According to the Wall Street Journal’s sources, the NYT is seeking new revenue from its podcasting arm by way of paywalling existing content and making premiers of new shows a premium offering. All but the last three episodes of The Daily will be put into a paywalled archive, while new episodes of Serial will be distributed to paying subscribers earlier than public release.

In the early days of FM radio, FM stations had a competitive advantage in running fewer ads than AM stations and in higher audio fidelity. Then, as it achieved mass appeal, the cool new kid factor faded. Podcasting covers virtually every possible niche and is intensely personal, with studies like Ad Nauseam and The Ad Bargain backing that up. 28% of Ad Bargain respondents watch or listen to all ads they encounter on podcasts, 5% more than radio in second place. To leverage this, podcasting needs to prioritize the personal relevance of podcast ads, as Ad Nauseam found lack of interest or relevance is the primary motivator for respondents (37%) skipping an ad in their favorite podcast.

Edison Research has released the results of their 2024 UK Podcast Consumer study, as reported on by Adam Bowie. In his analysis, Bowie highlights that while the average dedicated UK podcast listener skews younger, most listeners prefer shorter listening sessions and podcasts are overall popular among historically marginalized groups such as people of color and women. Podcasts listeners also tune into to an extremely wide variety of shows, with the top 10 podcasts according to Edison reaching only 31% of UK weekly podcast listeners.

The annual video industry conference kicks off next week in Los Angeles. As influencer marketing grows in ad spend and reach, the world of video creation grows with it. In addition to bringing some of the bigger creators on platforms like YouTube into the same building, the conference has started hosting an invite-only Industry Leadership Summit on the first day of the event, bringing together a group of 100 industry professionals to discuss issues impacting the overall creator economy, such as the impact of a potential U.S. TikTok ban. As Sounds Profitable’s own business leader summits for podcasting have shown, creator-lead industries benefit from having a space for leaders to come to the table and discuss upcoming challenges.

A study from Adobe surveying 2,841 marketers in Q1 across seven countries found fewer marketers feel prepared for third-party cookie retirement than in recent years, with 49% still relying on third-party data. 62% of respondents said they plan to shift their spend primarily to walled garden ecosystems like social media platforms. Podcasting, by virtue of having always cultivated first-party data as a valuable resource, is particularly prepared for a post-cookie world. The onus is on our industry to make marketers/brands outside of our sphere aware of that readiness.

…as for the rest of the news:

• RedCircle has launched new reporting tools in their Campaign Dashboard.

• Claritas has hired investment bank Jeffries to pursue a sale.

• Adam McNeil has announced his new position as SVP of Client Services at ADOPTER Media 

• PAVE Studios is launching their own publishing house, with a Simon & Schuster co-publishing partnership

• Rounding out the Cannes Lions coverage, the Digiday Podcast rounds up the experience halfway through the event, and Sugar23 pitched marketers on using entertainment to effectively communicate brands

Research Database Snapshot

What it says: Magellan AI's ranking of top companies in May of 2024 for podcast ad spend and "movers and shakers" who changed how much they're investing in podcasting.

What it means: Familiar faces in the industry continue their investment.

Why it’s cool: Old-guard names like IBM increasing podcast investment 1,229% is a vote of confidence in podcast advertising's ability to deliver.

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