In This Week’s Influencer: MRT Returns—Podcast Luminaries Chew On What’s Next; Spotify Gets More Transparent; IAB Rethinks Metrics; and More

CAOs, the most important thing to remember is this: chase your audience and success will follow.

This week on the Media Roundtable: Special Edition, Dan Granger (CEO, Oxford Road) welcomes audio heavyweights Steven Goldstein (Founder & CEO, Amplifi Media) and Jay Nachlis (Vice President, Coleman Insights). This episode is sponsored by our friends at Libsyn.

The team is talking: Listener Behaviors by the Numbers, The Audio-Only Lane, and Growing Pains. Let’s jump in.

 ”You have to chase the audience. That’s what the big media companies are learning how to do. And that’s what podcasting has to learn how to do.”

• Steven Goldstein (Founder & CEO, Amplifi Media)

The Numbers Don’t Lie – The people have spoken. 85% of consumers agree podcasts can be audio or video. And the definition matters. Owl & Co.’s recent industry valuation hit $7.3B, helped by video’s inclusion. The insight is two-fold:

1. Video fuels growth through short-form discovery.
2. Calling video podcasts “podcasts” ensures the industry gets credit for that growth (plus the increased investments that follow).

Driving Audio-Only Growth – We’ve seen a huge shift to video podcasts, but where does audio-only still win? Driving, commuting, and exercising all show audio-only growth. And several formats could (or should) remain audio-only: news, fiction/storytelling, and sports. When creators cite video production challenges, a strong audio-only lane is good news for ensuring a healthy creator ecosystem.

Growing Industry = Growing Pains – 77% of podcast consumers switch seamlessly from audio to video. But for advertisers, metrics don’t follow across platforms (Dan cites clients who won’t touch simulcast because of the measurement headache). If we want to keep growing past $7.3B, we need open, unified measurement across platforms (Agree? Check out our petition and join us.)

For better clarity on the consumer trends shaping the industry, tune into the full episode below.

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The Classifieds

Always Dressed for Success

Network: Audacy / Monthly Downloads: 125k

Finance and Fashion aren’t often connected in show content, but newly emerging host Emma Grede wants to change all that. The British-born entrepreneur and fashion designer is the successful face behind the Kardashian brands, an advocate for diverse representation amongst CEOs, and she continually strives to always do her best. In her first few episodes, Grede interviews business-savvy figures like Gwyneth Paltrow,Ariel Investments Co-CEO Mellody Hobson, and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin. For those who want to build a business, but don’t feel like they fit the mold, this is a must-listen. Grede is a top-tier interviewer who can speak heart-to-heart with those who have excelled to the highest echelon, making this one of the rarer opportunities to recently premiere. This show is recommended for advertisers looking to reach young professionals, especially women focused on career development. Genius is 1% Inspiration, and 99% Perspiration, but 100% of the Information can be found with the stylish link below.

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The Gift of the Gab

Network: Moonbeam Media / Monthly Downloads: 200k

Every so often we find ourselves needing a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on, or just a sympathetic ear. Jefferson Fisher has the astounding ability to be all three. In his new podcast with Moonbeam Media, the attorney and law firm proprietor models his lessons on communications that fueled his career. Through years of arguing his cases (literally), he now helps people learn how to argue less, listen more, and engage with their peers. Besides providing invaluable advice to his listeners, Fisher also has a calming voice, making them feel validated and comforted throughout each episode. His lessons touch upon personal issues that involve both self-improvement and workplace growth opportunities. Whether you’re an introvert trying to break through the noise or an earnest self-starter, this show opportunity is highly recommended. If you wanna walk the walk… and talk the talk, just walk yourself on down to the link below.

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In Case You Missed It

Spotify Hits Play and the Market Reacts

Spotify recently introduced a new “Plays” metric for podcast episodes, providing a visible play count similar to YouTube’s video metrics. NBC News published an article compiling podcasters’ concerns, with the main worry being that public view counts could overshadow or marginalize smaller shows. Spotify took to Threads, promising to address questions by May 16th. Spotify updated its support page to clarify that a “play” is counted when a user actively watches or listens to content on the app. James Cridland published an op-ed highlighting the importance of open statistics. We’re all for better metrics that reflect how people actually engage with podcasts—whether they’re watching or listening. But we need industrywide standards. Right now, a ”play” on Spotify isn’t the same as one on YouTube or Apple, etc. You get the idea.

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Your Attention Please

The IAB and MRC have released Attention Measurement Guidelines. Developed by the IAB Attention Task Force, the framework aims to bring consistency, transparency, and accountability to how attention is measured across media. It outlines four key methodologies—data signals, visual tracking, physiological/neurological observations, and surveys—to create shared standards. The guidelines are intended to complement, not replace, delivery and outcome metrics. We applaud this effort–i.e., the attempt to create standards! Based on prior studies, we expect audio to remain a high-attention medium. If you want to see the importance of attention, check out the Maximizing Profit Through Attention analysis from Ebiquity and Lumen Research.

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Trump Aims to Cut Funding for Public Broadcasting

NYPR President & CEO LaFontaine E. Oliver has addressed the White House budget proposal to eliminate federal funding to NPR and PBS, following an executive order by President Trump. Oliver emphasized the dangers of reduced access to reliable information and urged listeners to support public radio through donations, contacting legislators, and raising awareness to protect free press and public broadcasting. No doubt that public broadcasters will be forced to cut costs. We expect the impact will be felt most in smaller markets, potentially accelerating the phenomenon of news deserts.

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#SaveTheLiveReads

The Editors Get Moinked!

This week’s #STLR takes listeners back to the family farm as The Editors podcast host Rich Lowry highlights the importance of ethical meat sourcing with Moink! Rich strikes the perfect balance between addressing a serious topic and maintaining a conversational, engaging tone—complete with vivid anecdotes and enthusiasm. He thoughtfully outlines problems with the commercial meat industry before introducing Moink as a trustworthy, values-driven solution that supports American family farms. By emphasizing ethical sourcing, affordability, and quality, he positions Moink as a compelling alternative to corporate meat producers. Plus, Lowry’s substantiation of his family’s enthusiastic experience with the product adds credibility and authenticity to his personal endorsement. And of course, the “Free Wings for Life” offer is a fun, memorable incentive that makes listeners even more eager to get Moinked too!

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OXFORd In The News

Rosemary’s Baby

This week, our very own Rosemary Scalabrino (Director of Business Development, Oxford Road) spoke at Harvard Business School’s event, “The Creator Economy x Venture Capital: Fueling the Next Wave of Consumer Brands.”

If you missed the event, the panel explored:
💡 Ways to optimize the massive growth in creator-led and podcast channels.
💸 How creators increase brand engagement and affect consumer purchases.
🔮 The future of podcast formatsas traditional media models face disruption.

Read more on our LinkedIn Post.

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Hoo Says Podcast is Bigger Than Reported?

You heard about it in this week’s Media Roundtable episode; read the full Owl & Co. analysis of the Podcast industry by downloading the full report here. This groundbreaking research puts the global podcasting industry at $7.3 billion in 2024 revenue, outsizing previous estimates by 50%. Learn more by checking out our recent LinkedIn post—shout-out to Oxford Road’s activation teams for contributing to this potentially game-changing analysis.

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Ox-news in Podnews

Our very own Media Roundtable was featured this week in Podnews as part of their highlights of interesting podcast episodes and series. They mention our most recent episode, “Little Masterpieces for Your Ears” – Understanding Podcasting’s Past, Ensuring its Future, with contributions from Edison Research’s Larry Rosin, Nick Giorgio from Simplisafe, Hilary Shafer from Oxford Road, and Podnews editor, James Cridland. Thank you Podnews, for listening, and even more for highlighting the work we’re doing in your publication.

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Our new original series takes on the nearly impossible task of defining the word “podcast,” with insights from over 30 experts in the space—including Ira Glass, Adam Carolla, Guy Raz, and more. It’s a must-listen for those with an interest in the past, present, and future state of podcasting. If you haven’t listened to our series yet, now’s the perfect time to check it out.