

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

Oct 18, 2023 • 8min
Confused About Video? The Listeners Aren’t!
While the podcast industry frequently debates what qualifies ‘a podcast’, data from The Podcast Landscape shows podcast listeners have a pretty consistent idea. Tom Webster breaks down that data and what it can mean for YouTube as the biggest place for podcast discovery. Written by Tom WebsterEdited by Bryan BarlettaAudio edited by Gavin GaddisHosted by ART19Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

Oct 17, 2023 • 5min
YouTube's Podcast Ad Policy, B2B's Marketing Bloom, Publishers Mislabeled as MFA
Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting:YouTube Podcasts in the UK and The Youtube Advertising Conundrum by Adam Bowie [Source]Some Black-owned publications push back on MFA reform amid declining traffic by Kayleigh Barber and Sara Guaglione [Source]Why the time is now for agencies to establish a B2B arm by Jason Pollock [Source]…as for the rest of the news: YouTube launches new AI-powered tool to target popular videos related to specific cultural moments, and a new Crowd React Media study finds 63% of sports audiences engage with radio and/or podcasts.

Oct 16, 2023 • 6min
YouTube Passes Netflix w. Teens, Targeting Gen Alpha, Public Media's Future, & More
Audio ads can be effective, but only if they’re not disruptive: report. By Alyssa Meyers [Source]“Without margin, there is no mission” by Ariel Shapiro [Source] What does the narrowing range of streaming service CPMs mean for advertisers? By Paul Verna [Source]YouTube passes Netflix as top video source for teens by Kif Leswing [Source]Brands are taking notice of Gen Alpha by Jasmine Sheena [Source]

Oct 13, 2023 • 8min
Canada's Podcasting Registration, Latino Podcast Listener Data, Reinforcing Download Metric, & More
Here's what you need to know for this week in the business of podcasting: Joint Statement on the Continued Integrity of the Download MetricHow Spreaker Detects OutliersThe Latino Podcast Listener Report 2023Breaking down Canada’s new podcast platform registration form.Quick Hits: Nearly Half of Data Use for Ad Targeting is Wrong by Jack Neff. A reminder to those in the podcast space to work with partners that are meticulous in both their accuracy and purging what they find to be inaccurate.TV and film producers prepare for potential post-strike production logjam by Tim Peterson. A predicament that could lead to more new productions being piloted as podcasts while they wait for the post-strike traffic jam to clear.Advertisers will spend $84 billion on ad fraud this year: report by Ryan Barwick. Problems like this exist in all mediums, but podcasting has an opportunity to collectively prioritize high-quality, vetted advertising inventory.Podchaser Brings Radio’s Relied-On Airchecks feature into 21st Century for Podcast Advertisers. Airchecks, adapted from the radio measurement standard, allow for podcast planning and campaign management in Podchaser.Audio Ad Data Breakthrough: Sonnant & Podder Merge Content Signals + Audience Demographics. The two companies have partnered to combine Sonnant’s content data with Podder’s demographic analytics.

Oct 12, 2023 • 5min
Download Metric Integrity, Speaker's Outlier Algorithm, Airchecks in Podcasting, & More
Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting: Joint Statement on the Continued Integrity of the Download Metric by Bryan BarlettaKeep Calm and Detect OutliersThe bots have come for podcasts by Max TaniAd-free viewing is getting more expensive by Kelsey SuttonAs for the rest of the news… the IAB has released a podcasting buyer-seller checklist, Marketing Architects CEO Angela Voss breaks down why CTV isn’t working for performance marketers, and to round this out we have a double-dose of verification: both Podchaser and Magellan AI have implemented the radio measurement staple of airchecks into podcasting, highlighting the increased demand for verification in the industry.

Oct 11, 2023 • 4min
Postal Match Issues, HGTV Stars Launch Podcast Network, Improving Hispanic Targeting, & More.
Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting: Nearly Half the Data Used for Ad Targeting is Wrong by Jack NeffHispanic Audience Measurement Requires Nuance. We’re Still Using Blunt Instruments by Hana YooTV and film producers prepare for potential post-strike production logjam by Tim Peterson…as for the rest of the news: Signal Hill Insights Paul Riismandel shows how one can measure streaming audio alongside podcasts, Acast’s Megan Davis writes about the company embracing women podcasters in Saudi Arabia, superstar HGTV couple Chip and Joanna Gaines are launching a podcast network in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery’s The Roost, Digiday Research collects their CMO Strategies in one place, and MarketingBrew looks at the modern evolution of the marketing jingle: custom TikTok audios.

Oct 10, 2023 • 5min
Latino Listener Report, Canadian Podcast Registration, Spreaker's PodUptime, & More
Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting. The Latino Podcast Listener Report 2023Advertisers will spend $84 billion on ad fraud this year: report by Ryan BarwickHot Pod: Breaking down Canada’s new podcast platform registration formMeasurement issues still plague the business, but agencies hope their solutions help marketers by Antoinette Siu and Marty SwantAs for the rest of the news… YouTube has launched podcast functionality for YouTube Music in the UK, Rooster Teeth is pivoting video focus from YouTube as their self-hosted videos show 5-10x the ad revenue, Spreaker is building a site to provide up-time monitoring of podcast hosts and tracking prefixes in real time, Audible is named Company of the Year at the Signal Awards,

Oct 6, 2023 • 8min
Keyword Buying in Video, Authentic Hispanic Audio Campaigns, YouTube's Podcasting Potential & More
Here's what you need to know for this week in the business of podcasting: Dentsu, GumGum, Iris.tv build video keyword targeting capability Advertising Campaigns for Hispanic Audiences Outside OctoberAcast and Henkel. Adweek. YouTube’s Current (and Potential Future) Place in PodcastingQuick Hits: Why Branded Content Could Be Bigger Than You Think by Tom Webster. In this week’s Sounds Profitable newsletter, Tom takes a look at the potential for brands and podcasts, and how data shows they have even more room to grow.The Power of Brands in Podcasts to debut October 18th. The free webinar debuting Sounds Profitable’s latest study, looking into the listeners of branded content and how to engage them, will be at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday, October 18th. Registration is available now. Why Now is a Great Time to Make Money With a Podcast by Robert Tuchman. Coverage of a panel with representatives from Hubspot, Quill, Amaze Media Labs, Conde Nast, and Adalyst Media.Amazon Music launches Podcast Previews in several global markets by Reem Makari. The Podcast Preview program, a podcast discoverability tool that displays hand-selected podcast clips to news listeners based on contextual data, is now available outside the US. Why Spotify is Growing its Connected TV Ad Business by Parker Herren. Spotify has partnered with Roku, the first step in establishing the Spotify CTV Partner Network to serve audio ads in the Spotify app available on smart TVs. Libsyn Unveils September 2023 Podcast Advertising Rates; Enhances Brand Safety Measures with ComScore Technology. The average cost per thousand impressions for a sixty second podcast ad increased in September to $22.91, a 3.8% month-over-month increase that breaks a three-month downward trend.

Oct 5, 2023 • 5min
Amazon Audio DSP Goes UK, Social Referrals Down for News ,Branded Podcast Study, & More
Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting: Why Branded Content Could Be Bigger Than You Think by Tom WebsterWith New Ads Targeting Black And Latino Voters, Biden Campaign Sees Radio As 'Trusted Messengers.'Podcast ads on Amazon DSP will now offer Amazon Audiences to self-service advertisers in the UKSocial media traffic to top news sites craters by Sara Fischer…as for the rest of the news: the Google antitrust case heats up as the DoJ accuses them of illegally increasing prices, and Digiday covers DTC marketer’s reinvestment in Meta and Google after Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency crackdown.

Oct 4, 2023 • 5min
Spotify + Audiobooks, AdvertiseCast's CPM Increase, Veritonic Holiday Ad Study, & More.
Here's what you need to know for today in the business of podcasting: Brands Are Slowly Going Always-On With Hispanic Audiences by Catherine Perloff https://www-adweek-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.adweek.com/media/brands-always-on-hispanic-audiences/amp/Rising podcast ad rates break 3-month trend in September by Brad Hill https://rainnews.com/advertisecast-podcast-ad-rates-september-2023/Acast and Henkel Celebrate Conversations about Hispanic Hair Care in Podcast Advertising Campaign https://soundsprofitable.com/press-release/acast-and-henkel-celebrate-conversations-about-hispanic-hair-care-in-podcast-advertising-campaign/Spotify Subscription Audiobooks by Ben Thompson https://newsletters.feedbinusercontent.com/ed5/ed52a4f4c1b19038d15e614edcd5abf7da805d78.htmlGive Your Brand the Gift of Reach and ROI this Holiday Season https://20817577.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/20817577/Confidential_Veritonic_2023_Holiday_Infographic_Final.pdf