When Podcasting Goes Corporate 💼
Bryan Barletta provides context for recent acquisitions
Hi Besties!
First of all, I’m sure the past 48-hours have been shocking for all of us. What is happening in Ukraine is terrifying, and my heart breaks for everyone directly dealing with that conflict (except for Putin, obviously—f*ck that guy). I’m praying that this war is resolved quickly and in a way that preserves life, independence, and democracy for the Ukrainians and other former Soviet states.
This week, I wanted to dive deeper into a development that I noted in the last edition: Spotify’s recent acquisition of Podsights and Chartable.
Spotify's acquisition of Podsights and Chartable shows the importance of third-party measurement and attribution companies, says Bryan Barletta of Sounds Profitable in his recent piece In Defense of Third Party Solutions:
“As podcasting has grown, so too have grown the demands of those paying the bills with their precious advertising dollars. In recent years, a crop of tools sprung up to address those demands, and now two of the leading companies in that space have been scooped up by Spotify. A solid business move on their part, but one that demands action from the podcast industry at large.”
“All media should be measured by a third party,” Barletta argues. First-party solutions benefit the seller, like Google and Facebook, which provide attribution data for advertising done on their own platforms. Barletta notes:
“The validation provided by third-party measurement exists to protect the ad buyer. It exists to be a check against the ad serving technology, the publisher selling the inventory, and even the marketplace transacting between the two. Podsights and Chartable can no longer be considered third-party measurement or attribution providers.”
If third-party solutions are vital, but they’re quickly being bought up by bigger platforms, what are we supposed to do about it?
“To solve for this, we need accountability. We need transparency in collection methods, control group creation, data expiration, and more. We need frameworks that are just not possible for slow-moving organizations like the IAB to put together. We need the remaining third-party measurement and attribution companies to collaborate on all of this, with buy-in from major publishers, buyers, and hosting platforms.”
I highly recommend giving his full article a read. After I read it, I had a couple of follow-up questions for Bryan, which he was kind enough to answer for all of us:
How does this news impact indie podcasters specifically?
BB: For indie podcasters, the largest impact is the potential changes with Chartable. Will they still have access to those tools outside of Megaphone? And if they’re still fully available, what will their reasoning be to use them instead of simply hosting on Anchor, Megaphone, or Whooshkaa? But secondary to that, I would be keeping a keen eye on the offering Spotify makes available for monetization as both Podsights and Chartable will empower their ability to pay more indie creators seamlessly.
What's your advice to the industry-at-large on how to defend and preserve 3rd-party podcast solutions? I know you mentioned collaborative action and accountability, but what would that look like? Are there specific, actionable steps we can take now to keep the podcast landscape from Spotify’s (or any big player’s) imperialist rule?
BB: I wish I had an answer I could write out. Each company that believes they can “win” needs to realize we're not fighting against our “competitors,” we're fighting for the shape of this space. I still believe Spotify provides immense value to ad buyers and podcasters, but third-party is about neutral measurement, and unfortunately, advertising isn't an altruistic industry. For now, I would say it's important to make sure you understand the difference between first and third-party measurement and accountability. And simply make choices that solve for your needs, that you're not tied to like a weight if the ship goes down.
Thank you, Bryan!
➡️ For more from Bryan’s weekly pod tech newsletter, Sounds Profitable, sign up here, and give Bryan a follow on Twitter to stay up-to-date on his valuable insights.
Backlash facing Serial’s latest investigative podcast - I mentioned that I'd started listening to The Trojan Horse Affair in last week's edition. Well, that show is now facing criticism for some of its reporting. A group called Humanists UK has even been successful in getting a correction to the show.
Podnews wants your opinion - Make sure you submit your thoughts on how the major podcast platforms are doing for the Podnews Report Card 2022. Feedback is due March 1st.
Get paid to book guests - PodMatch now pays podcast hosts for booking guests through their service. Their membership runs $6 or $39 a month, but podcasters can earn money for releasing new episodes interviewing a guest through their PodValue initiative.
Podspike launches Extended Play - Podspike is a UK-based company that offers access to promotional services for podcasters without the usual price tag. Recently they unveiled a 7-day featured spot on the PodLP app, reaching 'smart feature' phone users in 170+ countries around the world, including the US and Africa. I'm going to explore this further and report back shortly.
Quill Podcast Awards open for nominations - Quill's annual awards event celebrates podcasters and industry professionals. Public nominations are open now for your favorite show or company!
Production Fellow (full-time) at Maximum Fun| Remote
Executive Producer (full-time) at CBC Podcasts | Toronto, CA
Preditor, Podcasts (full-time) at Mythical | Burbank, CA
Podcast Producer (full-time) at Forem | Remote
Audio Strategist (part-time) at FRQNCY Media | Remote, EST
Marketing Director (full-time) at Dear Media | West Hollywood, CA
MINDFLOWERS: MAGICIAN THAT $HIT - Earlier this month, I saw Ashlynd shout out her favorite ep of her show on Twitter. I've been meaning to check it out, so I thought 2/22/22 was the perfect occasion to listen to a podcast on manifestation. She's a charming host, clearly does a lot of prep work, and her cover art is gorgeous.
CREATIVE ELEMENTS: POWERING THE BUSINESS OF COMMUNITY WITH MIGHTY NETWORKS - Host Jay Clouse interviews Gina Bianchini about what the most successful community builders are doing today, how creators can build a membership business, and why Gina believes that great sustainable memberships can be built with just 30 members (WHAT?!). We're going to hear more from Jay on community soon.
CRUMBS: LOVE HURTS - Very very into this new podcast from My Cultura and Sonoro. It’s about Emmy Olea, a trans woman recovering from alcoholism whose mom was a coyote. She’s looking for love and trying not to settle for crumbs.
THE DAILY: UKRAINIANS’ CHOICE: FIGHT OR FLEE? - I've been glued to the news all week, and even more so after the Russian invasion began on Thursday. This is a heartbreaking episode about the impossible decision to stay and help defend your beloved homeland or to flee for your life and leave your home, loved ones, pets, and most of your possessions behind. I can't imagine the shock.
For the 4th episode of our Mind Trip series, I interview Jesse Jarnow, author of Heads: A Biography of Psychedelic America, about the gravitational pull of different underground subcultures and countercultures to seek out psychedelics, the impact of the internet, and the recent trend of corporatizing the psychedelic experience, for better or worse.
I’m extra excited about this week’s Play It Forward because it comes from a former student. Richard Kelly Kemick is a renowned Canadian writer who came to my Pandemic University class with a great idea he wanted to develop… and now he’s launching his new show!
More on that in a minute, but first, he recommends:
“This series shows the reaches of celebrity but in an intimate light and on a personal level. Right from the first episode, the story is clear, evocative, full of mystery and character. The show is part amateur detective, part meditation on the reaches of fame, part eulogy for a friend. I've never heard anything like it.”
That’s an awesome rec — I love a show that is wholly unique. And now for Richard’s new show. It’s a limited series podcast chronicling the life of his cousin Christian McNeil, who is serving a lifetime sentence without parole in a Michigan prison:
“I have never interviewed someone with a voice like Christian's. Originally, this project was going to be a book, but Christian's earnestness, humour, and honesty were so surprising to me that I felt I had to change the project to a podcast in order to best include his thoughts. In this first episode, Christian walks us through the particulars of his crime and his ensuing natural life sentence in prison. But it's when he talks about how deeply in love he has recently fallen, is when he really hooked me.”
Congrats, Richard! I’m thrilled to see how this has come together.
➡️ Here’s the link to submit for future editions.
So… ROLL CALL! 🗣
Do you use Podsights and/or Chartable? If so, are you rethinking your use of those services in light of the recent acquisition?
Follow me @courtneykocak on Twitter and Instagram. For more, check out my website courtneykocak.com.