Sounds Profitable
Bryan Barletta
The pace of change the podcast industry is undergoing is staggering. The implications for podcasters, hosting providers, podcast listening app developers, and advertisers and agencies are enormous. And so is the growth potential. Presented as a companion to the weekly newsletter of the same name, our podcast provides you with direct access to our narrated articles, interviews with industry experts, bleeding-edge research, and can't miss industry news recaps. That Sounds Profitable, right? Assumptions and conventional wisdom will be challenged. Easy answers with no proof of efficacy will be exposed. Because the thinking that got podcast advertising close to a billion dollars annually will need to be drastically overhauled to bring in the tens or hundreds of billions of dollars podcast advertising deserves.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 19, 2025 • 9min
A Real Saab Story About Podcasting
As podcasting veers towards becoming a subgenre of video rather than a thriving audio industry, Tom Webster looks back at an example of what happens when you strip everything unique off a beloved icon..Written and narrated by Tom WebsterAudio edited by Newton SchottelkotteSounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable.For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.
Mar 18, 2025 • 4min
ABC Invests in True Crime, Integrated AI Podcast Segments, & More
Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting: ad forecast revisions, no escape from AI, and behind the YouTube curtain.Find links to every article mentioned and the full write-up here on Sounds Profitable.
Mar 17, 2025 • 5min
Super Spenders in Audio, Podcasters vs. Influencers, & More
Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting: super fans are super spenders, podcasters vs influencers, and YouTube shorts grow further.Find links to every article mentioned and the full write-up here on Sounds Profitable.
Mar 14, 2025 • 10min
Brand Fans Promote Podcasting, SXSW 2025 Recap, & More
Here's what you need to know for this week in the business of podcasting: how brand fans listen, making podcasts stickier, and the creator economy at SXSW.Find links to every article mentioned and the full write-up here on Sounds Profitable.
Mar 13, 2025 • 13min
Podcasting 3.0
The industry has come a long way, but the podcast consumption experience hasn’t and is starting to show why we need a more ‘one button experience’ if we want to grow the audience pool.Written and narrated by Tom WebsterAudio edited by Newton SchottelkotteSounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable.For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.
Mar 13, 2025 • 5min
Podcasting's ➡️ Problem, Bundling Subscriptions, & More
Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting: commercial audio reaches critical mass, the power of branded podcasts, and ad supported streaming.Find links to every article mentioned and the full write-up here on Sounds Profitable.
Mar 12, 2025 • 5min
Video Influencer Upfronts, Spotify Producing Audiobooks, & More
Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting: the left's rise in political podcasting, audiobook publishing from Spotify, and YouTube usage drops.Find links to every article mentioned and the full write-up here on Sounds Profitable.
Mar 11, 2025 • 6min
Content Creators x SXSW, Complications of True Crime, & More
Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting: the creator economy at SXSW, Crime Junkie's controversy, and audio layoffs.Find links to every article mentioned and the full write-up here on Sounds Profitable.
Mar 10, 2025 • 5min
Free SXSW Podcasting Panel 🔊, Wondery's FAST Podcast Moves, & More
Here's what you need to know for this week in the business of podcasting: free session audio from SXSW, podcast ads are safe from tariffs, and where the left and right are going in podcasting.Find links to every article mentioned and the full write-up here on Sounds Profitable.
Mar 7, 2025 • 9min
🔎 Podcasting @ SXSW, Efficient Smaller Podcasts, & More
Here's what you need to know for this week in the business of podcasting: podcasting takes Texas, diving into the News podcast listener, and what to do with your audience data.Find links to every article mentioned and the full write-up here on Sounds Profitable.
