Infinite Dial, the longest-running survey of consumer digital behaviour in the U.S., finds that the casual podcast audience eroded slightly as younger listeners went back to school and work. Presented by Tom Webster, SVP, Edison Research, live from Podcast Movement in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning, the 24th annual survey also found that the presence of physical radios in the home continues to decline. 39% of Americans no longer have a home radio, up from 32% in 2020. Infinite Dial found 209 million or 73% of Americans had listened to some form of online audio in the last month, up from 68% in 2021, with significant growth in older demos. AM/FM radio continues to be the default choice in-car with 73% of the population, down from 81% in 2020. Use of owned digital music made gains, up at 53% from 48% the previous two years, followed by the CD player, which still claims 35% of in-car audio listening. Monthly podcast listening was down from 56% in 2021 to 50% with those 12-34, and fell from 26 to 22% with listeners 55+. Read more here.
Rawlco Radio, in partnership with the Saskatchewan branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) and the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF), held a 12-hour Saskatchewan Day of Caring for Ukraine on March 3 that saw more than $1,020,125 raised. The money will provide immediate aid to purchase food packages, medicine and shelter for agencies helping refugees and those still in Ukraine. From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., the radiothon heard stories from those hiding in bunkers or helping the displaced, to people back in Saskatchewan supporting friends and family.
Stingray is among 18 Quebec companies uniting in response to the refugee crisis in Ukraine. The conglomerate, which includes Alimentation Couche-Tard, National Bank of Canada, Bombardier, Broccolini, Group HELIOS, Intelcom, JPMA Global, KPMG, and Novacap, among others, will sponsor up to 1,000 families affected by the crisis, offering them jobs and means of support until the situation stabilizes. Eric Boyko, President, Co-Founder and CEO of Stingray is himself of Ukrainian descent.
Global News and Corus Radio, in partnership with Feed Ontario, are turning a day of jokes and pranks into one that puts food on the table with April Foods Day. The annual initiative, which raises funds for local food banks, started in Toronto in 2016 and for the first time will expand outside the GTA this year. Beginning March 28, people can donate online or text FOOD to 45678, with the text-to-donate line remaining open throughout the month of April. Over 20 Corus stations are participating in the initiative this year, including: Global News Toronto, Global News Kingston, Q107, 102.1 the Edge, and 640 in Toronto; 93.1 Fresh Radio and 101.1 Big FM in Barrie; The Peak 95.1 Collingwood; 900 CHML, Energy 95.3, and Y108 Hamilton; 980 CFPL and FM96 London, 103.1 Fresh Radio St. Thomas, Country 104 Woodstock, 104.3 Fresh Radio, 96.3 Big FM Kingston; 1460 CJOY and Magic 106.1 Guelph; Jump! 106.9 and boom 99.7 Ottawa; and 107.5 Dave Rocks and 91.5 The Beat Kitchener.
DJ Ricochet, who formerly hosted the Made in Toronto Takeover on Flow 93.5 (CFXJ-FM) Toronto, prior to the station’s format flip to Today Radio in February, is reviving the show on community radio station, Vibe 105.5 (CHRY-FM). Paul “Mastermind” Parhar, who is now Vibe 105.5’s Program Director & Content Manager, announced the revival of the local artist spotlight on Twitter. The former Flow 93.5 host and Assistant PD helped launch the concept in 2017.
The Podcast Academy announced the winners of The Ambies, its second annual awards for excellence in audio, in L.A. on Tuesday night. 9/12, a collaboration between Amazon Music, Pineapple Street Studios and Wondery, was named Podcast of the Year. The documentary series, hosted by Dan Taberski, is about the world after September 11th and those who woke up on 9/12 having to navigate a radically different reality. The series also picked up awards for Best Reporting and Best Original Score. Find the full list of winners here.
Greater Hood Productions is a new production company launched by producer Vince Buda (Brown Girl Begins, Crown and Anchor, The New Normal) and actor, writer and musician Matt Wells (Crown and Anchor, MuchMusic, Schitt’s Creek). Its initial slate of original content includes the podcast Good Things with Matt Wells, travel/motivational docuseries Moving On, and an untitled feature film based on best-selling basketball memoir, Chasing A Dream by Carl English. Good Things with Matt Wells revisits his passion from his past career as a host and interviewer for Bravo, MTV, MuchMusic and MuchMore. Among other things, the podcast explores lessons learned from professional and personal setbacks with guests like Olympian Clara Hughes, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, and director Sharon Lewis, among others.
Apple Podcasts is introducing viewable Follower metrics, beginning next month, in Apple Podcasts Connect. Available to all creators from the Analytics tab, they’ll be able to view followers per show, the number of new followers netted over the last week, month, 60 days, and all time. They can also see Time Listened as a percent of those following and not following the show. The Trends menu will additionally feature a graph of followers over time and those gained or lost on a specific day or during a specified range. Creators can sign up for the program on the Account page in Apple Podcasts Connect.
IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) has released its Global Music Report 2022, which finds that globally, the recorded music market grew by 18.5% in 2021, driven by a 21.9% increase in paid subscription streaming, supported by a 16.1% gain in physical formats and a 4% gain in performance rights revenue. Total global revenue for 2021 was US$25.9 billion. Canada’s music market grew by 12.6% last year to US$583.6 million, making it the eighth largest market in the world. Canada’s growth was driven by an 18% increase in streaming, including a 15.6% increase in paid subscription streaming, and 29.1% and 28.2% gains in ad-supported audio streaming and ad-supported video streaming, respectively. Physical format revenue increased by 11.4% in 2021, to a total of US$66.3 million, the seventh highest ranking in the world.
The GRAMMY Channel returns to SiriusXM to celebrate the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards. In collaboration with the Recording Academy, the channel will feature artists, music and albums from across the GRAMMY Awards’ fields and categories, including nominees Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, H.E.R., Jon Batiste, Justin Bieber, and Olivia Rodrigo, leading up to the live broadcast April 3 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. The limited-edition channel runs through April 6 on SiriusXM channel 105.
LISTEN: Canadian Music Week (CMW) makes its in-person comeback June 11-16 in Toronto as the gathering that brings together music, business and broadcast, marks its 40th anniversary this year, albeit with a pared down format as live music and non-essential travel just begin to return after a devastating two years. We’re joined on Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast by CMW President Neill Dixon and CEO Danya Dixon to talk about what attendees can expect from the Festival, Music Summit and Radio Active conference, as well as leveraging pandemic lessons for the future. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:
LISTEN: On the latest Sound Off Podcast, veteran broadcaster Jim Lang – best known for his work with Toronto stations Sportsnet 590 The Fan and AM 640 – joins Matt Cundill to talk about the stand-out moments of his sports career, including the aftermath of Superbowl 42, living in Montreal while the Canadiens were on a Stanley Cup run, and the privilege of becoming the radio voice of the Toronto Argonauts. Lang currently hosts his own morning show on 105.9 The Region. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:
