Rob Greenlee

The Dying Era of Podcast Exclusives

By Rob Greenlee, Co-Host of NewMediaShow.com and Host of Trust Factor with Rob Greenlee

Rob Greenlee, VP of Content and Partnerships, Libsyn

Many say that we are in a time of change and need to be open to innovation in the podcasting industry. Could some of these new ideas change podcasting in ways that may slow or harm the medium with such strong and consistent growth over the past 19+ years?

There is an explosion of interest in the video at large dominant platforms like YouTube, Spotify Video, Rumble, and all the other short and long-form video-consuming platforms.

Podcasting originated 19+ years ago around the idea of open distribution that gave the potential to reach as many listeners as possible. For most of that period, it has been assumed that to be considered a podcast by strict original definition; one must distribute via an RSS feed to many listening platforms and go to where audio listeners and, back then, video viewers were too.

The idea behind podcasting was to create an eco-system that is open and filled with new innovative ideas from software developers and content creators to do their craft in a way that was not limited by gatekeepers or large companies trying to control the creative process and to a large degree the distribution of the results of that creative process.

Exclusives have been an old media construct to create control and monetization for the platform and have been less about what is best for the creator. In most cases, the listening or viewing platform or network is the only beneficiary of exclusives.

See the quote below.

“I also think it means that broadcasters, or production companies, can probably be too quick to make things exclusive. Hiding them away when they aren’t significantly famous doesn’t probably generate you that much value.” The quote above from Matt Deegan

This topic of podcast exclusives has been evolving since the very early days of podcasting and is now declining with a challenging economy. Over the years, podcasting is still dominated by the RSS feed but has recently shifted to the model of RSS feeds being optional. That makes one go. Hmm, what is going on?

In a growing number of examples, more recently, these exclusives have meant shutting down the use of RSS feeds, and Spotify’s Anchor podcast hosting platform has made generating an RSS feed an optional ask and not a default function.

See the quote below from Spotify’s Anchor platform head, Michael Mignano, in a post earlier this past spring of 2021. This post explained the reasons for this change are that it gives the content creator more significant control over the distribution of the audio content. Still, this change at Anchor also has the unsaid benefit of getting Spotify exclusive shows on its platform for FREE in exchange for Free hosting, as their automatic ad insertion monetization strategy never reaches scale.

Greater control over which platforms ingest, publish, and monetize creators’ content: “As more and more new audio platforms emerge and look to capitalize on the growing audio space, creators must have control over which platforms are aggregating their content from the web (and in some cases, building their businesses on top of creators’ content without their consent). When a creator launches a new podcast on most podcast creation platforms (including Anchor), the platform automatically generates an RSS feed and publishes it to the open web. This published RSS feed makes it possible for any platform or website to ingest the RSS feed and display and even monetize the content. This can happen without explicit permission from the creator. As part of our distribution update, we will only generate an RSS feed if the creator explicitly wants one (and we’ll present clear options on how to do so at the time of publishing). This will ensure that each creator can explicitly publish their podcast with an RSS feed (enabling any platform to ingest, display, and monetize that content) rather than happening automatically without the creator’s consent.

Suppose you’re already an existing Anchor creator and would like to opt out of your RSS feed being published and available to be ingested by any platform. In that case, you may contact us anytime to request we change your distribution settings to your liking.” Quote from former Spotify’s Anchor platform head Michael Mignano

I do like the message and idea of giving content creators more control. We are emerging into a time when content creators or podcasters need to value their work more, and limiting access to it is one approach as Spotify Anchor is driving here, but doing it through a platform like Spotify may not be the best approach for most podcasters that are looking for growing an audience and potentially monetizing. The history of Anchor and now Spotify for Podcasters is not one with a solid history of generating and consistently publishing podcast shows with a growing audience. Still, it has been a platform full of podfaded shows.

Most shows created on the Anchor platform have exploded the false perception that the podcasting market is flooded with millions of new successful podcasts. Many now feel like it is too late to get into podcasting because it is too crowded, and the truth is it is just not too late.

What is the State of the Podcasting Industry in 2020? What is ahead in 2021 Q & A?

By Rob Greenlee

(12/18/2020) Podcasting globally is growing fast in all aspects and is increasingly diversified around gender, ethnicity, and race. We are seeing innovation and talented people entering the podcasting medium in many areas now that is becoming increasingly less about speaking into a microphone to host a podcast show and increasingly around the business of podcasting.

Podcasting has been increasingly upping the quality game of content development. The listening platforms compete for users by pushing the envelope around discovery metadata for search, production and marketing support, full transcriptions, and monetization.

Advertising revenue is up less than expected before COVID-19 but is up still and will continue to grow and accelerate into late 2021. Reaching $1 Billion+ in ad revenue will take longer than many have hoped, and filling more podcasts with spots that value podcast ad inventory, whether baked-in host reads or prerecorded dynamically inserted talent reads with higher CPM, is key.

Privacy and changes to Internet protocol IPv6 will continue to impact digital advertising. It will hold back podcast advertising as long as we rely too much on IP targeting and selling IPs of listeners to re-target advertising.

Global listening, content creation, and monetization from all parts of the world are key to the rapid and sustained growth of the medium.

What have been the big podcasting stories over the last year?

Global growth and expansion started many years ago by Apple iTunes Podcasts and has seen gradual and faster expansion by listening services platforms like Spotify, Deezer, Gaana, Amazon, and iVoox. The expansion to new listening platforms around the world is not done yet.

Content production companies like BBC, CBC, ABC Australia, and many other smaller audio creation companies like SoundCartel in Australia and Kelly & Kelly in Canada have shifted from radio audio to podcast audio production services.

Who has benefited the most in the podcasting space over the past few years?

Benefits from podcasting vary and depend on podcasters’ goals and achieving those. I am not sure that I can say who has benefitted the most from the growth and development of podcasting over the past few years, but I can comment on how many have benefited.

I know that many people help their work careers, grow their brands, grow a businesses, gain direct revenue from donations, earn paid subscriptions, and build advertising revenue with a podcast.

Many think big corporate podcasting and the largest audience podcasts have benefitted the most. This assumes that podcast monetization, VC investments, mergers, and acquisitions are the most important factors in who has benefitted the most. Still, all these advancements and attention have helped independents and corporate podcasting, which sometimes can be independent podcasters.

The line between corporate and independent podcasting is getting less clear as so many individuals build teams around their productions and big companies.

What are the chances an independent podcaster can become successful in today’s podcasting world without being part of a network?

I believe this has not changed much since the early days of podcasting. As long as podcasting remains dominated by independent creators and the industry keeps supporting opportunities for those types of creators, it will be a 16-year-old new medium that continues to offer a level playing field.

It is also true that larger companies and networks are getting more attention than ever. That increasing attention, size, and cash resources are driving increasing success for some of these companies. It is also true that the number of employees and money resources do not guarantee success in the podcasting space.

Successful content can come from anywhere in the podcasting or media space. Larger companies can have some advantages in the market, and market forces are helping to increase the advantage to larger listening publishing platforms. However, content creation is still where the medium is a blank canvas of opportunity as the cost of quality audio production continues to fall.

How successful can an independent podcaster be as part of a network?

A key question in today’s podcasting space is a podcast that is part of a large network of independent podcasts. I think it is if the content is still wholly owned independently by the creator.

Some networks have owned and operated podcasts where the talent is hired to produce the podcast. However, independent podcasters affiliated with a large or smaller network own all the rights to their content but still can potentially get support from a network.

I consider the podcasts that the hosts still own all the rights to be independent podcasters. I think the definition of an independent podcast has been confusing for many. Some have judged some shows as not part of the indie side of podcasting when they are independent podcasts while being part of a big corporate media or podcasting company.

I believe Quality Cream rises to the top in podcasting; all a podcast needs to do is spark word-of-mouth sharing in its listener base, and it will grow over time if trust and value exchanges are created in people’s lives.

Has the measurement issue been solved?

We have solved the measurement issue as much as we can at this moment in time.

The future of podcast measurement is facing some very large challenges shortly as we struggle to obtain client-side listening data, the very limited path to listener opt-in tracking, internet protocol (IPv4 to IPv6) technology, elimination of the cookie, and growing privacy-related global legal restrictions change and develop.

As we face all the above challenges, we must always keep in mind that podcasting has been rooted for 16 years in being mostly a non-commercial medium that is free, open, and accessible.

It is important to continue recognizing the trust-building rooted in the medium’s history in protecting listeners’ privacy. This trust-building has resulted in strong ROI via host reads ads without violating listener privacy.

Has the discovery issue been solved?

The discovery issue has never existed in the way it has been commonly understood. Many complain that podcast discovery is the core reason their podcasts have not grown in the audience they have as fast as they would like.

The discovery of podcasts can certainly be better. Still, most of that issue falls on the backs of the podcast creator and how well they have developed the topics and program, show marketing and promotion, website SEO, and their efforts to inspire the audience sharing to others.

What is the best advice you could give someone thinking about podcasting today?

I mostly give the same advice today as I did years ago. The opportunity to succeed in podcasting has not changed. It just takes planning and goal setting, focus on relevant content, good-sounding audio, an aggressive distribution, and a promotion plan that connects with listeners.

What will happen in the future in the podcasting space?
The podcasting medium will keep steadily growing in all areas in the near and long term. It is up to all of us to evolve podcasting in a way that preserves its roots as a trusted and level playing field for all to contribute and participate.

Rob Greenlee is the Former Chairperson of The Podcast Academy “Ambies Awards” and was inducted into the Academy of Podcasters Hall of Fame in 2017. His career started around offline and then online marketing. Then, on the radio in 1999 and podcasting on Sept 15, 2004, with the first nationally syndicated radio show, “WebTalk World Radio Show”. He co-hosts the “New Media Show,” a weekly audio and video podcast streaming LIVE at NewMediaShow.com. Connect with Rob at rob. greenlee(at)gmail(dot)com.

He is available for podcast interviews and other media opportunities here – Calendly.com/robgreenlee/

Is a New Podcasting Industry Association Needed Again?

By Rob Greenlee, Former VP of Content and Partnerships, Libsyn.com

You might be asking a simple question: Why? Again, we have been here before, and it was called the Association of Downloadable Media (ADM). It was a grassroots organization formed by some of the larger podcasting players in 2008.

Ten years later, much maturity in the market has occurred, but most new people to podcasting will not have known this history. It is also true that it does not matter how much what happened in the past, but what we do now going forward. I agree with that thought, but some lessons can be learned from that experience to make an organization work this time.

The ADM was mostly a failure by most measures, with the group in fighting and backroom closed-door communications in efforts to control the group’s efforts. Still, some good came out of it, and we did set some very basic measurement standards that have carried the overall podcasting industry till the more recent efforts by the IAB Podcast Metrics Working Group to establish v.1 and, more recently IAB v.2 Podcast Metrics Standards.

The thought is to create an industry group that can collaborate to create more standards in the industry around advertising formats, best practices around dynamic ad insertion, and programmatic ad buying. Large brands and agencies need some whitepapers with examples of successful advertising campaigns.

As host/talent read ad spots converge more with programmatic buying platforms, we will see revenue grow in the podcasting medium.

We must also keep working on audio-playing client-side metrics to realize the complete listening picture from downloaded podcast audio files.

This new unnamed podcast industry association would enable everyone to come together around growing the listening side of the podcasting industry with the potential of co-op online and offline marketing and promotion.

I have a proposed name for the new association, and that might be “Professional Podcast Association” (PPA) or “Global Podcast Association” (GPA). Please let me know if you have any other ideas about this proposal – rob.greenlee at gmail dot com.

Why Podcasters and Listeners Should Care About Dynamic Ad Insertion or Also Called Audio Stitching?

(Article Updated July 7, 2019) Simply put “Dynamically Inserted Advertising” puts audio ads or audio promos in podcast episode downloads and it stays there for a certain amount of time and then it stops being inserted when it’s reached a certain number of purchased impressions via downloads and plays.

“But one must be hyper-cautious of annoying audiences with bad ads and too many ads with this technology. The tech is not so much the issue, but how it is used.”

Ideally, all ads in podcasts should be read by the podcast host or another experienced podcast host doing the read for other podcasts as as I call talent reads. This approach can work with dynamic ad insertion as well as the traditional baked in versions that are in the media file forever. Keep in mind the use of baked in ads leaves advertising cash on the table as archives can be fully monetized with dynamic ad insertion.

One needs to be careful to make sure the listener experience isn’t degraded at all from this ad delivery method. One must be mindful of where the ad break is placed inside or at the beginning of the content. One also needs to be mindful that using music fades around dynamic ads must be thought through and most of the time doing soft transition breaks is best as ads may not always in the show at playback.

Some may run dynamic ad insertion with more traditional radio ad type spots with the big brand advertisers and those may not be as well received by listeners.

But, if talent/host read ads are done correctly they would not disrupt the long-standing host read type of authentic experience listeners to podcasts have become accustomed too.

Ideally the listener would never know you are using ad insertion to deliver a host read because it sounds the same as baked in host read ads they are used to hearing.

“Given all the warnings, dynamic ad insertion is rapidly becoming the de facto way of doing ad business in the Podcasting space, but some media buyers are resisting the shift from baked in live host read ads. The ad buyers have gotten used to getting free archival impressions for the life of episodes with baked in ads”

Reality is that with dynamic ad insertion there will be a flood of inventory in the space and the CPM rates will likely go down until the IAB v.2 podcast metrics certification of podcast hosting platforms process gets wider adoption to see CPM (Ad Cost Per Thousand) in podcasting go up and I am confident they will as we are seeing signs of it already.

Forward-looking podcasters will figure out what their premium content offering will see CPM or ad revenue climb to impressive levels as advertisers see acceleration of ROI as the counting of audience numbers begins to more broadly reflect the real truth.

Podcasters will still need to diversify by combining audio with video and click-through sponsored social post ads, inspire listening audiences to word of mouth share podcast listen recommendations is a big part of the solution. Many will be able to sell subscriptions, live performance tickets and other products that add value to their listeners and generate additional revenue.

This growing form of advertising in podcasts will impact listeners and content creators in a positive or negative way depending on how it is implemented.

Keep an ear out for it and time will tell if it turns out positive or negative.

Listen to “SLS105: Podcast Discovery and Ad Insertion” on Spreaker.