Spotify slips on its own banana
Shooting yourself in the foot is a well-used aphorism for self-inflicted wounds. Spotify scored a gold medal last week for screw-ups. First, Spotify added advertising banners to many podcasts on Saturday for Wild Turkey, a bourbon whiskey. This ad included an "order now" button and was even included on a podcast for recovering alcoholics. What's next Spotify? Ads for DraftKings on a podcast for recovering gamblers?
Second, Spotify announced that it will begin selling political ads again. Spotify stopped hosting political ads on its services in early 2020, citing a lack of
“robustness” in its systems. That euphemism hides the poor job Spotify did two years ago in vetting political ads and airing them on appropriate podcasts.
Podtrac Research reveals that Podcasts and YouTube are in Love
New research from Podtrac reveals that podcasters who post full video versions of their shows are enjoying larger and more engaged audiences. Podtrac revealed that 22 percent of the top 25 podcasts now post full-length videos episodes to YouTube.
WTF Signs with Acast! WTF leaves SXM Media! WTF
One of the most popular podcasts, in podcasting, WTF with Marc Maron, has signed with Acast. WTF has left SXM Media and was hosted by Omny Studio. The podcast, started in 2009, averages 55 million listens per year and ranks 25th according to Edison Podcast Metrics. WTF will also use Acast+, the
company’s paid subscriptions product. Asked for its reaction to WTF jumping ship, SXM Media reportedly said, "WTF."
Conan signs $150 million deal with SiriusXM
SiriusXM announced last week that it has acquired Conan O’Brien’s production company, Team Coco, for five years for a reported $150 million,
Team Coco, which was created in 2010 after the end of NBC's The Tonight Show, has demonstrated considerable success in podcasting. The Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast was most recently ranked at number 26.
To Conan O'Brien's credit, he dove into podcasting 12 years ago when media pundits saw that move as the beginning of a downward slide. Instead, O'Brien and his creative and business team have developed a podcast network that generates 180 million downloads a year.
“Conan has built an amazing brand and organization at Team Coco with a proven track record of finding and launching compelling and addictive podcasts,” Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM’s chief content officer, said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to grow the Team Coco brand.”
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Interested in podcasts and podcasting? Check out Ear Worthy, a new book available on Amazon. The book contains podcasting tips and tools, interviews with successful podcasters, essays on emerging podcast trends, and reviews of some of the best podcasts considered "ear worthy."
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