Vice Media is reportedly preparing to file for bankruptcy after failing to find a buyer. The filing is expected in the upcoming weeks, and, despite reports of up to five potential buyers, nothing has come yet for the media company. More: - In 2017, after a funding round from private equity firm TPG, Vice was worth $5.7B.
- Vice's largest debtholder, Fortress Investment Group, could end up controlling the company. Vice will run an auction to sell the company if the bankruptcy goes through, and Fortress would be the most likely candidate to purchase it.
- "Vice Media Group has been engaged in a comprehensive evaluation of strategic alternatives and planning, "Vice said Monday. "The company, its board, and stakeholders continue to be focused on finding the best path for the company."
- Vice started as a punk magazine before blossoming into a media conglomerate with a movie studio, TV series, and many podcast series. Of note, Vice Media podcasts like Vice Media Reports and CYBER have been more or less current on new content.
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What the numbers say: Over the past five years, more people have been listening to ad-supported podcasts and streaming the radio. Back in 2017, 75% of people were listening to the radio, either in their cars or on a stereo. Now, it's only 63%, while the number of people listening to podcasts has tripled from 5% in 2017 to 15% in 2022. Also, the number of people streaming AM/FM radio, rather than listening to it on a stereo, has grown from 6% to 10% in five years. Relevance: Cumulus announced the Cumulus Media Audioscape 2023 results on Monday and highlighted data gathered by Nielsen Scarborough and Edison Research. The use of ad-supported Pandora has minimized over the past four years, but ad-supported Spotify and SiriusXM have risen. Ad-supported podcast listening has doubled for listeners between 18 and 34, going from 13% in 2017 to 26% in 2022. Other data: The amount of people between the ages of 25 and 54 listening to ad-supported podcasts has tripled over the past five years, going from 6% to 18%. Also, those who consider themselves podcast listeners spend almost six hours per day listening to audio.
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iHeart Media released its podcasting data findings with its State of Podcasting 2023 results. According to the data compiled by Nielsen Scarborough and Edison Research, daily podcast reach is growing in every age group. More: - 43% of people 25-34, 32% of people 35-44, 30% of people 13-24, 19% of people 45-54, 11% of people 55-64, and 10% of people 65+ are listening to podcasts daily. That is a rise in every age group over the past eight years, with highs in many of the age groups in 2023.
- The time spent daily listening to podcasts by podcast listeners has seen a steady increase over the past six years, going from 26 minutes to 57 minutes per day on average.
- An interesting note provided by iHeart was that there are more daily podcast listeners than registered Netflix subscribers, 89 million vs. 67 million.
- 61% of respondents consider podcast listening a part of their daily routines.
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Findaway Voices, the Spotify-owned audiobook distribution channel, announced that it is removing its 20% distribution fee for audiobooks purchased on Spotify. This means that Spotify will now offer the highest royalty for independent authors trying to sell their audiobooks. More: - Findaway Voices typically has an 80/20 share pricing structure where authors keep 80% of royalties. Other partners will still keep 50% of the price plus 20% of the royalty.
- When done on Spotify, the author will keep 50% of the royalty.
- This is a way Spotify can help grow its audiobook inventory, as last September, the company launched support for audiobooks.
- Currently, Spotify has over 350,000 audiobook titles on its platform.
- You can download audiobooks from Spotify to listen to them when you are offline.
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 A message from TRUERA LLM Testing and Monitoring – Join the Hands-On Workshop How can you ensure that your large language model is honest, harmless, and helpful? Join TruEra on May 11th and 18th as their President and Chief Scientist, Anupam Datta, provides a hands-on overview of how to analyze and improve the performance of your LLMs. During the two 60-minute online sessions, he will cover the following: - Quick introduction to LLMs - what are they and their history?
- Risks and challenges of LLMs: is your LLM honest, harmless, and helpful?
- Defining feedback functions to model LLM quality and performance
- How should you test and monitor LLMs?
- Live walk-throughs of how to identify, diagnose, and debug model issues in development and production
- Q&A with Professor Datta
Dates: 2-session series on May 11th and 18th Where: Virtual Event - Join from Anywhere Who should attend: Data scientists, machine learning engineers, MLOps managers, data analysts, statisticians, data and analytics managers Register for Free
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The town of Dalton, Georgia, is allowing visitors the ability to learn about podcasting by opening a podcasting lab in the town's community center. The Mack Gaston Community Center features professional equipment free of charge in the computer area. More: - There are microphones, live recording equipment, and a computer that podcast hosts can use to edit their podcasts.
- To record, visitors must reserve the podcasting lab in advance.
- The community center is holding an open house at the podcasting lab on Thursday, May 18. Visitors can tour the facility and learn how to create a podcast.
- The podcasting lab was brought together through donated equipment from local businesses. Shaw Industries donated carpet for the new space and a grant for the purchase of equipment, and the local 4-H Club contributed an Apple MacBook Air Pro computer to use.
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Africana Woman, an award-winning society and culture podcast, announced a live tour across Zambia. Each of the three stops on the tour will be highlighted with special guest speakers, and Chulu Chansa, the founder and producer of the show, will host the tour. More: - The tour kicked off on April 29 and will run through May 26. Stops include Kabwe, Lusaka, and Kitwe.
- Each stop will highlight three speakers, sharing their experiences and best practices for managing health, wellness, and finance.
- The live shows will not be recorded, so the women in attendance will feel safe in the space.
- The Kabwe show was sold out, and the Lusaka show is already sold out.
- The tour will focus on the connection, collaboration, and celebration of African women.
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Quick Hits: - The company behind these surgical robots is planning to list on Nasdaq. Last day to fund your investment is on 5/10.*
- Spotify Live, the Clubhouse-style app, closed down on April 30.
- The Podcast Academy announced this year's officers with two new additions joining incumbent Chairperson Donal Albright and Vice-Chairperson Christy Mirabal. Martha C. Little is the new secretary, and Sierra Reed is the new treasurer.
- A new podcast, "Hard Hats. Hard Heads. Hard Times," along with a YouTube channel, has launched to highlight working in the construction and landscaping industries.
- Audacy's State of Audio 2023 results showed that people were more likely to learn from an audio channel than social media.
- Demo Divvy, get an Ember heated mug. Hot coffee and quick and easy expense management — get both when you demo Divvy.*
*This is a sponsored post.
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Upcoming events: *This is a sponsored listing.
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 |  | Christopher Hachey is a freelance writer and editor based in the New York City area. He has spent most of the past 15 years in newsrooms covering all kinds of topics like sports, tech, business, finance, and commerce. He's now returning to his broadcast journalism roots by diving into podcasting news. Reach out to him at chris@inside.com | | | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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Join us on May 11th and 18th for a hands-on overview of how to analyze and improve the performance of your LLMs. | |
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