including consumption, revenue and format. "While terrestrial radio reaches almost the entire U.S. population and remains steady in its revenue, online radio and podcasting audiences have continued to grow over the last decade."
June 15, 2017:
    On-demand audio host AudioBoom opens a New York recording studio and launches a set of new podcasts. These aren't the first podcasts from AudioBoom, but may be the first from the US. Meantime, the company sees revenues up 447% in the last six months to "at least £1.8m". Fill rates for US live reads now at 70% (notable that they specify US here). Unique users also up significantly.
June 1, 2017:
    Advertising agencies are making podcasts (which is good news for the potential of the medium to attract revenue). Here are four US agency podcasts highlighted by Digiday.

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