New Heights in numbers

Billboard reports record numbers for Taylor Swift’s appearance on New Heights. The outlet reports 9mn views on YouTube in the first twelve hours, and some data from Spotify - a “2,500% increase” in average streams, and female listeners up by 618%. However, in what might be a missed opportunity for podcasting, the ART19-hosted podcast from Wondery hasn’t published any data about podcast downloads, leaving the press to just report on video.

Podscribe reports that the show had just 7 ads (a 3% ad load). Brand suitability tools marked the show as a medium risk - it noted seven uses of the word “torture” (it’s in her latest album release title), a mention of “blow up” (about balloons), and two uses of the word “shooting”, both related to life goals. The show had 20 swears in it, mostly the f-word and the s-word.

The LinkedIn Podcast Network is to close, we understand. The network launched in 2022, and signed a strategic partnership with iHeart a year ago; however, most shows have been stripped of LinkedIn branding.

Two of the largest shows, Negotiate Anything and The Anxious Achiever, have moved to YAP Media, joining a roster of business podcasters.

Exclusive: No second chances. 41% - almost half - of listeners will not give a podcast a second try if the first impression disappoints them. That is another key finding from The Podcast Study: Growth, the results of which will be revealed next week at Podcast Movement (Wed 12.15pm, Keynote Stage). Hal Rood told Podnews: “Your first 10 to 60 seconds is your audition, and you only get one shot to earn a listener’s trust. If the open drags, lacks clarity, or makes people feel excluded, they will move on quickly and likely never come back.”