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Thought Leadership RIP Audio Opportunists: Brands Seek Serious Solutions in 2024

Welcome to 2024, Chief Audio Officers! Podcasting is now old enough to order a beer. And of course, the Media Roundtable is back to prepare you for what looks to be a very eventful year in audio. Back as host is Oxford Road founder and CEO, Dan Granger. And by popular demand, we’ve brought back the Wizard of NYU, Steven Goldstein (founder and CEO at Amplifi Media).

We’re talking about the big money questions of audio: from CPMs to content investments, and why our theme music is so terrible on this podcast. How low will radio sink, and how high will podcast climb? And in an election year that promises to be anything but boring, how wide of a berth will advertisers give to all things political? Let’s put our ears to the crystal ball and see what it tells us.

“Radio is a melting ice cube, and the good news is it takes a while for that ice cube to melt.”

– Steven Goldstein of Amplifi Media

  • Marketer-Friendly CPMs – You heard it here first. We’re predicting audio, on the whole, see lower CPMs, especially in radio (big melting ice cube) and streaming (pixelpocalypse). If you can prove ROI pixel-free (oh, and we have THOUGHTS) you might get to take advantage of this tailwind in 2024.
  • Media Roundtable Music Found Wanting – Steve pulls no punches and piles on the mounting chorus of voices asking us to change our theme music. And like a true friend, offers to help us find something better.
  • Finding your Niche – On the content side we’re seeing a couple of trends. No more dumb up-front money, but possibly a race to the bottom with some very cheap “zoo crew” style podcasts that contribute to the radio fiction of the space. Our money bet? Look for niche content that’s not trying to be mass-market. You can go outside the relatively stable top 20 shows and find a perfect match for your audience. And maybe still True Crime? The genre keeps killing it after all these fiscal quarters.
  • Election Year Marketing: Ride Waves, Don’t Wipe Out – Elections are on the horizon, and with it, a lot of engagement on some very polarizing content. Marketers will need to get more sophisticated with brand safety and suitability to surf the chop. One partner plug? Seekr’s Civility Score, which might be a figurative and literal lifesaver.

For full breakdowns of these bold predictions and a whole lot more, tune in to the full episode by clicking the link below.

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“ Is it the end of ads? No, but I do think that it’s potentially an end of an era.” – Courtney O’Connor (Director, Podcast Media, Oxford Road)

The End of Ads? – It sounds like a sensationalist take: could podcast ads see the same collapse as ‘90s banner ads? No, but at a minimum, guarding against increasing ad load is smart business (Podcasting was dragged for its ads during the Golden Globes). No one wants podcasts to become burdened with ads like radio. Marketers, check the ad load of your shows, and reward the networks who are keeping the percentage low.

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Want more insights from the forces shaping the industry? Tune in to the full episode by clicking the link below.

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Want more insights into what will surely be a pivotal year for the industry? Tune in to the full episode by clicking the link below.

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