From podcasts and social audio to streaming, audio is at the forefront of storytelling in today’s digital world.
“We used to say podcasting was an 80/20 business, where 80% of the dollars and audience went to 20% of the shows,” Audacy chief digital officer J.D. Crowley said. “I would say, now, it’s probably a 95/5 business.”
At Thursday’s Variety Entertainment & Technology sponsored by Audacy, Crowley sat down for a conversation with Andrew Wallenstein, Variety Intelligence Platform president and chief media analyst, during “The Future of Audio Is Now” panel.
Crowley spoke about Audacy’s ongoing endeavors in audio, particularly how the media and audio entertainment company utilizes the medium for storytelling, entertainment and information.
On streaming radio: “We’ve started solving with streaming and radio listeners in the same way TV has. Our streaming product — which actually has a number of patents and interactivity — is a lot like how YouTube TV’s interface works as a vMVPD [virtual MVPD]. You can rewind live radio, you can go back and play shows from earlier in the day — all based in the cloud.”
The two also discussed whether Audacy will produce subscription podcasts. “I think it’s a little too early to decide [on] one model or the other,” he explained. “I think podcasting will be a diverse set of models.”
Earlier, Crowley cited the biggest players in audio: Spotify; SiriusXM, which owns Pandora and Stitcher; iHeart; and Audacy. “What sets [Audacy] apart is our real DNA in spoken-word audio,” Crowley said.
He continued, “We love the music business, we do really well in it. But that spoken word and that ability to create our own content, own studios and own our own destiny, I think is what sets us apart.”
Watch the full conversation above.
