MRT Podcast Uses AI to Talk to the Animals; The Duchess of Sussex Switches Networks Again, and Again; Taylor Swift Commandeers New Heights

CAOs you are in luck– this week, The Media Roundtable has partnered with GoLocalise to feature their new inter-species translation capabilities IRL. Tune in to hear our panel discuss the top news of the day for the Chief Audio Officer with your fur babies and non-human friends as they learn best practices in Sonic Branding and the stunning new achievements of AI!

This week, Dan Granger (Oxford Road CEO & Founder) is hosting again, joined by fellow Agents of Influence William Guernsey, (Oxford Road Associate Media Director), Tyler Percheron, (Oxford Road EVP of Strategy & Insights), and Warner Foghorn (Oxford Road VP of Client Services).

We’re talking; buzzy new alfalfa, which milking machines are the best, and why Moink is the best thing to happen to the family farm since Willie Nelson.

“Folks are educating themselves about where and how food is grown – they’re hungry for the truth. Family farmers bring us good food, protect our soil and water, and strengthen our country. The Farm Aid concert is a day for us to honor that truth and keep working for family farmers.” — Willie Nelson

Chewing the Cud – Lebron and JJ Redick drop a new basketball podcast that stands apart from other celebrity/sports podcasts (including Caitlyn Jenner and Lamar Odom’s new show) because it’s decidedly niche. The two ballers get into the Xs and Os of how they think about the game. It’s refreshingly in the weeds and with no sponsorships yet, they’re building it for their fan base on their terms. Time will tell how much of a crossover hit it becomes, but super-serving the most passionate fans is never a bad play. Keep an eye out for slam dunk ad opportunities.

Sniff Out The Bargains – There’s no election-year ad bump yet, but that doesn’t mean it’s not coming. Some of the dynamics of the primary races contributed to the lack of increased spending. Plus, gerrymandering could lead to fewer competitive districts. We’re not expecting all the negative spend forces to hold as the year continues. For CAOs, don’t expect avails will be as easy in August-November when the race heats up.

Attempting to Rule The Roost – Amazon Music inks a deal to bring UK podcasts to American ears. It’s a great opportunity for advertisers to be associated with a well-respected brand and speaks to the greater trend of globalization for the audio market. Paired with AI translation, (see The Ringer’s Union Deal) we’re seeing a push to move audience-vetted, low-risk content abroad.

For audio insights you won’t get anywhere else, tune in to the full episode by clicking the link below.

Listen Here: Spotify

Listen Here: Apple

The Classifieds

Taylor Swift Replaces Kelce Brothers as New New Heights Host

In a whirlwind of surprise announcements, Taylor Swift, the queen of pop, shocked the podcasting world by taking over the popular “New Heights” podcast, rebranding it as “Taylor’s Version.” With her signature charm and wit, Taylor promised listeners an exclusive peek into her life, music, and all the drama in between.
At press time, former host, Travis Kelce was quoted, “I understand that we could never reach the levels of media success that Taylor will bring to the Podcast, but I didn’t expect this was the way she’d tell me we were breaking up.”

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Meghan Markle Launches New Podcast with The Daily Wire

The Duchess of Sussex took to TikTok Friday afternoon to tell fans she is launching a new Pod, “The Fabulous Ms. Markle” in partnership with The Daily Wire. “It is with a heavy heart that I announce that I have cut ties with Lemonada Media, and will be moving forward in partnership with Ben Shapiro and The Daily Wire,” she reported. A spokesperson for the Royal confirmed the move was an opportunity to reveal her real self to a new audience that is more in concert with her personal brand and ideals. Deal terms were not disclosed, but sources close to The Influencer suggest a minimum guarantee of $7M Quid per episode.

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In Case You Missed It

I Just Wanted to Make Things Right

After tirelessly crunching numbers, Podscribe’s Pete Birsinger uncovered Apple’s miscounting of podcast downloads, sending shockwaves through the industry. However, instead of accolades, he now faces fierce backlash from legions of podcast network executives and creators who showed up at Podscribe World Headquarters in Austin, Texas on Friday with tiki torches and pitchforks in tow. Amidst allegations of “Having to ruin it for everybody,” Birsinger negotiated an informal settlement, offering Podscribe gift cards with 20% discounts to be handed out to all affected parties at the IAB Upfronts in New York City on May 8th.

Predictive Brand Safety Reveals Controversial Remarks Before They Occur

In a bizarre turn of events, advertisers in the podcasting world have taken a page out of the sci-fi thriller Minority Report to safeguard their brand image. Demanding “Pre-Offense” technology akin to the film’s predictive policing, advertisers aim to ensure podcasters never even consider mentioning controversial topics. Sources report leading podcasters now fear not only the consequences of discussing taboo subjects but also the mere thought of them, as the specter of “Pre-Offense” looms large over the once-free airwaves.

Meghan Markle Announces New Branded Podcast with iHeart Media

In a surprising turn of events, Her Royal Highness (HRH) The Duchess of Sussex, announced she was departing from her new contract with The Daily Wire, in favor of a new joint venture with iHeartMedia, promoting her new brand, American Riviera Orchard. Season One will feature Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, alongside co-host and former Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, planting, picking, and baking apples, which will then be made for purchase through a new e-commerce platform, only available behind the walls of the iHeartRadio app. Deal terms were not disclosed.

AI’s Surprise New Star

Last week, podcast watchdog Bryan Barletta recently uncovered that Lex Fridman and his renowned show have been AI-generated all along. Leveraging deep learning anomaly detection, Barletta deciphered incongruities in phonetic patterns and semantic coherence, unmasking the podcast’s generative adversarial network (GAN) origins. No statements were found on any of Fridman’s social feeds post announcements in the Sounds Profitable Newsletter on Friday.
The final episode of The Lex Fridman podcast was a more transparently robotic voice exclaiming, “And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids! Brought to you by BetterHelp.”

Spotify Announces End of Minimum Guarantee Deals, Re-Signs Meghan Markle

After Spotify’s recent earnings call sharing positive news about the treamer’s path to profitability, CEO Daniel Ek shared that the day of the MG deal in Podcasting had ended, at least for Spotify. Recognizing that not all commercial viability of a new show is predictable, even in the age of AI, a more fiscally disciplined approach would prevail, where all future talent contracts would be strictly approved only on a revenue-sharing basis. Breaking news from Bloomberg’s Ashley Carmen was announced via LinkedIn this morning announcing the re-signing of Meghan Markle to the network in a $700M renewal from her former contract for Archetypes Season 2 featuring exclusive clips and highlights from Season One.

Bill Burr Knows How to Sell (NSFW)

It has been 10 years since Bill Burr put this gem into the world on his Monday Morning Podcast and in our professional opinion, there still may not be a better ad read available. Having worked on the account during this debacle, we can say that A: the client didn’t pay for this ad read, and B: it was the best-performing spot they had run to date.

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If you’ve read this far, thank you!

The Influencer is a production from the team at Oxford Road.
If you like our sometimes sassy, mostly informed POVs on the wonderful world of audio advertising, you should see what we do for our clients.

Interested in seeing how we could help your business?
Contact us at influencer@oxfordroad.com!