Podcast subscriptions have become a boon for some shows, with superfans collecting money to listen to episodes ad-free and access bonus content. But Audia believes there is another unserved segment of the market. This is a beta version of a podcast subscription option aimed at more casual listeners of the show, allowing them to access single episodes ad-free without committing to a subscription to the podcast or its network.
“Our goal is to leverage higher margins and achieve greater efficiencies beyond the current economics of podcasting,” said Theo Romeo, chief product marketing officer at Audidia. Masu.
Audidia's pay-per-play program partners will download the episode in its entirety, including ads, but listeners will be able to automatically skip ad breaks without end users having to manually fast-forward. Provides controls that allow you to fast forward. When a subscriber plays a partner's episode, Audidia tracks that activity and pays you based on an agreed-upon per-play rate based on the podcast's current revenue per play and average CPM. Audia says each play or download is recorded and partners are paid monthly at an agreed rate.
“Podcasts, in general, have figured out how to monetize their superfans,” Romeo said. “We believe there is more economic potential for most podcasters. This beta program aims to uncover meaningful benefits for creators of content, especially at scale. is.”
The pay-per-play beta program for podcasts and networks, called the Seamless Play feature, aims to treat podcast playback and downloads like streaming music, allowing content owners to You can receive payments directly based on your numbers.
“For many podcasters, the financial situation is simply broken,” said Michael Lawless, CEO of Audia. “Advertising revenue can be uneven, and unlike the top shows out there, the vast majority of podcasts, even seemingly popular ones, make enough money to survive. Advertisements, on the other hand, Networks, ad servers, and ad salespeople take away a significant portion of total revenue from podcast advertising. We believe that the real value lies in the creative work of podcasters, and that the economics We need to reflect this. By paying creators directly for each play, creators can keep a larger portion of the revenue they earn from their material.”
Beta testing begins without any show or partner announcements. However, Audidia says it is in talks with several creators and hopes to announce the first group of pay-per-play beta participants in the coming weeks.
Audia also plans to release a new feature called Forward+ in the coming months. When applied to podcasts, Audidia's technology allows you to identify different segments or “chapters” within a podcast episode. If segments such as ad breaks are identified in advance, listeners can be given control to more easily jump forward within the episode. The new Forward+ feature allows users to fully fast-forward to the next identified segment of content.
Forward+ functionality will be introduced to the Faidr app as a beta test in the next major release this year. Meanwhile, Audidia said it is simultaneously developing the API needed to provide the functionality to other podcast companies and working to increase the accuracy and number of distinct segments its models can identify for each episode. .
Earlier this week, Audia said: Transform your podcast strategy In addition to positioning itself as a broadcaster of shows on the Faidr app, which also features AM/FM and streaming radio, the company also aims to market its AI and natural language processing technology to other podcast companies. The move to third-party software licensing also opens up new revenue channels for startups beyond the $5.99/month subscription listening service.
