HumblePod

It's been a busy February here at HumblePod. We've taken our show We Built This Brand weekly, and there's even more in the pipeline! Right now, we're hammering down on what 2025 looks for the team, and the creative juices have been flowing. Stay tuned for what we've got cooking.

SiriusXM is broadening the reach of its podcast subscription service by buddying up with YouTube and Spotify. Launching last August, SiriusXM Podcasts+ has lived exclusively on Apple Podcasts while offering bonus content, no ads, and early access to new content. While the roster of shows includes some titans like Call Her Daddy, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, and Last Podcast on the Left, there’s always room for more money. By getting in bed with YouTube (1 million+ subs on YouTube Music) and Spotify (675 million users, 263 paid), SiriusXM is hoping to grow its audience and fat stacks of cash beyond its satellite radio roots. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e4j64ysk

Our weekly newsletter is out!

YouTube is placing its bets on podcasting in 2025. In a blog post from company CEO Neal Mohan, the King of the Free Stream outlined podcasts as one of the ways the platform will continue to dominate the cultural and media landscape. We think, albeit biasedly, that it’s a fair assessment when you look at the numbers. Mohan explicitly highlights and flaunts the viewership of President Trump’s appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience. Many popular podcasts have YouTube channels with millions of subscribers. Mohan even dedicates a whole paragraph to the medium, writing in part, “ [Podcasting is] one of the most relevant formats driving culture.” That gives us an idea for a new company slogan... HumblePod: We make podcasting easy and drive culture. Scratch that... It doesn’t sound Humble at all. Read here: https://lnkd.in/gtiSA8Wj

Podcast and chill? Netflix, the King of the Stream, is looking to expand its royal reach into the land of podcasting. To us, this is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s further validation that podcast is now a viable, mainstream form of entertainment. On the other, there’s a cynical reason for Netflix’s decision to make the move. Compared to multi-million dollar cinematic experiences (like the critically acclaimed masterpieces Bright and Cowboy Bebop), producing a podcast is practically a drop in the bucket. This decision to lean on podcasts also makes sense when you realize Netflix has shifted its focus to viewer engagement over views in the last year and a half. As a whole, this move is good for the industry’s bottom line, but it’s not indicative of the quality of the art the company may be after. Read here: https://lnkd.in/d_u8Dmig

?? This is your friendly reminder to pick up that dozen roses ?? , sentimental card ?? , and a box of chocolates ?? - or your favorite romantic #podcast of choice - before you get home this evening. More podcasting goodness in this week's HumblePod #newsletter.

Turns out, record labels don’t like you using their songs without permission. The Wall Street Journal reports publishers are asking the streaming service to remove, “thousands of unlicensed songs,” from podcasts on the platform. Since most of those songs are definitely baked into the shows themselves, it looks like a lot of folks are about to have their episodes go the way of the dodo. Stuff like this isn’t uncommon, but it does remind of us when folks copy and paste the Fair Use statute as if it’s a blanket pardon to post whatever copyrighted material you want on YouTube. Spoiler Alert: that's not how it works either. Read More: https://lnkd.in/eR-uxAPy

Here's what we've been listening to. Chris Hill, MBA: https://lnkd.in/gXjN9-KB Christian Gentzel: https://lnkd.in/gbMQZ__F Gene Priest: https://lnkd.in/gWEYhcav What about you?

For the first time ever, Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, recognized podcasts in their Q4 financial results. In a press release, CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted the medium saying, “YouTube continues to be the leader in streaming watchtime and podcasts.” This is definitely not coincidental considering the 2024 Presidential Election fell in Q4, and podcasting’s influence on the vote (and politics as a whole) has been discussed to death ever since. We probably shouldn’t throw stones in our Humble glass house since we’re just as guilty of joining the discourse... Read More: https://lnkd.in/e3RrN9at

We've been talking a lot about bourbon this week, and, frankly, I'm sure a lot of us could use a drink, so I'm continuing the theme into this week's newsletter. Let's raise a glass and say good riddance to January!