The latest from our daily newsletter, podnews.net with Riverside. Branded podcasts work. Listeners like the brand more after listening to a branded podcast. Shows that both keep their attention and that they would recommend to others. That's the finding of the new 2025 Benchmark Report on branded podcasts released today by Signal Hill Insights.
The research based on survey responses from more than 15,000 podcast listeners gives a number of strong reasons why brands should be investing more in podcasts. Sirius XM has just announced that it's to expand its Sirius XM Podcasts Plus premium subscription to Spotify, YouTube Music and other podcast apps via Supporting Cast.
This expansion, they say, brings Sirius XM Podcasts Plus benefits including add free listening to new episodes, exclusive bonus content and early access to new episodes of popular shows to all major podcast platforms. If you're a Podcast Academy member, you can now vote for your favourites in the Ambies. You can log into the Member Portal and go to the Ambies tab for login credentials. The full list of nominees was published earlier this week.
The Australian Podcast Ranker was released for January 2025. There's a new number one, the Mel Robbins Podcast, represented for Sirius XM by SCA's listener with 719,000 monthly listeners. And ARN's iHeart celebrated its fifth birthday in Australia with a number of agreement extensions including Audioboom and Sony Music Entertainment. And in podcast news, Taking Care of Lady Business has signed with Salutations Media Company and launches its third season today.
It's hosted by Jennifer Justice, who apparently was Jay-Z's former attorney. And the first episode features Tori Dunlap, the founder of her first $100,000, kicking off the season in a candid conversation about financial feminism, wealth building and breaking down barriers for women in business. And in In and Around Podcasting, Mark and Danny asks whether Podcasting 2.0 has failed.
It's a bit of a click-baity title, they admit, but is there some truth that the hype around the project seems to have slowed? And what should we do about it? Claire Waite Brown is the guest. And this podcast is sponsored by Riverside. Create studio-quality recordings, edit in seconds and repurpose effortlessly. All with Riverside's latest updates. Trusted by top podcasters and brands like Tim Ferriss and Ali Abdaal, it's their go-to creation platform.
Try Riverside today and grow your podcast. There's a link in the show notes. And that's the latest from our newsletter. To read all the stories and subscribe for free, we're at podnews.net.