Audio Ink

It’s a Cinco de Mayo kickoff for the new ESPN podcast, which features a rotating lineup of NBA insiders, writers, reporters, and hosts covering the latest news and analysis. Available daily, Monday to Friday, a new podcast comes out each Friday. 

Double milestones for Colin Cowherd. His show reached a record high across all platforms in April – 6.8. million listens. This included picking up another million podcast listens. In addition, the show has just added its 150th affiliate.

Pandora is getting into the country music spirit on June 6, ahead of the CMA Festival and the CMT Music Awards. “Sounds Like Country” is a live celebration in the heart of Nashville and will feature star artists, including Jake Owen, Old Dominion, and RaeLynn.

The company says that's because of direct deals Pandora has with the labels. Collections in Q1 were $161.9 million, compared to $189.3 million in Q1 of 2016. The company says even though collections were down, membership is up, with 10,000 new artists and rights owners joining SoundExchange in the first quarter. 32,000 members received a payout in Q1.

The legendary band is the latest addition to the SiriusXM menu. The Beatles Channel will launch May 18 at 9:09 am ET on SiriusXM Channel 18. All programming is in collaboration with, and fully authorized by, The Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd. The channel will explore The Beatles' entire career.

Jay Green has joined the company as Senior VP of Digital Strategy and Analytics. He'll lead analytics and audience development for the company. CEO Spencer Brown said, “The addition of Jay Green, one of the thought leaders in the podcast industry, is a further reflection of our commitment to leadership in on-demand audio."

It’s a chilling story but one worth telling. In the Dark, an investigative podcast by APM Reports, has received a George Foster Peabody Award for its groundbreaking reporting on the 27-year investigation of the Jacob Wetterling kidnapping. 

You can’t beat free. And in an era when radio is searching for ways to grab the digital world by the horns, it would behoove all and sundry to check out Triton Digital’s free 30-minute webinar on social media, 2 p.m. ET, April 27. Those who join in will learn how to leverage social media to drive increased engagement with their brand.

The writer, producer, director, and creator of such legendary sitcoms as All In The Family, Good Times, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, and Maude, will debut his show on PodcastOne on May 1. Called All of the Above with Norman Lear it will feature the 95-year-old taking listeners through conversations on such disparate topics as comedy, family, current events, music, and politics. Co-hosting will be Lear’s longtime friend and sidekick Paul Hipp.

The app can now be used by consumers for FM radio smartphone listening in the South American country. This further expansion into Latin America also allows listeners to tune to their favorite FM stations in Colombia, Mexico, Peru. Later this year Brazil will also go live in the Google Play Store