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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#1005
Today · 6 min
The U.S. Political Podcasting Picture, Substack Launches Podcast DAI, & More
Today 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 Democrats at 33% and Republicans at 29%, ahead of the 2026 midterms. Substack is adding dynamic ad insertion to the podcasts it hosts, with early access opening this week, and Sounds Profitable’s Bryan Barletta tells Adweek buyers will want more detail on attribution partners, DSPs, and analytics. Point-To-Point Marketing’s Podcast Study 2026 of 1,205 US podcast consumers finds 74% listen to local radio weekly, and 47% of daily radio listeners say host-read ads strongly influence them to try or buy. 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.
#1004
Yesterday · 8 min
Spotify Announces Memberships, The 2026 Signal Award Winners, & More
Today 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 earnings and shows needing 100 consumption hours, 100 listeners or viewers and three episodes to qualify. Bumper released a free tool for sharing YouTube engaged views with advertisers, after YouTube’s late-August change roughly doubled average podcast views without any audience growth. The Streaming Wars looks at Disney’s new company-wide partnership with Dude Perfect and what it says about paying for contracted revenue instead of speculative growth. The Signal Awards named their winners, with Good Hang with Amy Poehler taking gold and the listener’s choice prize for Best Host. Apple explained its Safari block on identity resolution companies, which affects LiveRamp, ID5, The Trade Desk’s UID 2.0, Permutive and Audigent. 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.
#1003
Monday · 8 min
Golden Globes Podcasts Revealed, Spotify Expands Audiobook Availability, & More
Today 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. It draws on new LLM data from The Podcast Landscape 2026. IAB Tech Lab finalizes its Podcast Technical Measurement Guidelines v2.3, which clarify download and ad-delivery measurement for audio and video podcasts. CoHost is the first hosting company certified under the new version. Spotify expands audiobooks from 22 markets to more than 180 by the end of 2026, after its Audiobooks+ add-on passed one million subscribers and $100 million in annual recurring revenue. Political ad spending for the 2025-26 cycle tops $10 billion as House races drive local demand. New Sounds Profitable research finds one in four likely voters who consume podcasts monthly could be swayed by a candidate’s podcast appearance. MIDiA Research counts nearly a billion monthly podcast platform users worldwide. YouTube leads with a 32% share, and YouTube and Spotify together hold half of the global market. The Golden Globes reveal the 30 podcasts eligible for Best Podcast at the 84th ceremony, with 11 new shows joining the list ahead of the December 7 nominations. 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.
#1001
Friday · 13 min
Podcast Audiences on Political Content, How Gen Z Engages w. Clips, & More
This 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 audience leans and whether a politician’s podcast appearance could sway midterm voters. Amplifi Media’s Steve Goldstein shares takeaways from a live Gen Z focus group at Podcast Movement 2026, from “best-of-ing” through podcast clips to how young listeners search for shows and decide within 30 seconds. The Podcast Study 2026 finds only 8.6% of listeners would accept more ads to keep podcasts free. It points to host-read ads, VIP clubs, memberships and social media discovery as the next growth levers. A Wondery and SmithGeiger study of 3,000 U.S. adults finds 81% of creator fans trust their favorite host as much as, or more than, their close friends. It also shows why multi-episode brand partnerships and clips pay off. 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.
#1002
Thursday · 7 min
Report on Politics and Podcasting, Fans Trust Creators, & More
Today 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 guests and whether those appearances could sway midterm voters. A Wondery and SmithGeiger study of 3,000 U.S. adults finds 81% of creator fans trust their favorite host as much as, or more than, their close friends. It also shows why multi-episode brand partnerships and clips work. Netflix is cutting about 1,000 jobs as it expects roughly $3 billion in ad revenue this year and adds video podcasts and creator programming. A new Nielsen report finds radio reaches 92% of U.S. adults each month, and that adding podcasts lifts reach among adults 18 to 34 to 94%. Dentsu wants brands to treat entertainment, including microdramas, video podcasts and YouTube-native series, as a core budget line instead of an innovation experiment. 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.
#1000
October 14 · 6 min
Looking Beyond the Pre-Roll Ad, Gen Z on Podcast Clips, & More
Today 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 podcast ad. Nearly half of the 1,205 U.S. podcast consumers surveyed would join a free VIP club, and 46.7% have bought merchandise or attended an event. At Podcast Movement 2026, Amplifi Media’s Steven Goldstein ran a focus group with Gen Z NYU students. They described watching whole podcasts through clips and deciding within 30 seconds whether to keep listening. Audioboom reports record Q3 2026 revenue of $23.8 million, up 17% year over year, with Showcase marketplace revenue up 20%. The company plans three to four acquisitions as podcast industry consolidation continues. Ad tech and data vendors are preparing for fallout from iOS 27, which made Safari block identity vendors like LiveRamp and The Trade Desk’s ad-serving domain. IAB Tech Lab’s Trusted Server concept is offered as a server-side workaround. 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.
#999
October 14 · 9 min
Politics and Podcasting: A Special Report from The Podcast Landscape
This 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 and, for the first time, what moved since last year. Tom gets into: How the podcast audience compares to the country by party and ideology Whether politicians belong on podcasts, and how weekly consumers and never-consumers differ How likely midterm voters say a podcast appearance would affect their vote What happened to political talk as a genre heading into the election Read the full issue here.
#998
October 13 · 8 min
What Moves Podcast Performance, Keeping Brand Deals Personal, & More
Today 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 advertiser’s website and its Buyer Power Score. The Podcast Study 2026 finds only 8.6% of listeners would accept more ads to keep a podcast free, while 54.8% say shows already carry too many. Right Side Up’s Krystina Rubino shares how a podcast host halved her rate for a fertility brand, and why bespoke deals still run on one-to-one relationships. Media, Built’s Steve Raizes argues Spotify’s Joe Rogan renewal buys the right to sell him rather than an exclusive, and what that means for ad sales across platforms. ADOPTER Media’s Adam McNeil explains how a brand’s place on the adoption curve should shape how it buys podcast ads. 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.
#997
October 12 · 7 min
Apple Talks HLS, Audible Debuts NielsenIQ Spoken Word Data, & More
Today 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 grown their audience more than 20% on average since adding video, and Apple has also quietly acqui-hired members of the team behind AI audio startup Huxe. Audible and NielsenIQ surveyed 18,000 spoken-word listeners across 11 countries. 34% say they listened to more audio than the year before, and 50% are open to AI-narrated content. Digiday reports that top creators like Alix Earle and Kevin Cooney are cutting their brand rosters and asking more of the partners they keep, including equity and product input. PQ Media says global product placement spending hit $37.16 billion in 2025, with music and audio the fastest-growing category thanks to placements in popular podcasts. RSS.com launches a free in-browser transcription tool built on OpenAI’s open-source Whisper model, so audio never leaves the user’s device. 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.
#995
October 9 · 11 min
The New Rules of Podcast Advertising, Automating the Average, & More
This 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 host-read ad and the show itself. Audacy's Leah Reis-Dennis argues the old podcast advertising playbook is outdated, citing 22% lower cost per acquisition on mid-sized shows, the hybrid audio and video audience, and the trust behind host-read ads. Signal Hill Insights' Audio on the Move study finds AM/FM radio holds 46% of Canadian in-car listening and that 68% of Canadians dislike fully AI-generated podcasts. WARC forecasts global ad spend will grow 11.9% to $1.34 trillion in 2026, with growth slowing to 8.4% in 2027. 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.
#996
October 8 · 6 min
Resetting Podcasting's Thermostat, Ad Spend Increase, & More
Today 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 human work of host-read ads and the show itself. WARC forecasts global ad spend will grow 11.9% to $1.34 trillion in 2026, with social, search and retail media taking 66.4% of spend and growth slowing to 8.4% in 2027. A new tool called Pod Is Life combines podcast charts from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Castbox and Pocket Casts into one ranking, though the scores seem to reflect the biggest shows in each country. A federal appeals court has given the FCC until noon Friday to decide whether to uphold its lowest unit rate policy for political ads, ahead of the Nov. 3 election. 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.
#993
October 8 · 10 min
Reset Your Thermostat
This 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 AI-augmented something. His argument is that large language models are built to produce the most probable answer, which makes them a machine for the average, and that the real opportunity is to hand over the average work and reinvest the time in what only people can do. Tom gets into: Why synthetic survey respondents hand you the consensus back, and why research earns its keep by finding what you didn't expect Where AI belongs in podcasting (show notes, transcripts, ad operations) and where it doesn't (the host-read ad and the show itself) Why "good enough" is a thermostat setting, and what it takes to turn it up What happens when AI becomes just another tool and the expo floor goes back to arguing about the work Read the full issue here.
#994
October 7 · 7 min
Canadian Listeners on AI Audio, Apple's Ad Tech Blocklist, & More
Today 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 AI-generated podcasts and only 4% like them. The Podcast Study 2026 identifies "Prime Prospects," the 18% of podcast consumers who value the host and show growing consumption, as a major opportunity to grow podcast superfans, who make up 17% of the audience. Apple's iOS 27 update has Safari blocking a first handful of ad tech companies, including The Trade Desk, LiveRamp, ID5, and Permutive, a quiet blocklist that was the talk of Advertising Week New York. 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.
#992
October 6 · 7 min
Lessons on Podcast Impressions, Barometer Brand Suitability on Amazon Ads, & More
Today 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 Podcast Atlas analysis to profile podcasting's heaviest buyers, the Super Spenders. Audacy's Leah Reis-Dennis argues in a Sounds Profitable guest article that outdated podcast advertising advice needs a rewrite, citing 22% lower CPA on mid-sized shows, the value of host expertise, and the discovery role of video. Barometer's AI contextual brand suitability and targeting segments are now available in Amazon Ads DVA+ for podcast campaigns, with episode-level pre-bid targeting across major platforms and supply side partners. An AdExchanger column from Krystina Rubino and Lindsay Piper Shaw says podcasting is having its viewability moment, and that buyers should ask what kinds of impressions they are getting heading into 2027. Dhar Mann says the $100M creator-brand deal target he set as Advertising Week New York's first chief creator officer is already pledged by CMOs, though contracts are not expected this week. 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.
#991
October 2 · 9 min
Industry Leaders on Scale, Podcast Landscape 2026 Debuts, & More
This 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 most-used podcast platform and video viewing climbs to 44% weekly. Acast's Greg Glenday, Oxford Road's Dan Granger and Triton's Sharon Taylor explain how they reached scale, why measurement remains the industry's biggest problem, and why they believe podcast advertising is still early. International Podcast Day brought a wave of announcements, from free Podcast Movement NYC sessions and a Headliner credit giveaway to a redesigned Podigee platform and Flightcast's Collaborative Publishing. 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.
#990
October 1 · 7 min
The Podcast Landscape 2026 Pt. 1, Podcasting's Place in the Mix, & More
Today 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 platform and weekly video podcast viewing rising to 44%. ExchangeWire asks whether podcasting is rated highly enough in the media mix, as UK weekly listening grows to 27% and ad execs weigh in on attention, host-read ads, and attribution. Oxford Road CEO Dan Granger and Sounds Profitable's Bryan Barletta explain why the host is podcasting's most valuable ad asset, and why they favor a "both-and" monetization strategy. Acast's Podcast Pulse 2026 shows 86% of Australian podcast fans consume both audio and video, and that podcasters were the only creator category to gain commercial trust in the past year. 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.
#989
October 1 · 3 min
The Podcast Landscape 2026 - The Core Numbers
This 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. Podcasting's audience is large and stable, but it is increasingly consuming in places not built for podcasts. Tom gets into five findings: Reach held steady, with 74% of adults having consumed a podcast and 39% in the past week Netflix is the third most-used service for podcasts, ahead of Apple Podcasts Podcast-native apps kept shrinking as a most-used platform Video kept growing, with 44% watching a video podcast in the past week More people are consuming podcasts together with others Plus, Tom points to his Podcast Movement NYC keynote on the Netflix finding. Read the full issue here.
#988
September 30 · 6 min
International Podcast Day Announcements, Podcast Leaders on Scale, & More
Today 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 one CEO says podcast advertising is still "at the basement." International Podcast Day brings a wave of announcements, including 82 free Podcast Movement NYC sessions on YouTube, a redesigned Podigee platform, and Flightcast's new Collaborative Publishing. Radiocentre research finds that shifting search and social budgets into audio could add £1 million in profit for the average brand without raising total spend. Talent agencies like CAA and UTA are moving into creator representation, blurring the line between agents and managers. 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.
#987
September 29 · 5 min
BetterHelp Goes Global with Media Bodies, IAB Tech Lab Seeks Programmatic Feedback, & More
Today in the business of podcasting: BetterHelp has tapped creator-led agency Media Bodies to lead its international podcast advertising strategy across 10 markets, using localized approaches rather than one global playbook. The IAB Tech Lab has opened its first Programmatic Standard Practices for public comment through October 16, setting shared business rules for how buyers and sellers use existing programmatic standards. A new Media, Built issue draws on Hub Entertainment Research's study of 1,600 U.S. broadband users to show how being a viewer's "default" streamer drives retention, with default users two to six times more likely to keep a subscription. Myles Younger of U of Digital argues AI is closer to labor, a utility or an appliance than to publishing, which makes paid models a better fit than 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.
#986
September 28 · 6 min
Monitoring Programmatic Podcast Ad Load, Patreon Pulls Per-Creation, & More
Today 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 dubbing and generative AI. His golden rule for AI in podcasting is that audiences shouldn't be able to tell, but they must always be told. Programmatic podcast advertising is growing fast, and 82% of agencies now buy audio programmatically. New Podscribe benchmark data shows average podcast ad load fell to 10.3% in Q2 2026, and heavy ad loads can cut conversion rates nearly in half. Patreon is ending per-creation memberships and moving creators to monthly-only billing by November 1, 2026. Seasonal podcasts like audio fiction and investigative series will likely feel it most. 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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