Nicely hello, everybody, I hope we’re all relaxed and prepared for a really calm, very regular week. I do know I’m definitely prepared to remain targeted by myself initiatives and never get wildly distracted by the whims of billionaires with cash to burn. Want me luck.
Joe Rogan “gained two million subscribers” from current controversy
From the division of any press is sweet press: Joe Rogan says the current firestorm round his ongoing vaccine misinformation and previous use of a racial slur solely added to his fan base. “It’s attention-grabbing, my subscriptions went up massively — that’s what’s loopy,” Rogan stated on an episode Friday, in response to The Hollywood Reporter. “Through the peak of all of it, I gained 2 million subscribers.”
The Reporter provides that, in response to unnamed sources, Rogan’s numbers have “been constantly rising” since he joined Spotify, with out spiking as a result of any specific occasion. (I’ve reached out to Spotify for remark.)
On one hand, this doesn’t shock me. The backlash that kicked off after Neil Younger pulled his music from Spotify led to quite a lot of publicity round Rogan at a time when sure largely right-wing audiences are rallying round figures who declare they’re being silenced whilst they attract immense crowds.
Then again, Rogan’s progress doesn’t imply the incident was excellent news for Spotify: it led to actual turmoil with the corporate’s workers, noticed a number of main names pull their music from the service, and continues to be a model debt that the corporate received’t have the ability to shake. I do know Spotify has compelling causes to maintain Rogan round, but when I needed to make a guess, I’d wager the corporate would take a greater public picture over the two million additional subscribers.
P.S.: Spotify experiences earnings Wednesday morning, with a name at 8AM ET.
Unique: SiriusXM indicators exclusivity cope with Remedy Gecko
SiriusXM has landed one other advert gross sales and distribution cope with a success podcast, this time with one of many stranger reveals I’ve written about on right here: Remedy Gecko. The present is a few “lizard psychologist who travels the universe speaking to strangers,” and it in some way garners “greater than 900k month-to-month downloads,” in response to SiriusXM. The collection is created by Lyle Eternally, who has discovered greater than 2 million individuals on TikTok keen to subscribe to observe him gown up in a lizard outfit and inexperienced face paint to speak remedy, or one thing prefer it.
Beneath the deal, adverts shall be offered by means of SXM Media and Stitcher will deal with distribution. The deal covers the audio launch of the present.
SiriusXM has made a complete bunch of comparable offers like this not too long ago. Simply yesterday, the corporate locked down advert gross sales for the I Am Athlete podcast from Brandon Marshall and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson as half of a bigger audio cope with the community.
P.S. once more: SiriusXM will report earnings Thursday morning, with a name at 8AM ET.
Apple provides extra podcast analytics, extra podcast promos
Podcasters providing subscriptions by way of Apple Podcasts can now obtain month-to-month experiences that combination the listening habits of paid and free listeners. The brand new platform’s “listening report” breaks down the place persons are listening to content material, what episodes they’re tuning into, and the way a lot they’re listening. Apple says it’s helpful to see the variations between how paid and free listeners are tuning in. The experiences are generated month-to-month and accessible by means of Apple Podcasts Join.
On the consumer-facing entrance, Apple Podcasts has additionally added three new editorially curated sections — known as Darkside, tbh, and Popped — to its storefront throughout platforms. The collections spotlight reveals within the true crime, tradition, and leisure classes and could possibly be a great way to drive new listeners to reveals. Apple says you’ll be able to pitch your collection right here.
SoundCloud says indie artists are incomes extra with its new pay system
Final yr, SoundCloud began a program the place indie musicians may receives a commission out primarily based on subscription income from their precise followers, fairly than being lumped into an enormous pool with main artists and divvied out the pennies. It’s a serious shift (with caveats!) in how artists are paid, and now, practically a yr later, SoundCloud says impartial artists are incomes 60 p.c extra on common than they have been with the standard mannequin.
Caveats abound, after all. It’s not fully clear how a lot of a subscriber’s cash goes to the pool that will get divided up for indie artists. (SoundCloud tells me it is dependent upon their listening habits.) However the determine nonetheless means that the brand new mannequin isn’t all speak. It must result in greater payouts for smaller artists, and it has.
The Podcast Upfronts are nearly right here
Final week, IAB introduced the listing of presenters for its 2022 Podcast Upfronts — and I’m seeing quite a lot of large and acquainted names and faces on that listing. Simply from a company perspective, we’ve bought NPR, SXM Media, and Wondery, plus some extra stunning entrants like Disney and Paramount. It’s a protracted listing name-wise, so verify that out over right here. The occasion is being held just about this yr from Could tenth to Could twelfth.
Substack’s e-newsletter app is now a podcast app
Alright, so the app already had podcast playback controls, however with an replace yesterday, they turned a complete lot richer. The app now has a full-screen podcast interface with pace and playback controls. You can even now queue up a playlist of recordings. The app remains to be iOS-only, sadly, however these sorts of desk stakes options are going to be mandatory if Substack needs to assist creators see its platform as a viable one for podcasting.
Insiders, get able to say hello to somebody new on Thursday. See you then!
