Hello from both Denver and Non-Denver simultaneously, as the newsletter was written in New York yet sent from Podcast Movement in Denver. The magic of schedule-send and all that...
We’ll begin with a quick note on working in entertainment. As readers of the newsletter know, I love going to theaters for big tentpole movies and love even more going to the Imax Lincoln Square. All my Paramount Tom Cruise Movie Experiences (Top Gun: Maverick and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning) happen at that theater. This past Friday, I took the day off for a 1030a showing of Oppenheimer.
First off, 1030a showings are just an interesting psychological and ethnographic experience, which, I’m sure, certainly skewed by the movie itself. Oppenheimer in Imax has become a bit of a thing and when I secured tickets, the Friday 1030a time was one of the only ones left that had any decent seats (if you’re doing Imax Lincoln Square you really want to aim for the last three rows of theater, dead center). So this wasn’t necessarily done by choice, so much as done by only available option.
That said, what a phenomenally weird crowd.
Mix of the gray / blue hairs (of which I guess I’m now a member and oh my god that sentence will now haunt me), as well as younger cinephiles and, most importantly, their significant others. The significant others were by far my favorite. A large number of blurry eyed, younger patrons stare either passive-aggressively or just straight out angrily at their partner. My favorite overheard line:
“No, I’m sorry, I don’t know what I want to eat because it’s 10 o'clock in the f*cking morning and you dragged me to see a three hour film”
And / or the woman sitting next to me who fell asleep during the film which, due to sound design alone, I thought was almost a physical impossibility.
(I only figured this out during one striking sequence where the sound does dip out, things get very quiet and the tension and dread was amplified by a delicate light snoring to my left which, for a brief moment, really confused me as to how Imax was doing that sound design and why Nolan made this very specific audio juxtaposition).
I’m not going to get into the movie, as far smarter people have already written in deep detail on it. I’ll just say I really enjoyed it (I accept the fact that it may be slightly indulgent, but he had a vision and he absolutely stuck to it) and that the theatrical experience allows for the creeping dread and tension to permeate every part of you.
I walked out of the theater and only when I hit the sunlight did I realize that I had been tensing my muscles for three hours and felt physically wiped. The sound design is, deliberately, punishing (and reminded me of a Paramount film that I thought never got nearly enough credit, Annihilation whose sound design to this day still terrifies and delights me, especially in the finale)
And then, I returned a call from CBS Studios' very own Rob Luchow.
Those Friday work calls from colleagues (friends? I just checked with Rob and I’ve been authorized to upgrade the relationship to work friends) can sometimes be a bit of a grind. But as I walked out of the movie, we discussed the shared experience, the joy of film, the joy of making entertainment and it was just a wonderful moment to realize how lucky we all are to work in this world, to make things that can so deeply, physically, viscerally impact people.
Whether film, tv or pod, the experience of an amazing piece of entertainment stays with you (I still remember the first time I listened to Nightvale, or West Cork, or any number of other iconic series).
So I guess this is, in the end, one of those “lucky to be living the dream” posts.
And indeed, we are.
And with that, on to the news.
More Subscription Analytics from Apple Podcasts
The updated analytics will allow podcasters to dive deeper into the data that the app collects in order to determine how their listeners are engaging with their premium subscriptions
Via Apple Podcasts Connect, users will be able to see how many listeners started a free trial, the percentage of those who converted to a paid subscription, what type of plan they’re subscribed to, and geographic breakdowns
A visualization tool is available to measure the performance of their subscriptions over time and can be filtered various ways, including viewing Subscription Events, such as Activations, Cancellations, and Renewals, and filtered by Sales including Subscription Duration to see the breakdown of estimated proceeds generated by monthly versus yearly subscriptions
At a virtual briefing attended by The Verge, Apple’s global head of podcasts, Ben Cave, said that annual plans were increasingly popular with new subscribers on Apple Podcasts. “Now, over one-third of all new subscribers are choosing annual plans — which is great news for creators because it means they’re getting upfront revenue and increased retention,” Cave said.
Spotify Integrates with Patreon for Subscriptions
More on subscriptions, earlier this month, Spotify launched a new partnership with Patreon
The integration lets fans listen to subscriber-only Patreon audio directly from their Spotify account
This feature is powered by Spotify Open Access which will also support paywalled content from other monetization platforms, like Memberful, Supercast, Supporting Cast
Podcasters will be able to add promotional banners to their free Spotify pages, directing listeners to the exclusive content page
Measurement Firm Affinity Solutions Links Podcast Listenership to Mattress Purchases
iHeartMedia and consumer purchase insights firm Affinity Solutions have unveiled the results of a study measuring the influence of branded podcasts on in-store sales, focusing on the effects of Mattress Firm’s investments through their Chasing Sleep podcast.
The podcast was created in collaboration with Mattress Firm, the Spark Foundry Content team, and iHeartMedia’s Ruby Studio, exploring the importance of sleep with episodes featuring Mattress Firm’s key brand messages, along with ad placements across the iHeartPodcasts network
The study revealed that the campaign drove four times return on ad spend and a 45% lift in incremental sales
The typical incremental sales lift Affinity sees for a given campaign using this sales measurement tool, called Consumer Purchase Lift, is 5%-10%