Sounds Profitable

Bryan Barletta

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.

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#979
Friday · 8 min
Podcast Week in NYC, iOS 27 Podcast Updates, & More
This 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 build deeper audience connections than influencer content and that the depth makes their advertising more effective. A later panel tackled Spotify's skip button test, with Right Side Up and Acast pushing the industry toward better ad quality and more transparency. Writing in The Roast, ADOPTER Media's Adam McNeal makes the case for pinning YouTube ad deals to "engaged views" rather than the platform's newly inflated public view count, arguing buyers should anchor contracts to the more meaningful metric while they still can. Spotify is expanding its Partner Program for podcasts to more than 35 new markets this fall, its largest geographic rollout yet, citing a 140% jump in video podcast consumption and working with hosts like Acast, Libsyn, and Omny so creators can opt in without switching distributors. At the IAB Podcast Upfront during Podcast Week, the IAB released a new video podcast measurement guide and argued a brand-new medium-agnostic framework like the AMP Accords is not needed, pointing buyers instead to existing IAB Tech Lab standards and clarifying which one applies where. Apple's fall operating systems bring a wide batch of new Apple Podcasts features across iOS 27, tvOS 27, and macOS 27, with video as the throughline: a redesigned Apple TV app, video playback on macOS, full transcripts and chapters, and a new Search in Show tool. To find links to these, and every article covered in this week's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.
#978
Thursday · 4 min
Spotify Expands Partner Program, IAB Announces Podcast Video Measurement Guidelines, & More
Today 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 medium-agnostic standard like the AMP Accords in favor of two existing IAB Tech Lab frameworks. Spotify is expanding its Partner Program to more than 35 new markets this fall, opening audio and video podcast monetization to creators across Latin America and Europe while partnering with hosts like Acast, Libsyn, and Audioboom. Acast's Podcast Pulse 2026 study of 4,300 listeners across 13 markets finds audiences no longer see audio and video as competing formats, with 88 percent now consuming both and trust in podcast host recommendations climbing. To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.
#977
Wednesday · 7 min
New Apple Podcasts Features, Amazon Music Expands Video Podcast Presence, & More
Today 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 redesign. A revamped Apple TV app adds video podcast playback and channel browsing, while full transcripts, chapters, and a new Search in Show tool arrive across devices. Amazon Music is expanding its global video podcast partnerships, integrating shows hosted on ART19, Omny Studio, and Flightcast, with SiriusXM, Megaphone, and Libsyn to follow. Video is rolling out to new markets including the UK, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Japan, and publishers keep control of hosting, ad inventory, and targeting. The Podcast Study 2026, built from a nationally representative survey of 1,205 listeners, finds 82% see the host as a significant reason they tune in and that listeners remember and act on host-read ads more than other formats. The research also maps new revenue paths through ad-light subscriptions and interest-based targeting. NPR unveiled a packed fall slate headlined by Machine Gods, a video-first, twice-weekly show from Hard Fork creators Kevin Roose and Casey Newton. The public radio outlet also announced Your Turn with Allison Aubrey and a weekend expansion of Planet Money's The Indicator. Members of the Podcast Standards Project are meeting tomorrow during Podcast Movement to push for features that improve the open podcasting ecosystem. The gathering is open to anyone who builds for open podcasting, member or not. To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.
#976
Tuesday · 4 min
Ira Glass on Podcast Advertising, PRX Names New CEO, & More
Today 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 depth and audience connection make it more effective for advertisers than most influencer content. Panelists also pushed back on Spotify skip-button anxiety, making the case that better ads and more data transparency beat fear. Genius Sports CRO Josh Linforth lays out how athlete-tracking technology is reshaping athlete-led media, using the Chris Paul partnership to show how the same data players rely on can feed fans directly and reshape sponsorships around content like athlete-led podcasts. PRX named Chief Operating Officer Jason Saldanha its next president and CEO, effective October 15, succeeding Kerri Hoffman after more than a decade leading the organization, launching Radiotopia and moving over $200 million to independent creators. To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.
#975
September 14 · 5 min
Podcasting 🔜 NYC, Magellan AI's Q2 Podcast Measurement Benchmarks, & More
Today 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 tomorrow, the 2026 IAB Podcast Upfront on Wednesday, and Podcast Movement closing out Thursday and Friday. Tom Webster has teased a keynote built on The Podcast Landscape 2026 data he expects to spark real industry debate. Magellan AI's Q2 2026 Podcast Measurement Benchmark Report — New benchmarks show roughly 41% of podcast ad site visits land within seven days and 76% within 30, so reading a campaign too early can undercount results by more than half. Host-read ads posted a 3.22% median response rate against 2.09% for produced spots, and video shows outpaced audio-only. Zero Seconds by Adam McNeal — ADOPTER Media's Adam McNeal argues for demanding YouTube "Engaged View" reporting in ad contracts, after founder Glenn Rubenstein warned the platform's new view metric can nearly double public counts without more real engagement. Any network holding its CPM flat on inflated views effectively hands itself a raise buyers can only counter up front. Substack Adds a Dedicated Podcast Tab — Substack rolled out a dedicated podcast tab in its app to help creators reach current listeners and get found by new ones, noting podcasters collectively earn over $200 million on the platform. It is a notable carve-out for podcasting's brand from a company that once folded blogs into simply being "a Substack." To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.
#974
September 11 · 7 min
Audiences Chose TVs Over Smart Speakers, IAB 2026 Ad Outlook, & More
This week in the business of podcasting: New Sounds Profitable data shows the smart TV has overtaken the smart speaker as a top device for podcast listening, with Tom Webster arguing audiences increasingly treat podcasts as foreground viewing rather than background audio. The IAB raised its 2026 U.S. ad market forecast to 12.3 percent, with podcast advertising expected to grow 8.7 percent and outpace other digital audio formats. Scalable examines the wave of executive departures at creator-founded companies like Dude Perfect, Audiochuck, and Good Good Golf, and what those exits reveal about scaling creator-led businesses. True Native Media's Sabrina Nelson makes the case that podcasters do not need to be on every platform to grow, and should focus their time where it actually moves the needle. To find links to these, and every article covered in this week's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.
#973
September 10 · 4 min
How Smart TVs Overtook Speakers, IAB Bullish on 2026 Ad Revenue, & More
Today in the business of podcasting: New Podcast Landscape 2026 data shows smart TVs now drive 12% of primary podcast listening, up from 8% in 2024, while smart speakers have flatlined at 1%. Tom Webster argues audiences increasingly treat podcasts as foreground content on the shared living-room screen rather than voice-summoned background audio. The IAB raised its 2026 U.S. ad growth forecast to 12.3%, up from the 9.5% it projected in January, after a stronger-than-expected first half. Podcast ad spending is climbing 8.7%, outpacing other digital audio and ranking ahead of paid search, digital display, and gaming. YouTube's public "view" count now registers the moment playback starts, letting mouseovers and autoplay inflate the number, while the stricter "engaged views" metric is visible only to uploaders. ADOPTER Media's Glenn Rubenstein urges buyers to make engaged views the standard on 2027 insertion orders so brands don't overpay for the same attention. To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.
#972
September 9 · 5 min
Speakeasy Now Uses Barometer, True Native Media on Podcast Growth, & More
Today in the business of podcasting: Red Seat Ventures has integrated Barometer's AI-powered brand suitability and contextual targeting engine into its Speakeasy platform, bringing episode-level ad targeting to a portfolio of more than 40 creators and cutting the over-blocking that leaves safe inventory unsold. Scalable examines a wave of executive departures at creator-founded companies like Dude Perfect, Audiochuck, and Good Good Golf, tracing them to founder-centric business models and the friction of bringing in professional managers to scale. True Native Media's Sabrina Nelson argues podcasters do not need to publish on every platform to grow, making the case for a focused distribution strategy that spends limited time where it actually moves the needle. To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.
#971
September 9 · 7 min
Smart TV Killed the Smart Speaker Star
This week Tom Webster goes to the bottom of the device table in the brand-new The Podcast Landscape 2026 data and finds a story that has been quietly eroding for years. The smart speaker, once pitched as podcasting's cleanest shot at owning a default, has flatlined at one percent. The device actually climbing is the biggest screen in the house. Smart TV as the most-used way to listen jumped from 8 percent in 2024 to 12 percent in 2026, and folded together with second-most-used it now reaches 25 percent of podcast consumers, while the phone slipped. Ahead of his keynote at Podcast Movement in New York, Tom gets into what that shift really means: why podcast listening in the home is consolidating onto the television rather than spreading across every device in it what a screen changes for advertisers when a show can be seen by a whole room instead of heard through one pair of earbuds why the car makes the same point from the other direction, and the one context the industry has spent the least time thinking about what the move from background to foreground says about what the audience has decided a podcast actually is A preview of the questions Tom will take to the stage on the 17th. Read the full issue here.
#970
September 8 · 5 min
Podcasting's Biggest Spender, NPR Launches Senior Podcast Challenge, & More
Today in the business of podcasting: Bloomberg reports that BetterHelp is podcasting's biggest advertiser of all time, with an estimated $242 million spent since 2023 and ads running on more than 1,000 shows at once, per Magellan AI. MS NOW is expanding its Crooked Media partnership, adding Jon Lovett's Lovett or Leave It to its Saturday night lineup starting September 12 through the 2026 midterms. Digiday reports the creator economy still has no standard way to price talent, with roughly half of marketers mispricing fees and many admitting they overpay. NPR launches a Senior Podcast Challenge inviting Americans 65 and older to submit original audio stories, with entries due November 30. To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.
#969
September 4 · 7 min
Podcast Movement 2026 Keynotes, Australia's Advertising Growth, & More
This week in the business of podcasting: Tom Webster runs through the stars and keynotes of Podcast Movement 2026 in New York, including his Podcast Landscape 2026 study of more than 5,400 consumers and a surprising finding that Apple has slipped out of the top three podcast platforms. YouTube's redefinition of a view roughly doubled reported view counts overnight, and Oxford Road's Dan Granger and Bumper's Dan Misener argue the resulting confusion makes the case for trustworthy cross-platform measurement standards. Australia's internet advertising hit a record $19.8 billion in FY26 with podcasting up 10.1%, even as IAB Australia's Future of Measurement review warns the industry still needs shared data standards to measure cross-channel impact. To find links to these, and every article covered in this week's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every week.
#968
September 3 · 3 min
Podcast Movement 🔜 Times Square, Google AdTech Ruling, & More
Today in the business of podcasting: Podcast Movement 2026 heads to New York City September 17 and 18 at Terminal 5, where anyone registered by September 4 gets their podcast or company artwork on a Times Square display, and Tom Webster previews the keynote lineup and his Podcast Landscape 2026 research. Hernan Lopez breaks down a new inflection point in streaming distribution, weighing direct-to-consumer, wholesale deals through Amazon Channels, Roku, and YouTube, and ad-tier monetization, projecting Amazon Channels could reach roughly $10 billion a year. A federal judge ruled Google will not be forced to break up its ad tech business despite earlier monopoly findings, a decision set to reshape pricing, inventory access, and competition across programmatic advertising. To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.
#966
September 2 · 3 min
IAB Australia on Data Standards, YouTube's TIFF Creator Festival, & More
Today in the business of podcasting: IAB Australia's Future of Measurement review finds the biggest constraint on advertising is fragmented data, not a shortage of measurement methods, and it calls for a shared campaign-data taxonomy modeled on IAB US's Campaign Data Standards 1.0. YouTube and Variety are launching the inaugural Variety x YouTube Creator Festival at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, premiering a Mark Vins documentary and two episodes of Ziwe's You'd Be an Iconic Guest before both become YouTube exclusives. Netflix is doubling down on podcasts, ordering new shows from Katt Williams, Harlan Coben, and Stephanie Soo, renewing its entire slate of originals, and adding acquired Spotify video podcasts including The Bill Simmons Podcast and The Rewatchables. To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.
#967
September 2 · 8 min
The Stars of Podcast Movement
This week Tom Webster delivers his final Podcast Movement programming rundown, along with a deadline you don't want to sleep on. Register by end of day Friday, September 4 and the art for your show or your company logo goes up on a screen in the middle of Times Square. Fewer than 200 tickets remain at $199 for both days. Tom also previews the four keynotes headed to the New York stages: Thursday at 11:30, Tom releases The Podcast Landscape 2026 live from the stage, the fourth year of the Signal Hill Insights study and the largest publicly available study of podcasting in America at 5,400 consumers weighted to the census. For the first time since podcasting began, Apple is no longer among the top three platforms people name, and Tom reveals what replaced it. SiriusXM Media brings MrBallen, John Allen, for a fireside on turning a devoted true-crime fanbase into a lasting multi-platform brand. Arielle Nissenblatt and Lauren Passell tackle the question the industry never settles in WTF is a Podcast in 2026?, built from answers gathered from attendees all week. Steve McLendon, Head of Product for YouTube Podcasts, closes out the keynotes with what YouTube is building next for podcasters. Plus the details on the IAB Podcast Upfront after party at Terminal 5, featuring a live taping of Dana Gould's Hangin' with Dr. Z in full Planet of the Apes makeup. Read the full issue and register for Podcast Movement here.
#965
September 1 · 4 min
Bumper on New YouTube View, Reframing Podcast Advertising, & More
Today in the business of podcasting: Oxford Road's Dan Granger argues that YouTube's decision to redefine how it counts views, a change Bumper's Dan Misener found inflates play counts by nearly double, is the jolt that proves podcasting needs cross-platform measurement standards it can actually trust. Former Adelicious leaders Andy Goldsmith and Craig Eastwood team with industry veteran Mike Wooller to launch Everywhere, a new media company built to unify creator commercial partnerships as audiences increasingly follow creators across platforms rather than staying on one. Earmax Media's Andy Maxwell makes the case that podcast advertisers chasing cheap reach and low CPMs are missing what makes the medium work, arguing that a tightly focused community, brand affinity, and strong creative deliver far more value than raw scale. To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.
#964
August 31 · 5 min
Building Podcasting's Next Legacy Brands, Audio Advertising Posts Fresh Gains & More
Today in the business of podcasting: Trailer Park: The Podcast Trailer Podcast launches a three-part miniseries built on Coleman Insights research, developed with NOVA Entertainment and Pantheon Podcasts, testing 500 U.S. listeners to pin down what actually makes a podcast trailer convert. Authenticity won stronger listener preference in three of the four trailers tested. IAB Australia reports internet advertising grew 14% to $19.8 billion in FY26, its strongest financial-year growth since FY22. Podcasting led audio's gains, rising 10.1% to claim 40% of all audio spend and setting a fresh quarterly record of $40 million. Digiday examines why brands cannot simply flip the "employees as creators" switch, as companies like Gap and Starbucks weigh new measurement, oversight, FTC disclosure, and compensation questions that never applied to outside contractors. To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.
#963
August 28 · 3 min
U.S. Radio Sees Political Surge, Apple Music's AI Label, & More
This week in the business of podcasting: Apple Music now mandates "Made With AI" labels on AI-generated tracks, a music-distribution move that signals how fast audio platforms are formalizing AI disclosure. Political ad spending on radio jumped 22% in a month to $124 million, with AdImpact projecting a record $11.6 billion cycle and the biggest wave still expected after Labor Day. Bloomberg reports YouTube is offering creators millions to stay exclusive and off Netflix, a video-first fight worth watching as podcasting leans deeper into YouTube. Steven Goldstein argues Spotify's new Skip Ahead test simply shows that podcasting is not necessarily huge to Spotify's bottom line, urging publishers to diversify beyond any single platform. To find links to these, and every article covered in this week's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.
#962
August 27 · 3 min
Podscribe Launches YouTube-Only Attribution, Creators Going Programmatic, & More
Today in the business of podcasting: Podscribe launched YouTube-only modeled attribution, closing a measurement gap for influencer campaigns that run only on YouTube by anchoring probabilistic modeling to audio performance data. It is free through September 30. Digiday weighs the case for and against the programmatic-ification of the creator economy, as automated buying pushes into brand-creator deals once struck by hand and raises questions about commoditizing creators. YouTube's EMEA chief pushes back on a UK proposal requiring guaranteed prominence for public-service broadcasters, defending its algorithm while acting as a TV distributor without the obligations broadcasters carry. To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.
#961
August 26 · 3 min
Why Research Drives Podcast Returns, Video Podcasting Goes Mainstream, & More
Today in the business of podcasting: Signal Hill Insights' Paul Riismandel breaks down four ways audience research drives return in podcasting, from uncovering whitespace to proving value to advertisers with measurement tools like Triton Digital's Demos+. Podscribe reports that podcast video has gone mainstream, with 82% of episodic campaigns now including a YouTube simulcast, even as Spotify's baked-in video ads still face attribution gaps. In a Google-sponsored piece, Digiday lays out how publishers can strengthen connections with advertisers in the AI era through first-party data and diversified, cross-platform selling. To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.
#960
August 25 · 5 min
Political Radio Spend Jumps Before Midterms, How TikTok Boxing Impacts Categories & More
Today in the business of podcasting: Political ad spending on radio has jumped 22% in the past month to $124 million, and with AdImpact projecting $6.1 billion in total 2026 political advertising, the post-Labor Day rush is a reminder of how much election money still flows to audio heading into the fall. A new IAB white paper argues radio's attribution gap with digital is closing fast, crediting pixel-based attribution, dynamic ad insertion, and identity resolution with giving audio the kind of digital-like precision advertisers expect. Steven Goldstein breaks down where podcasting actually fits at Spotify, noting podcast ads make up roughly 4% of Spotify's revenue while subscriptions drive about 89%, so the platform will keep prioritizing listeners over publishers. Kirby Grines uses TikTok streaming a live championship boxing match to argue that traditional media categories are collapsing, as social, streaming, creator, gaming, and TV now all compete for the same finite attention that podcasting fights for too. To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

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