Is Lemonada Media for sale?

• Podcast production company Lemonada Media is “exploring a sale”, according to a (subscriber-only) report in Axios. The company has hired an investment bank to speak with potential buyers. It’s raised $10.5mn so far. The piece also mentions that last month the company voluntarily recognised the WGAE’s Lemonada Media Union.

• Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard has signed with Wondery. The show became a Spotify exclusive in Jul 2021, becoming available everywhere in Aug 2023; the new deal starts on Sept 1 and will include video shows for the first time (and merch rights). Wondery+ subscribers will get it a week early.

• In the UK, 62% of audio ads feature accents from the South East of England; and only 2% of ads feature Welsh or Scottish accents. Additionally, only 36% of audio ads feature female voices as the lead voice, even though women make up 51% of the population.

• 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.

  • Meanwhile, the abolition of the minimum price floor on Megaphone, which went into effect on 1 July, has meant many more ads in some hosted shows - resulting in a significant number of complaints to Spotify from listeners about ads (here, here, here, here, and here).

• Given the choice of “go big or go home”, the popular business podcast Acquired has chosen to go big - an arena show at Chase Center in San Francisco on Sep 10. Their special guest will be Mark Zuckerberg.

• In the US, consumers say they don’t mind hearing an ad twice in a day; but three times or more is annoying. But, podcast ads work better than billboards, video ads or ads on social media, says Unlocking the Power of Audio Ads, a study from Veritonic.

• The UK’s PRS is launching a new podcast music licence early next month and has published the results of consultation with the industry. However, the licence does not cover the use of recordings (a “sync” licence) from record labels and publishers, which is through PPL in the country. (It also doesn’t include video podcasts).

• Podcast Day Asia, powered by Podnews, has announced a set of new speakers, including 1Up Media’s Guang Jin Yeo; Podchaser’s Norman Chella; and Audacia Audio’s Kym Treasure. The event is in KL, Malaysia, on Sep 3 - code PODN10 saves money.

• Which podcast company told us it gets “2 billion monthly impressions” for its two shows - but when challenged admitted that this figure included “press, PR, and social” as well as the few thousand plays the podcasts both get?

Tips and tricks - with Memberful

• What’s the best way to start a video and audio podcast (and get it into YouTube, Spotify and Apple)? Justin Jackson from Transistor takes us through the process.

Podcast News - with New Podcast Trailers - the podcast

While Sam Sethi is away on holiday, James is joined by Neal Veglio for the Podnews Weekly Review this week. Neal’s especially vexed at learning what microphone is the most popular with podcasters. We also hear from TPX’s Pary Bell about monetisation of podcasts in Canada, and we have positive comments about Spotify’s, um, Comments.

Outside Voice is a new podcast from Spotify’s Outside Voice DEI initiative, spotlighting BIPOC professionals who have built equity for businesses and personal brands through programs that authentically elevate their communities. The show is new this week.