Sounds Profitable

Sounds Profitable

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

Lessons from Cannes, Covering Demos w. Podcasting, & More

June 27, 2025 • 10 mins
This week in the business of podcasting: the power of Health & Wellness and Self-Improvement podcast consumers, how podcasting can cover demographic blind spots, lessons from Cannes Lions, and YouTube content coming to Spotify video. 

Links to every article mentioned can be found here on SoundsProfitable.com.
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Purpose-Driven Podcasting, Spotify Eyes YouTubers, & More

June 26, 2025 • 7 mins
Today in the business of podcasting: unlocking the power of purpose-driven podcasting, how podcasting can cover demographic blind spots, non-podcast video on Spotify, and how indie agencies are competing with holding companies for creatoe measurement and ad tech. 

Find links to every article mentioned right here on SoundsProfitable.com
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Germany's Podcast Demographics, How YouTube's Algorithm Works (Kinda), & More

June 25, 2025 • 8 mins
Today in the business of podcasting: YouTube is a great place for podcasters to get visibility but not necessarily the perfect fit for every podcast, companies weigh in on the Spotify Partner Program after six months of operation, how under-represented sports are using advancements in tech to build their own streaming stack, what demographics are thriving in Germany's podcasting scene, and YouTube gives a peek behind the recommenda...
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Podcasts on Smart TVs, Attention-Getting Audio, & More

June 24, 2025 • 8 mins
Today in the business of podcasting: what podcasting gets right about attention, smart TVs rise the second-most-used device to consume podcasts, Crunchyroll has a new companion podcast produced with Sony, why there's a CPM slump growing in the CTV market, and AudioUK calls for UK government to enshrine podcasts. 

Find links to every article mentioned - and our webinar signup, here on SoundsProfitable.com
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How Podcasts Covered Hard News, Canadian Podcasters Lobby Gov't, & More

June 23, 2025 • 8 mins
This week in the business of podcasting: Influencers grab some spotlight at Cannes Lions, how news podcasts covered the breaking news of the U.S. bombing Iran over the weekend, two senators allege Spotify is using a loophole to pay lower music royalty rates, a coalition of Canadian podcasting companies band together to ask the government to consider podcasts CanCon, and Tubi is adding hundreds of episodes from YouTube creators unde...
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Taking Podcasts on the Road, Lessons from Cannes, & More

June 20, 2025 • 10 mins
This week in the business of podcasting: Tom Webster looks at the power of live events hold for podcasting, we look at news coming out of Cannes Lions, and things are looking up for digital audio going forward in 2025.

Register for the next Sounds Profitable webinar here. 

For links to every article I mentioned, visit the episodes' page on SoundsProfitable.com
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Creators @ Cannes, Amazon's Prime Ad Load, & More

June 18, 2025 • 8 mins
Today in the business of podcasting: the under-utilized benefits of podcast live events, creators are in the conversation at Cannes, reducing risk as download popularity drops, Amazon has doubled their Prime Video ad over 18 months, and researched-back strategies for high-impact marketing as a nonprofit.

Registration for the upcoming webinar can be found here. 

All of the links mentioned in today's episode can be found here on this e...
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Ads on WhatsApp, SiriusXM on MMM, & More

June 17, 2025 • 7 mins
Today in the business of podcasting: Audion and xpln.ai's report shows blending digital audio with in-video audio increrease brand recall and message recall, Reuters and the University of Oxford have  new study about news content, SiriusXM is partnering with Innovid for better MMM, CNN is rebranding CNN Audio to CNN Podcasts, and WhatsApp is adding ads for the first time.

Catch every link mentioned right here on SoundsProfitable.com
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YouTube's Place in Podcasting, Telling Stories with Pixels, & More

June 13, 2025 • 8 mins
This week in the business of podcasting: Tom Webster talks tracking pixels, Paul Riismandel talks YouTube's place in podcasting, Amazon adds private auctions to Prime Video, and Apple adds some new features to Apple Podcasts during WWDC. 

Find links to every article mentioned right here on SoundsProfitable.com
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Mattresses and Metrics

June 12, 2025 • 9 mins
Tracking pixels are awesome at what they do, but like any tool there's also a way to misuse them and podcasting should remain conscious of that. 
  • Written and narrated by Tom Webster
  • Edited by Bryan Barletta and Gavin Gaddis
  • Audio editing by Gavin Gaddis

Find the full article here on Sounds Profitable.
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Spotify’s Rolling Out Transcripts, Podscribe Industry Rankings, & More

June 12, 2025 • 4 mins
Today in a special episode of The Download we're covering nine stories rapid-fire in an "Oops, all Quick Hits" spectactular. As a result, you can find links to every piece mentioned here on SoundsProfitable.com
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2025 Audio Ad Forecast, YouTube's Place in Podcasting, & More

June 11, 2025 • 5 mins
Today in the business of podcasting: a more nuanced look at YouTube's place in podcasting, Australia's ad market, the global ad forecast, and how Google AI is impacting search traffic. 

Find links to every article mentioned here on SoundsProfitable.com
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New Podcast Features @ WWDC, How a Podcast Promoted EuroMillions, & More

June 10, 2025 • 6 mins
Today in the business of podcasting: Apple's announcements from WWDC, YouTube has backed off of removing videos via moderation, Acast boosted interestin EuroMillions with a podcast, and what the Creator's Caucus intends to do. 

Find links to everything mentioned here on SoundsProfitable.com
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Podcasting's Programmatic Future, How Podcasts Use Patreon, @ More

June 9, 2025 • 7 mins
Today in the business of podcasting: Sounds Profitable will be at Cannes Lions, Wondercraft co-founder Oskar Serrander explains Convo Mode using Convo Mode, Amazon adds private auctions to Prime Video, a look at how podcasting is doing on Patreon, coverage of Sounds Profitable's latest study, and Spotify lays off 15 podcasting positions at The Ringer and Spotify Studios.

Find links to everything mentioned right here on SoundsProfita...
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Audiences Trust Podcasts, HLS Could Upgrade RSS, & More

June 6, 2025 • 8 mins
This week in the business of podcasting: Sound Profitable's latest study shows podcasting trust is at an all-time high, HLS could be the future of RSS, and NPR's CEO writes an open letter to Congress about funding for public media. 

Find links to every article mentioned right here on SoundsProfitable.com
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The Advertising Landscape, Australian Audio Engagement, & More

June 5, 2025 • 5 mins
Today in the business of podcasting: Why podcasting's advertising advantage is bigger than we thought, The Trade Desk looks at audio's effectiveness in Australia, and Gartner has a new annual CMO survey.

Find links to every article mentioned right here on SoundsProfitable.com
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Why Podcasting’s Advertising Advantage Is Bigger Than We Thought

June 5, 2025 • 8 mins
The latest edition of The Advertising Landscape shows podcasting's biggest fans are also paying a lot of attention. 

Written and narrated by Tom Webster
Edited by Bryan Barletta and Gavin Gaddis
Audio editing by Gavin Gaddis

Find the full article here on Sounds Profitable.
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Podcasting's High Trust and Recall, NPR's Open Letter to Congress, & More

June 4, 2025 • 5 mins
Today in the business of podcasting: Digiday covers Sounds Profitable's latest study, Spotify is prepping to add podcast inventory to their ad exchange, and NPR's CEO writes an open letter to Congress about public media funding. 

Find links to every article mentioned right here on SoundsProfitable.com
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Upgrading RSS with HLS, Kast Media's New CEO, & More

June 3, 2025 • 6 mins
LAST CALL: Tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. EST the second chapter of The Advertising Landscape, the largest study of podcast advertising effectiveness in the U.S., will debut in a live webinar hosted by Tom Webster. Register now to grab your virtual seat and get the report sent directly to your inbox after the presentation. 

Today in the business of podcasting: The Podcast Standards Project pitches HLS streaming as the future of RSS, Marketin...
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Podcast Ads Fill Gender Gap, Australia's Internet Ad Spend, & More

June 2, 2025 • 6 mins
Today in the business of podcasting: American Public Media puts successful Brains On! Universe podcasts up for sale, RadioInk covers Sounds Profitable reserch, IAB Australia finds podcast advertising continued growing in Q1, and JAR Audio explains how they sell podcast productions to decision-makers.

Find links to every article mentioned here on SoundsProfitable.com
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