It’s pouring! My energy is out! We have now ruined the planet, and it’s, in flip, ruining me. ANYWAY. Audio. Regardless that we already did earnings, we’ve nonetheless obtained a number of numbers right here in the present day. Are you able to consider? Luckily, these are the extra enjoyable ones, IMO.
Obamas reportedly on hunt for his or her subsequent Spotify
2022 marks the tip of the Obamas’ three-year contract with Spotify, and so they’re apparently searching for a brand new companion, not a contract renewal. Three “podcast trade sources” informed Enterprise Insider that the Obamas’ firm Greater Floor has numerous grievances with Spotify, together with its sluggish manufacturing tempo and a disinterest in having youthful, newer voices host podcasts, versus the Obamas themselves.
This potential departure isn’t a pile-on to creators boycotting Spotify for its assist of Joe Rogan, though the Obamas’ frustration was first referred to as out earlier this week in a Vainness Honest article in regards to the Rogan fiasco. Nevertheless, the 2 conditions intrinsically have issues in frequent: the Greater Floor staff is seemingly taking challenge with Spotify’s imaginative and prescient of money-making, wide-reaching content material, which is embodied by Joe Rogan and his thousands and thousands of listeners however which Insider’s sources say are incompatible with extra unconventional concepts the Obamas have delivered to the desk.
These disagreements should be fairly robust if the Obamas are keen to go away Spotify though they simply launched a brand new podcast final month. Greater Floor’s different current addition, although — Ethan Lewis, its newly employed senior vice chairman of unscripted/non-fiction content material — can ostensibly journey with them wherever they select to go.
Chicago merger launches with $60M+ in multi-year funds
The method of Chicago Public Media buying The Chicago Solar-Occasions has formally wrapped, with the group elevating $61 million in philanthropic assist within the course of. It’s an enormous sum, nevertheless it isn’t arriving unexpectedly: it’s damaged up into “multi-year commitments,” most of which can be unfold out over a five-year timeline.
It jogs my memory a number of the way in which that allowances are doled out — slightly restrictive, positive, however at the very least you’ll be able to at all times rely on extra money coming your approach.
Talking of thousands and thousands: um, Audiochuck???
Did you catch the profile of Ashley Flowers and Audiochuck in The New York Occasions on Wednesday? Did you catch that the Crime Junkie fan membership alone has tens of hundreds of members paying $5 to $20 a month? By my fast calculation, that signifies that even on the low finish — 20,000 folks, pledging 5 {dollars} month-to-month — that’s nonetheless $1.2 million yearly for Audiochuck, only for bonus entry to one among its reveals. Woweewow. Appears to be like like Flowers didn’t want any greater than an ad-sales cope with SiriusXM; Audiochuck is having a positive time, even simply with fan assist.
Slate advert(d)s further episodes
Earlier this week, Slate introduced that reveals like Political Gabfest and Mother and Dad Are Combating will quickly launch additional episodes regularly. As a result of I’m on a roll with math, let’s take a look at how a lot the corporate stands to profit from including these additional episodes, purely primarily based on what number of promoting slots that is prone to introduce.
Inside a given episode, there’s room for possibly one to 4 corporations to promote; multiply that by the 4 reveals which might be including additional episodes, then multiply that by wherever from 12 to 52, to replicate {that a} present could be gaining an episode each month or each week. I’m not truly going to math it out, however you get the thought — that’s a lot of added actual property for adverts.
SmartLess will get extra bold
I as soon as thought the naming conference that outlined the leisure trade was the addition of “+” to the tip of one thing, nevertheless it may truly be enjoying round with the phrase “media” or “studios.” It alerts that you simply supply extra than simply the particular factor you began with, whether or not or not it’s podcasts or TV, and it’s what SmartLess did this week when it introduced it wouldn’t be simply the hit present hosted by Will Arnett, Sean Hayes, and Jason Bateman, however SmartLess Media, an entire manufacturing firm! Positive! Why not?
It sounds just like the “media” these people can be producing will skew towards audio, however aside from that, the small print are sparse. What we do know is that an ex-Day by day Present producer, Richard Korson, is now president of the corporate, and Amazon will get first take a look at no matter it places out, per the unique deal it struck with the SmartLess crew again in June.
Futuro Media brings extra reveals to PRX
On Tuesday, PRX introduced that it’s increasing its present partnership with Futuro Media. PRX already distributes different Futuro reveals, like Latino USA, and it’ll now start distributing the equally long-running In The Thick and Latino Rebels Radio, in addition to offering sponsorship and promotions for the applications.
Hey Meta, what is going to the metaverse sound like?
Based on Reuters, Meta “is near buying Greek audio software program startup Accusonus,” which might imply two actually, actually various things. Accusonus affords plugins that take away background noise and modify speaker voices, in addition to extra open-ended instruments for making beats and songs, so it’s potential that Meta plans to produce customers with the applications they’d have to create podcasts or music inside its immersive panorama. Then again, possibly these instruments can be saved for inner use as a solution to churn out audio that can be threaded all through the metaverse, probably together with sounds from Accusonus’ present music library.
If it’s the latter, oh man. Is that this Meta’s imaginative and prescient? For the grand metaverse to be scored by generic-sounding instrumental tracks? For the longer term to sound like one huge recreation of Wii Sports activities Resort?
MOVES
Podimo has a brand new nation supervisor for its operations in Spain: Juan Galiardo Sosa, who beforehand oversaw Uber’s operations in that nation. Asha Saluja, managing producer for Slate podcasts since this time final 12 months, introduced that she’s stepped down from that place. NPR’s subscription product is increasing not solely its choices however its staff, hiring Leda Marritz as program supervisor of NPR Plus; up till now, she was with Apple Podcasts, curating whom and what the app highlights. And the song-centric podcast firm Audio Up is absolutely bolstering its musical prowess: Christine Kauffman would be the firm’s new government vice chairman of name technique and partnerships, beforehand contributing comparable experience to file corporations and magazines, and PJ Bloom has been appointed as second co-president of music, after serving in such roles as lead music supervisor for Glee. Wow, deep minimize.I used to love Fridays, however Abbott Elementary has turned me into somebody who watches issues as they’re launched, so now I solely like Tuesdays. Hope I can take pleasure in myself in any case.
