Sounds Profitable
by Bryan Barletta
Latest episode
U.K. Video Podcast Habits, Spreaker Tackles Copied Podcasts, & More
U.K. Video Podcast Habits, Spreaker Tackles Copied Podcasts, & More
About this podcast
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
The newest 50 of 1,117 episodes
- U.K. Video Podcast Habits, Spreaker Tackles Copied Podcasts, & More · 12 min · Episode 1024This week in the business of podcasting:Tom Webster digs into The Podcast Landscape 2026 to see who would watch an AI-made season of a canceled show. Only 31% of Firefly fans say…
- Audio Leads The Trade Desk’s Q3, Brands Commission Creator Shows, & More · 6 min · Episode 1023Today in the business of podcasting:Tom Webster digs into The Podcast Landscape 2026 to see who would watch an AI-made season of a canceled show. Only 31% of Firefly fans say…
- You Can’t Take The Sky From Me · 9 min · Episode 1021Register for Clips: Podcasting’s New Front Door, a free webinar from SoundStack, Audacy, and Sounds Profitable on Wednesday, November 18 at 2 p.m. ET.This week Tom Webster…
- Audion Launches in Japan, Meta’s Muse Gets Into Podcasting, & More · 5 min · Episode 1022Today in the business of podcasting:Audio and video streaming advertising company Audion has launched in Japan with local partner Sekaiichi Inc., offering brands and agencies a…
- Nielsen’s Q3 Audio Report, Spreaker Tackles Copied Podcasts, & More Podcast description: · 7 min · Episode 1020Today in the business of podcasting:Nielsen’s Q3 2026 audio report, built on Edison Research’s Share of Ear data, finds podcasts take 21% of daily ad-supported audio time among…
- Celebrities Win the Holiday Ad Crunch, CMOs on Podcast Measurement, & More · 6 min · Episode 1019Today in the business of podcasting:Business Insider covers an Oxford Road survey finding 57% of marketers say measurement gaps are holding back podcast investments, with 40%…
- One-Genre Podcast Audiences, YouTube in French Podcasting, & More · 12 min · Episode 1017This week in the business of podcasting:Sounds Profitable’s Tom Webster finds the share of monthly podcast consumers who name just one genre grew from 12% to 16%, and explains…
- Examining One-Show Audiences, Mapping Brazil’s Podcasts, & More · 5 min · Episode 1018Today in the business of podcasting:Sounds Profitable’s Tom Webster finds that the share of monthly podcast consumers who name just one genre grew from 12% to 16%, and explains…
- YouTube Strong in Australian Podcasting, Podscribe October Rankings, & More · 6 min · Episode 1016Today in the business of podcasting:Signal Hill Insights’ Paul Riismandel shares three tips for preparing a podcast brand lift study, from planning six weeks ahead to gathering…
- The One-Show Wonders · 14 min · Episode 1015This week Tom Webster goes down a rabbit hole in The Podcast Landscape data to find out who consumes exactly one podcast genre, and why that group grew from 12% to 16% of monthly…
- YouTube Leads Audio in France, Flightcast’s YouTube-to-Spotify Pipeline, & More · 6 min · Episode 1014Today in the business of podcasting:Audion and YouGov’s new study of 1,000 French adults finds YouTube is the top listening platform in France at 61%, ahead of Spotify at 38%…
- Podcasts in the U.S. Midterms, SiriusXM Q3 Report, & More Podcast description: · 6 min · Episode 1013Today in the business of podcasting:SiriusXM’s CFO cited 20% growth in podcast advertising revenue on the Q3 earnings call, while ad revenue in the Pandora and Off-Platform…
- Audiences on AI-Generated Shows, Podcast DAI Comes to beehiiv, & More · 10 min · Episode 1012This week in the business of podcasting:Sounds Profitable, Coleman Insights, and Locked On are hosting a webinar on November 5 at 2pm ET, “The Power of Community: Why Podcasts…
- 35% of U.K. Consumes Podcasts, Triton Digital’s AI-to-AI Audio Buy, & More · 8 min · Episode 1011Today in the business of podcasting:Tom Webster shares new Sounds Profitable research from a survey of 5,473 Americans on whether people would watch an AI-generated revival of a…
- Beehiiv Rolls Out DAI for Podcasts, Acast’s Q3 Revenue, & More · 7 min · Episode 1010Today in the business of podcasting:Sounds Profitable, Coleman Insights and Locked On Podcast Network host a November 5 webinar on new research showing how podcasts build…
- Instagram Goes Longform, Netflix’s New Podcast Acquisitions Head, & More · 8 min · Episode 1009Today in the business of podcasting:Instagram is testing Features, a new tool for horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long, aimed at podcasters, comedians and other long-form…
- Video to Promote Audio, Podcasters Recognized as Small Businesses, & More · 8 min · Episode 1008Today in the business of podcasting:Tenderfoot TV turned a Radio Rental episode into a LEGO-inspired stop-motion short on YouTube, while Apple Podcasts launched The Greatest…
- Tracking YouTube Engaged Views, How Super Spenders Support Podcasts, & More · 14 min · Episode 1006This week in the business of podcasting:Right Side Up and Sounds Profitable host a free October 28 webinar on how AI use and discovery affect podcast ad budgets, drawing on The…
- Podcasting’s Super Spenders, Measuring Baked-In HLS Ads, & More · 9 min · Episode 1007Today in the business of podcasting:Tom Webster breaks down the new Super Spenders report, finding that the 11% of podcast consumers who spend $300 or more account for roughly…
- The U.S. Political Podcasting Picture, Substack Launches Podcast DAI, & More · 6 min · Episode 1005Today in the business of podcasting:Signal Hill Insights’ Demos+ study of more than 3,000 monthly US podcast consumers finds the audience now skews Independent at 39%, with…
- Spotify Announces Memberships, The 2026 Signal Award Winners, & More · 8 min · Episode 1004Today in the business of podcasting:Spotify has unveiled Memberships, letting creators offer exclusive content and community perks for a fee, with creators keeping 90% of…
- Golden Globes Podcasts Revealed, Spotify Expands Audiobook Availability, & More · 8 min · Episode 1003Today in the business of podcasting:Right Side Up and Sounds Profitable host a free webinar on October 28 about how AI chatbots are changing podcast ad discovery and measurement…
- Podcast Audiences on Political Content, How Gen Z Engages w. Clips, & More · 14 min · Episode 1001This week in the business of podcasting:Tom Webster breaks out the politics chapter of The Podcast Landscape 2026, a survey of 5,473 U.S. adults, covering how the podcast…
- Report on Politics and Podcasting, Fans Trust Creators, & More · 7 min · Episode 1002Today in the business of podcasting:Tom Webster breaks out the political findings from The Podcast Landscape 2026, including how Americans feel about politicians as podcast…
- Looking Beyond the Pre-Roll Ad, Gen Z on Podcast Clips, & More · 7 min · Episode 1000Today in the business of podcasting:The Podcast Study 2026 from Strategic Solutions Research and Point-To-Point Marketing finds new revenue opportunities beyond the traditional…
- Politics and Podcasting: A Special Report from The Podcast Landscape · 10 min · Episode 999This week Tom Webster looks at how podcast consumers feel about politics in podcasting as the midterms approach, drawing on the politics chapter of The Podcast Landscape 2026…
- What Moves Podcast Performance, Keeping Brand Deals Personal, & More · 8 min · Episode 998Today in the business of podcasting:Podscribe’s Q3 benchmark report finds geography is the strongest targeting signal for podcast ad results, followed by a recent visit to the…
- Apple Talks HLS, Audible Debuts NielsenIQ Spoken Word Data, & More · 7 min · Episode 997Today in the business of podcasting:Apple Podcasts product manager Ted Hosmann explains how video podcasts work over HLS at the IETF’s HLS Interest Day. He says top shows have…
- The New Rules of Podcast Advertising, Automating the Average, & More · 12 min · Episode 995This week in the business of podcasting:Tom Webster says AI is the average machine, so podcasters should hand it routine work like show notes and ad operations and protect the…
- Resetting Podcasting's Thermostat, Ad Spend Increase, & More · 6 min · Episode 996Today in the business of podcasting:Tom Webster says AI is the average machine, so hand it the routine podcasting work like show notes, transcripts and ad ops, and protect the…
- Reset Your Thermostat · 10 min · Episode 993This week Tom Webster reports back from Denver, where Content Marketing World, LIONS, and The Market Research Event shared one expo floor and nearly every booth was selling an…
- Canadian Listeners on AI Audio, Apple's Ad Tech Blocklist, & More · 7 min · Episode 994Today in the business of podcasting:A Signal Hill Insights survey of 6,161 Canadians finds AM/FM radio still holds 46% of in-car listening, while 68% of Canadians dislike…
- Lessons on Podcast Impressions, Barometer Brand Suitability on Amazon Ads, & More · 8 min · Episode 992Today in the business of podcasting:Sounds Profitable Partner Tom Webster and ADOPTER Media's Glenn Rubenstein host a free webinar on October 13 at 2:00 p.m. ET, using new…
- Industry Leaders on Scale, Podcast Landscape 2026 Debuts, & More · 9 min · Episode 991This week in the business of podcasting:Sounds Profitable's Podcast Landscape 2026 shows podcast reach holding steady at 74% of U.S. adults, while Netflix debuts as the third…
- The Podcast Landscape 2026 Pt. 1, Podcasting's Place in the Mix, & More · 7 min · Episode 990Today in the business of podcasting:Sounds Profitable's Podcast Landscape 2026 finds U.S. podcast reach holding steady at 74% of adults, with Netflix arriving as a top-three…
- The Podcast Landscape 2026 - The Core Numbers · 4 min · Episode 989This week Tom Webster shares Part One of The Podcast Landscape 2026, our annual study of how Americans consume podcasts, drawn from a census-weighted survey of 5,473 US adults…
- International Podcast Day Announcements, Podcast Leaders on Scale, & More · 7 min · Episode 988Today in the business of podcasting:Acast, Oxford Road, and Triton Digital leaders explain how they reached scale, why inconsistent measurement remains a core problem, and why…
- BetterHelp Goes Global with Media Bodies, IAB Tech Lab Seeks Programmatic Feedback, & More · 5 min · Episode 987Today in the business of podcasting:BetterHelp has tapped creator-led agency Media Bodies to lead its international podcast advertising strategy across 10 markets, using…
- Monitoring Programmatic Podcast Ad Load, Patreon Pulls Per-Creation, & More · 6 min · Episode 986Today in the business of podcasting:1UpMedia founder Guang Jin Yeo shares what Asia's podcast market can learn from the global playbook, from static-frame video podcasts to…
- Lessons from Podcast Movement NYC, Buyers Choose Engaged Views, & More · 11 min · Episode 984This week in the business of podcasting:Sounds Profitable's Tom Webster explains why Netflix passing Apple Podcasts to become the third most-named place Americans consume…
- Netflix's Place in Podcasting, Upcoming YouTube Features, & More · 8 min · Episode 985Today in the business of podcasting:Lower Street's Annalise Nielsen explains why it's so hard to buy podcast ads. Trying to spend a $72,000 budget, she ran into missing ad…
- Podcast Locations in Apple Maps, Mid-Sized Podcast Appeal, & More · 4 min · Episode 983Today in the business of podcasting:Apple Podcasts and Apple Maps launch Hidden Histories, a feature that uses the podcast:location tag to place episodes on real-world locations…
- Tu-Dum · 13 min · Episode 982This week Tom Webster comes back from his Podcast Movement keynote in New York with a number that should stop the industry cold. Across four years of The Podcast Landscape, the…
- Rethinking Audio vs. Video Podcasting, Creators Selling TV-Style, & More · 6 min · Episode 981Today in the business of podcasting:Triton Digital's Sharon Taylor pushes back on the video-first narrative, pointing to 2025 U.S. Podcast Report data showing 80% of monthly…
- Ad Buyers Align on Engaged Views, Bumper x Oxford Road, & More · 6 min · Episode 980Today in the business of podcasting:Ad buyers draw a line on YouTube's "Engaged Views": At last week's Sounds Profitable Business Summit, ADOPTER Media, Right Side Up, Oxford…
- Podcast Week in NYC, iOS 27 Podcast Updates, & More · 9 min · Episode 979This week in the business of podcasting:Podcast Week in New York opened with the Sounds Profitable Business Summit, where This American Life's Ira Glass argued that podcasts…
- Spotify Expands Partner Program, IAB Announces Podcast Video Measurement Guidelines, & More · 5 min · Episode 978Today in the business of podcasting:The IAB used its Podcast Upfront during Podcast Week to release new video podcast measurement guidance, declining to adopt a single…
- New Apple Podcasts Features, Amazon Music Expands Video Podcast Presence, & More · 7 min · Episode 977Today in the business of podcasting:Apple's fall software releases bring a wave of new Apple Podcasts features across iOS 27, tvOS 27, and macOS 27, led by a video-first…
- Ira Glass on Podcast Advertising, PRX Names New CEO, & More · 5 min · Episode 976Today in the business of podcasting:Podcast Week in New York kicked off with the Sounds Profitable Business Summit, where This American Life's Ira Glass argued that podcasting's…
- Podcasting 🔜 NYC, Magellan AI's Q2 Podcast Measurement Benchmarks, & More · 5 min · Episode 975Today in the business of podcasting:Podcasts Take Over New York — Podcast Week NYC kicks off with three back-to-back events: the Sounds Profitable Business Summit today and…
