Sounds Profitable

10

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.

Recent Episodes
  • Podcasts ๐Ÿ”œ Spotify Ad Exchange, Defining the "Top" Podcaster, & More
    May 5, 2025 โ€“ 07:04
  • Podcasting's Smart TV Factor, Getting Gaming into Podcast Ads, & More
    May 2, 2025 โ€“ 08:15
  • March Ad Spend ๐Ÿ“ˆ, SAG-AFTRA to Add Influencers, & More
    May 1, 2025 โ€“ 06:30
  • Conversations from Possible, Deloitte's Media Outlook, & More
    Apr 30, 2025 โ€“ 05:37
  • The Smart TV Factor: What Growing Connected TV Listening Means for Podcasting
    Apr 30, 2025 โ€“ 08:41
  • Digital Video Attracting Spend, UK Podcast Ad Growth, & More
    Apr 29, 2025 โ€“ 03:57
  • Selling Podcast Ads to Gaming, Spotify's Podcaster Pay, & More
    Apr 28, 2025 โ€“ 05:10
  • 2024's Podcast Ad Revenue, Podcasting's Conversion Problem, & More
    Apr 25, 2025 โ€“ 07:50
  • Making Podcasts Stickier, Global Podcast Listenership, & More
    Apr 24, 2025 โ€“ 06:15
  • Podcasting's๐ŸŒIncome, Chrome Cancels Pop-Up, & More
    Apr 23, 2025 โ€“ 04:48
  • Branded Content ๐Ÿ“ˆ Revenue, Reconsidering Ad Creative, & More
    Apr 22, 2025 โ€“ 05:39
  • Netflix ๐Ÿ‘€ Podcasters, IAB Ad Revenue Report, & More
    Apr 21, 2025 โ€“ 07:10
  • IAB Upfront โžก๏ธ September, Podcast Advertising's Utility & More
    Apr 18, 2025 โ€“ 08:48
  • Podcast Ad Versatility, CTV Transparency Concerns, & More
    Apr 17, 2025 โ€“ 04:18
  • Podcasting: The Most Versatile Medium
    Apr 17, 2025 โ€“ 05:50
  • Podcasting's Advertising Landscape, ๐ŸŒŽSpotify Outage, & More
    Apr 16, 2025 โ€“ 05:56
  • Economic Expectations, an Autumnal Podcast Upfront, & More
    Apr 15, 2025 โ€“ 05:51
  • Podcast Music Strikes, Young American Listening Habits, & More
    Apr 14, 2025 โ€“ 07:24
  • The Impact of Spotify Video, Nickelodeon x Starglow, & More
    Apr 11, 2025 โ€“ 09:29
  • Spotify Video Converting RSS, Podcasting's Fandom Boost, & More
    Apr 10, 2025 โ€“ 05:17
  • Branded Podcast Clips ๐Ÿ“ˆ, Updating the Podscape, & More
    Apr 9, 2025 โ€“ 05:29
  • Effective ๐ŸŽฎ Audio Ads, Thinking Like a Network, & More
    Apr 7, 2025 โ€“ 07:01
  • Defining "Podcast" for the Industry, Spotify's Ad Exchange, & More
    Apr 4, 2025 โ€“ 10:10
  • Podcasting's Report Card, Affiliate On the Rise, & More
    Apr 3, 2025 โ€“ 06:04
  • Defining the Podcast, Traffic vs. Audience, & More
    Apr 2, 2025 โ€“ 04:57
  • Podcasting and Spoken Word Discovery, 2025 Ambies Winners, & More
    Apr 1, 2025 โ€“ 06:49
  • Pro Athletes Score With Podcasting, BBC UK Backs Off Ads, & More
    Mar 31, 2025 โ€“ 05:36
  • The New User Experience, Tracking ๐Ÿ Plays, & More
    Mar 28, 2025 โ€“ 09:25
  • Marketing ๐ŸŽฎ w/ Podcasts, Spotify Expands Partner Program, & More
    Mar 27, 2025 โ€“ 04:16
  • Podcasting's Growth in Japan, Acast Grows in AU, & More
    Mar 26, 2025 โ€“ 02:50
  • India Invests in Influencers, 4th Signal Awards Open, & More
    Mar 25, 2025 โ€“ 03:25
  • What Counts as an Apple โ–ถ๏ธ, Gen Z Video Podcast Survey, & More
    Mar 24, 2025 โ€“ 06:42
  • The Saab 900 & Podcasting, Podcasting Super Spenders, & More
    Mar 21, 2025 โ€“ 09:41
  • Wondery Report ๐Ÿ”Ž Podcast Fandom, Creators Supporting Smaller Comrades, & More
    Mar 20, 2025 โ€“ 04:17
  • Gen Z Streams Together, YT Upgrades Android ๐Ÿ“บ Podcasts, & More
    Mar 19, 2025 โ€“ 03:44
  • A Real Saab Story About Podcasting
    Mar 19, 2025 โ€“ 09:25
  • ABC Invests in True Crime, Integrated AI Podcast Segments, & More
    Mar 18, 2025 โ€“ 04:12
  • Super Spenders in Audio, Podcasters vs. Influencers, & More
    Mar 17, 2025 โ€“ 04:40
  • Brand Fans Promote Podcasting, SXSW 2025 Recap, & More
    Mar 14, 2025 โ€“ 09:39
  • Podcasting 3.0
    Mar 13, 2025 โ€“ 13:17
  • Podcasting's โžก๏ธ Problem, Bundling Subscriptions, & More
    Mar 13, 2025 โ€“ 05:23
  • Video Influencer Upfronts, Spotify Producing Audiobooks, & More
    Mar 12, 2025 โ€“ 04:47
  • Content Creators x SXSW, Complications of True Crime, & More
    Mar 11, 2025 โ€“ 06:01
  • Free SXSW Podcasting Panel ๐Ÿ”Š, Wondery's FAST Podcast Moves, & More
    Mar 10, 2025 โ€“ 05:21
  • ๐Ÿ”Ž Podcasting @ SXSW, Efficient Smaller Podcasts, & More
    Mar 7, 2025 โ€“ 09:06
  • Podcasting @ SXSW, How to Use Surveys, & More
    Mar 6, 2025 โ€“ 06:19
  • Are Podcasters Influencers? AdOps Takes Center Stage, & More
    Mar 5, 2025 โ€“ 04:34
  • The Three Most Important Statistics about News Podcast Listeners
    Mar 5, 2025 โ€“ 06:47
  • Small Podcasts Drive Traffic, News Audiences โค๏ธ Video, & More
    Mar 4, 2025 โ€“ 05:07
  • Advertisers ๐Ÿงฑ The Oscars, Podcasting OK in UK, & More
    Mar 3, 2025 โ€“ 07:09
Recent Reviews
  • ~ Violet ~
    Jolly Badvertising
    Dude wants to turn personal podcast queue management into yet another media gavage? Wut? These people are why your phone is tracking everything you do. And selling that info. They sound like your friends. Theyโ€™re not. It seems that every time they quote stats in this show, they twist them to make it seem like there should be more advertising in podcasts. As if the skip button doesnโ€™t exist. As if the metrics are honest. As if the numbers donโ€™t actually show audience prefers no ads. It all seems dishonest and bad for podcasting long-term. They ran some experiments with their feed early on so now I have 4 separate feeds for this in my player. And the main part of their feed is now a whole different show, which is essentially a ripoff of another personโ€™s show. So I really struggle with this one. There seem to be some good people involved with this production. This show could do better in finding ways to tailor advertising to podcasting without losing audience. I would predict theyโ€™d find much shorter ads, fewer ad breaks, ads that sonically match the show yet are distinct from it, ads in their own chapter breaks, and non-intrusive whole-season sponsorships would be more pleasant and effective than what weโ€™re getting now. Ads are quickly driving me away from podcasting and helping me create my โ€œnever buyโ€ list. This show is telling the industry the opposite. Iโ€™d be suspicious of whatever it is this show is selling.
  • Bradford Swanson
    Critical information for the podcasting industry
    Sounds Profitableโ€™s series of podcasts have been so helpful to me as Iโ€™ve tried to keep up-to-speed with the changes across podcasting and media. Iโ€™ve relied on their coverage and insights to learn about how the AdTech industry works and evolves, but have also appreciated their in-depth research and analysis of news across the industry. Highly recommended!
  • consciousdave
    Great podcast for those interested in ad tech aka podcasters
    Bryan and now Tom, are great researchers; been following them both for a while. Bryan is passionate about the podcast space and how ads fit into it. Tom comes from Edison research and has a heavy research background- very knowledgeable about podcast data. Theyโ€™re already making a great team and I look forward to continue to track this space with them. They too do a good job of helping indies by giving a lot of free game and webinars etc. Definitely recommend to fellow podcasters that want to monetize and run ads
  • RelNiss
    0-100
    I didnโ€™t know anything about podcast ad tech before this show!
  • Courtneyisaboy
    Incredible ad tech learning
    This has helped me understand the advertising side to podcasting. Itโ€™s put in such a way that even the dumbest of humans, me being that, can understand and follow along. Great production. Great ideas.
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