Insider: April 23, 2021 — Rebrands, Spinoffs, Double Dips, and Opera

• On Wednesday, Cumulus Media announced that it will rebrand Westwood One Podcast Network as the Cumulus Podcast Network.
• Also on Wednesday, Talkhouse and Osiris Media announced a joint sales venture; both are (non-podcast-specific) media companies that specialize in projects by various types of artists, meaning that they bring “respective rosters of musicians, filmmakers, athletes and other podcast talent” to the table.

Both of the above ventures are said to be in the name of easier or more tailored processes for pairing podcasts with sponsors and advertisers: The Cumulus press release notes that combining the previously distinct Cumulus Media and Westwood One Podcast Network repertoires (which include both national and local podcasts) will mean “capturing the full breadth and diversity of the portfolio and providing advertisers with a comprehensive offering of podcasts,” and in the Talkhouse-Osiris release, Ian Wheeler, president/co-founder of Talkhouse and co-founder of Partisan Records, cites “more meaningful ways to get podcast creators paid for their work.”

The Cumulus rebranding will take effect May 6, 2021, and Westwood One president Suzanne Grimes will continue to oversee that company’s network of podcast sales.

The joint Talkhouse-Osiris project will be headed by Greg Stangel, who’s previously held “senior sales roles” at such organizations as the Creative Artists Agency and the National Hockey League.

• On Wednesday, Cumulus Media announced that it will rebrand Westwood One Podcast Network as the Cumulus Podcast Network.
• Also on Wednesday, Talkhouse and Osiris Media announced a joint sales venture; both are (non-podcast-specific) media companies that specialize in projects by various types of artists, meaning that they bring “respective rosters of musicians, filmmakers, athletes and other podcast talent” to the table.

Both of the above ventures are said to be in the name of easier or more tailored processes for pairing podcasts with sponsors and advertisers: The Cumulus press release notes that combining the previously distinct Cumulus Media and Westwood One Podcast Network repertoires (which include both national and local podcasts) will mean “capturing the full breadth and diversity of the portfolio and providing advertisers with a comprehensive offering of podcasts,” and in the Talkhouse-Osiris release, Ian Wheeler, president/co-founder of Talkhouse and co-founder of Partisan Records, cites “more meaningful ways to get podcast creators paid for their work.”

The Cumulus rebranding will take effect May 6, 2021, and Westwood One president Suzanne Grimes will continue to oversee that company’s network of podcast sales.

The joint Talkhouse-Osiris project will be headed by Greg Stangel, who’s previously held “senior sales roles” at such organizations as the Creative Artists Agency and the National Hockey League.

The program has been particularly of use as a remote-recording solution throughout the pandemic, alongside programs like SquadCast and Zencastr, and the Riverside.fm team maintains that what makes its product stand out is its reliance on local recording, which smooths out any glitches from slow internet connections by syncing up individual files later. However, both SquadCast and Zencastr record locally, too. Also, in step with this funding announcement comes Riverside.fm’s launch of a “magic editor” tool that has “the distinctive ability to automate the recording, editing and uploading processes into one step” — but doesn’t that sound like Anchor? Or Auxbus?

The team still maintains that Riverside.fm has technological features, some of which were just announced, that prevent many of the common tech problems faced by remote producers. (An intriguing one for video recordings, if it works as it says it does, was mentioned in the press release: “Smart Speakerview,” which locks in full-screen view on the person who’s actually talking, even if someone else happens to cough, sneeze, etc.) At any rate, people seem impressed with Riverside.fm, with this funding round including such folks as Guy Raz, Casey Neistat, and the venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, founded by Alexis Ohanian, who also, notably, co-founded Reddit. (For what it’s worth, in the past few months, Zencastr raised millions, too.)

The program has been particularly of use as a remote-recording solution throughout the pandemic, alongside programs like SquadCast and Zencastr, and the Riverside.fm team maintains that what makes its product stand out is its reliance on local recording, which smooths out any glitches from slow internet connections by syncing up individual files later. However, both SquadCast and Zencastr record locally, too. Also, in step with this funding announcement comes Riverside.fm’s launch of a “magic editor” tool that has “the distinctive ability to automate the recording, editing and uploading processes into one step” — but doesn’t that sound like Anchor? Or Auxbus?

The team still maintains that Riverside.fm has technological features, some of which were just announced, that prevent many of the common tech problems faced by remote producers. (An intriguing one for video recordings, if it works as it says it does, was mentioned in the press release: “Smart Speakerview,” which locks in full-screen view on the person who’s actually talking, even if someone else happens to cough, sneeze, etc.) At any rate, people seem impressed with Riverside.fm, with this funding round including such folks as Guy Raz, Casey Neistat, and the venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, founded by Alexis Ohanian, who also, notably, co-founded Reddit. (For what it’s worth, in the past few months, Zencastr raised millions, too.)

Badlands, a spinoff from Disgraceland, will debut on Amazon Music on Wednesday, May 5, says a company rep. The show is said to compile “sensational stories from the worlds of celebrity, sports, and beyond,” making it sound like a less murder-y Disgraceland, though it is said to be a blend of “hardcore history, true crime, and transgressive fiction,” so who’s to say it won’t be murder-y?

All 10 episodes of the first season, titled “Hollywoodland” — are you sensing a theme? — will roll out at once on Amazon Music, incentivizing curious listeners to head to that platform. But if you don’t take the bait and choose to listen elsewhere, you can at least listen to the first episode on release day; you’ll just have to wait for the subsequent episodes to be released on an every-Wednesday schedule. Like a peasant. Or like listeners of any other show that doesn’t drop all at once.

Two things to note: One, I couldn’t even listen to the podcast trailer without having an Amazon account. And, two, the “sports” part mentioned in the show description is said to be coming later this year as a self-contained second season, featuring stories about such figures as O.J. Simpson and Tonya Harding. “Hollywoodland” will cover Marilyn Monroe, River Phoenix, and various other people with a “dark Hollywood history,” like Fatty Arbuckle (May 26) and Lana Turner (July 7).

Badlands, a spinoff from Disgraceland, will debut on Amazon Music on Wednesday, May 5, says a company rep. The show is said to compile “sensational stories from the worlds of celebrity, sports, and beyond,” making it sound like a less murder-y Disgraceland, though it is said to be a blend of “hardcore history, true crime, and transgressive fiction,” so who’s to say it won’t be murder-y?

All 10 episodes of the first season, titled “Hollywoodland” — are you sensing a theme? — will roll out at once on Amazon Music, incentivizing curious listeners to head to that platform. But if you don’t take the bait and choose to listen elsewhere, you can at least listen to the first episode on release day; you’ll just have to wait for the subsequent episodes to be released on an every-Wednesday schedule. Like a peasant. Or like listeners of any other show that doesn’t drop all at once.

Two things to note: One, I couldn’t even listen to the podcast trailer without having an Amazon account. And, two, the “sports” part mentioned in the show description is said to be coming later this year as a self-contained second season, featuring stories about such figures as O.J. Simpson and Tonya Harding. “Hollywoodland” will cover Marilyn Monroe, River Phoenix, and various other people with a “dark Hollywood history,” like Fatty Arbuckle (May 26) and Lana Turner (July 7).

It makes me think that Burton’s timing was meant to assuage any listeners who might’ve worried, given the Jeopardy! announcement, that he’d be leaving their ears sometime soon, especially because the episode he dropped was the eighth-season finale — yes, the season finale, not the series finale, but still, words spook people. According to Claire McNear’s excellent reporting on Jeopardy!, the permanent host of the quiz show may be announced in the next month or so, in order for taping to begin in time for the next season to air, which will likely be in September. While waiting in this limbo, you might as well enjoy LeVar Burton Reads: Lots of folks, including Burton himself, hope he’ll be tapped for permanent Jeopardy! duties.

(Although, as recent guest host Aaron Rodgers maintains, being the permanent host isn’t necessarily incompatible with holding down a full-time job, like that of an NFL QB. Bold appraisal, dude.)

It makes me think that Burton’s timing was meant to assuage any listeners who might’ve worried, given the Jeopardy! announcement, that he’d be leaving their ears sometime soon, especially because the episode he dropped was the eighth-season finale — yes, the season finale, not the series finale, but still, words spook people. According to Claire McNear’s excellent reporting on Jeopardy!, the permanent host of the quiz show may be announced in the next month or so, in order for taping to begin in time for the next season to air, which will likely be in September. While waiting in this limbo, you might as well enjoy LeVar Burton Reads: Lots of folks, including Burton himself, hope he’ll be tapped for permanent Jeopardy! duties.

(Although, as recent guest host Aaron Rodgers maintains, being the permanent host isn’t necessarily incompatible with holding down a full-time job, like that of an NFL QB. Bold appraisal, dude.)

The writeup, with the title “Classical Music Podcasts Begin to Flourish, at Last,” obviously isn’t meant to assert that classical-music podcasts didn’t exist until now (though I’m sure some folks will interpret it that way regardless); rather, it’s that some shows are only recently turning a social-justice lens on their subjects or experimenting with episode style. His assessment of these shows’ structures, for instance, is that most use “an anthology approach, with each episode focusing on a specific work or recording,” which makes shows like Mission: Commission unique, since it serially and chronologically traces the music-writing process of a handful of composers, who then debut their compositions at the end of the season. (I, for one, like this concept. It seems like a decent way to keep listeners engaged, similar to getting folks to stick around ‘til the end of a home-renovation show.)

While I’d like to hear a counter-assessment from someone who primarily covers podcasts (not classical music, theater, etc.), another one of Barone’s major points is that, while classical-music podcasts aren’t necessarily new, some of them are only recently meeting the moment, and, indeed, spokespeople from these very shows are saying the same. In a release this week from New York Public Radio, which puts out Aria Code (ayyy), a company publicist wrote, “One of the missions of the podcast is to demystify opera for non-opera audiences and show how these stories live and breathe in the world today.” Particularly in reference to the show’s most recent episode, the rep went on to say, “I’d venture to say it’s a must-listen if you’ve ever been enraged by the way the women around you — or even you yourself — have been treated.”

Oof. Have I ever.

The writeup, with the title “Classical Music Podcasts Begin to Flourish, at Last,” obviously isn’t meant to assert that classical-music podcasts didn’t exist until now (though I’m sure some folks will interpret it that way regardless); rather, it’s that some shows are only recently turning a social-justice lens on their subjects or experimenting with episode style. His assessment of these shows’ structures, for instance, is that most use “an anthology approach, with each episode focusing on a specific work or recording,” which makes shows like Mission: Commission unique, since it serially and chronologically traces the music-writing process of a handful of composers, who then debut their compositions at the end of the season. (I, for one, like this concept. It seems like a decent way to keep listeners engaged, similar to getting folks to stick around ‘til the end of a home-renovation show.)

While I’d like to hear a counter-assessment from someone who primarily covers podcasts (not classical music, theater, etc.), another one of Barone’s major points is that, while classical-music podcasts aren’t necessarily new, some of them are only recently meeting the moment, and, indeed, spokespeople from these very shows are saying the same. In a release this week from New York Public Radio, which puts out Aria Code (ayyy), a company publicist wrote, “One of the missions of the podcast is to demystify opera for non-opera audiences and show how these stories live and breathe in the world today.” Particularly in reference to the show’s most recent episode, the rep went on to say, “I’d venture to say it’s a must-listen if you’ve ever been enraged by the way the women around you — or even you yourself — have been treated.”

Oof. Have I ever.

• Jessica Glazer is joining Vox Media in May, where she’ll serve as a creative producer on the branded audio team. She was previously a producer at Transmitter Media.

Got a new job? Tell me — would love to Let The People Know.

• Jessica Glazer is joining Vox Media in May, where she’ll serve as a creative producer on the branded audio team. She was previously a producer at Transmitter Media.

Got a new job? Tell me — would love to Let The People Know.