Data: Branded podcasts are liked by audiences

• First look: Branded podcasts work - listeners like the brand more after listening to a branded podcast - shows that both keep their attention and that they would recommend to others. That’s the finding of the new 2025 Benchmark Report on Branded Podcasts released today by Signal Hill Insights. The research, based on survey responses from more than 15,000 podcast listeners, gives a number of strong reasons why brands should be investing more in podcasts.

• First look: SiriusXM has just announced that it is to expand its SiriusXM Podcasts+ premium subscription to Spotify, YouTube Music, and other podcast apps via SupportingCast. “This expansion brings SiriusXM Podcasts+ benefits – including ad-free listening to new episodes, exclusive bonus content, and early access to new episodes of popular shows – to all major podcast platforms.” (You can also subscribe directly with Apple Podcasts).

• If you’re a Podcast Academy member, you can now vote for your favourites in The Ambies. Log into the member portal and go to “The Ambies!” tab for log in credentials. The full list of nominees was published earlier this week.

• The Australian Podcast Ranker was released for January 2025. There’s a new #1 - The Mel Robbins Podcast, represented for SiriusXM by SCA’s LiSTNR, with 719,444 monthly listeners.

• ARN’s iHeart celebrated its fifth birthday in Australia with a number of agreement extensions, including Audioboom and Sony Music Entertainment.

Tips and tricks - with Pod Predictor by Coleman Insights

• Music can make your podcast more unforgettable and give it structure, says a blog post from Libsyn.
  • (Podnews’s music in our podcast? Custom-made by Studio Dragonfly, thanks for asking)

Podcast News - with Memberful

Using Memberful: Attach Your Résumé has interviews with online creators about how their jobs work and how they got there. Hear the personal stories behind seismic events in digital media and learn what concrete steps we can take to build a sustainable media landscape. Hosted by longtime podcasters and business owners Eric Silver and Amanda McLoughlin, Attach Your Résumé proves that the best credential for deciding the future of media is actually making stuff.

In In & Around Podcasting, Mark and Danny ask whether Podcasting 2.0 has failed. A clickbaity title, they admit - but is there some truth that the hype around the project seems to have slowed? And what to do about it? Claire Waite-Brown is the guest.

Takin’ Care of Lady Business® has signed with Salutations Media Co, and launches its third season today. Tori Dunlap, founder of Her First $100K, is kicking off the season in a candid conversation about financial feminism, wealth-building, and breaking down barriers for women in business. The show is hosted by Jennifer Justice, Jay-Z’s former attorney, and continues to feature women founders, executives, and industry leaders redefining success and breaking barriers.