RAIN Notes: April 14
Jacobs Media will unveil TechSurvey 2026 results on April 23, covering radio listening habits, YouTube use, short‑form video, concert attendance, in‑car audio tech and podcast preferences. Michael Mignano joined Union Square Ventures as a general partner, completing a full‑circle journey after selling Anchor to Spotify. Audio executive Cathy Csukas earned a spot on the 2026 “100 Women to KNOW” list for her work championing underrepresented voices. Morgan Wiedmann moved to SoundStack as marketing director, bringing extensive programmatic audio experience.
Rumor Fact(ory): DistroKid Explores $2B Sale
DistroKid, the DIY digital music distributor that claims to handle roughly 40% of new releases and serves over two million artists, is reportedly exploring a sale valued at $2 billion. The company’s last disclosed valuation was $1.3 billion in a 2021 funding...
Audiobooks, E-Books, Printed Books — a Pew Research Comparison
Pew Research’s 2026 reading‑habits survey shows print books still lead American readers, but their dominance is eroding. Audiobook consumption has risen steadily since 2015, reaching 26 percent of adults in 2025, while e‑book usage holds steady around 31 percent. Over the past...
Steve Goldstein: The Attention Economy Comes for Podcasting
Steve Goldstein argues that podcasting has been fixated on download counts, a metric that reflects distribution rather than consumption. He highlights an industry shift toward engagement indicators such as streams, completion rates, and repeat listening, mirroring practices of Spotify, YouTube,...
TV Podcast Consumption: A New Audience Study
Samba TV’s new study, Podcasts On The Big Screen, reveals that 13% of American households streamed podcasts on television in Q1 2026. The measurement leverages chip‑based data from roughly 28 million U.S. TVs and cross‑device identity matching. The metric applies to Netflix‑linked...
Spotify Enables a Pure Audio Experience with New Video-Off Setting
Spotify introduced a set of toggles that let users turn off three types of video content: short looping visuals on the Now Playing screen, full‑length music videos, and all video podcasts. The controls are available on both desktop and mobile...
RAIN Notes: April 9
AdsWizz is hosting a webinar on April 23 titled “Scaling Podcast Advertising: Unlocking Growth with Context and Confidence,” aimed at helping advertisers break through scale ceilings caused by over‑filtering and brand‑safety constraints. The session will cover where scale is lost, episode‑level...
ENCO Systems Upgrades Its DJ Replacement Technology with Upcoming Release
ENCO Systems pre‑announced an upgraded version of its aiTrack content‑insertion platform, with a formal debut slated for the NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas. The new aiTrack is a fully cloud‑native, automation‑agnostic solution that leverages large language models, real‑time data...
Spotify Launches New Playlist Technology for Smarter Podcast Streaming
Spotify is extending its Prompted Playlist feature from music to podcasts, allowing the AI‑driven tool to auto‑generate podcast queues based on listening history and real‑time signals. The rollout is limited to Premium subscribers in Canada, the UK, Ireland, New Zealand and...
APM / Streamguys Join to Launch New Marketplace for Podcasting and Livestreaming
American Public Media (APM) has teamed with streaming specialist Streamguys to launch the Inform Media Network, a private marketplace for digital underwriting and sponsorship across podcasts and livestreams. The network already includes at least 30 non‑commercial stations, delivering roughly 55 million...
Podchaser Releases March “Power Score,” Measuring Post-Launch Succeses
Podchaser has launched its first Power Score, a numeric ranking that evaluates podcasts released in the past month based on audience growth, engagement and distribution reach. The March edition named "The Book Club" as the top‑scoring show with an 81...
Baseball’s “Massive Opportunity” For Audio: Audacys’… Um … Pitch
Audacy has teamed with the New York Mets and Sportsbug to provide real‑time digital radio play‑by‑play of Mets home games at Citi Field, launching on March 26. Sportsbug’s technology cuts the typical 30‑ to 90‑second audio delay to under one second, allowing...
Delta Airlines and YouTube Premium Launch In-Flight Concerts Recorded in Planes
Delta Air Lines has teamed with YouTube Premium to launch a new in‑flight music discovery series, featuring live‑style concerts filmed inside a Boeing 767. The initiative offers SkyMiles members a 14‑day YouTube Premium trial, beginning with a 30‑minute performance by...
RAIN Notes: April 2
iHeartMedia announced the hiring of former NBCUniversal executive Jamie Cutburth as vice president of marketing and promoted Andrew Festo to vice president of events and experiences. Cutburth will drive tent‑pole storytelling and cross‑platform packaging, while Festo will oversee live and...
Streams up; Downloads Down. RIAA’s 2025 Year-End Report
The RIAA’s 2025 year‑end report shows recorded‑music revenue climbing to a record $11.5 billion, driven primarily by streaming and subscription services. Paid subscriptions contributed $6.4 billion, a 6.8% year‑over‑year increase and more than half of total revenue. Vinyl sales hit the $1 billion...
