The Binge, Sony Music Leisure’s subscription-based podcast channel, is seeing early indicators of success within the quick few months that it’s been reside.
The Binge releases one docuseries every month, bundled from SME’s roster of podcasts, starting from genres like true crime to leisure. As an illustration, within the collection Crooked Metropolis, every season explores eerie cities like Emerald Triangle and mob-ridden Ohio city Youngston, a 15-episode collection.
The Binge rose to the third hottest subscription channel within the U.S. and Canada in August, per Apple Podcasts, two months after launch. The channel is now the No. 7 subscriber channel on Apple Podcast.
Past that, The Binge is averaging 25% subscriber progress month over month, in keeping with SME, it wouldn’t share particular numbers. A subscription begins at $4.99 month-to-month.
“When there’s a cliffhanger and one thing you wish to dive into, you’re keen to remain up until two within the morning, whether or not that’s watching it or listening to it,” mentioned Sony Music senior vice chairman of podcast enterprise growth & operations Emily Rasekh. “With the brand new subscription instruments inside the Apple ecosystem and elsewhere, that’s the habits that we’re feeding into and experimenting with,” Rasekh advised Adweek.
Sony Music Podcasts is a division of Sony Music Leisure and was launched in 2019. In keeping with Rasekh, the podcast division is forecasted to virtually double the variety of energetic reveals, it would distribute almost 50 new and ongoing reveals subsequent yr. In addition to its subscription channel The Binge, it monetizes podcasts via promoting.
In keeping with Sony, the corporate outpaced its final fiscal yr’s advert income by almost 35%.
The big majority of podcasts are being monetized by promoting, however extra proof of individuals paying for podcasts is rising. Paid Apple Podcast subscriptions grew by 300% in a yr, in keeping with a report in August. Whereas experiences recommend podcast advert income will stay unaffected by macroeconomic situations, corporations like Spotify took successful in its third-quarter earnings in 2022 and large media heads like CNN and Amazon are chopping their audio workers.
“We’re seeing extra and greater manufacturers wanting on the alternatives past simply customary mid-roll advert slots, whether or not it’s branded podcast themselves,” mentioned Sony Music’s vice chairman of podcast gross sales, Nick Southwell-Keely.
In keeping with Sony, 2022 international downloads throughout its community yr up to now are almost 40% larger than the same timeframe for 2021. World downloads throughout its podcasts grew by over 89% from 2020 to 2022.
Rasekh advised Adweek that not too long ago it’s taking a extra acquainted personality-based strategy, primarily via girls’s voices.
“There’s actually a little bit of a sub-focus on feminine voices and feminine audiences,” added Rasekh.
In early November, the community launched Excessive Low with EmRata hosted by mannequin Emily Ratajkowski, a podcast that digs into cultural subjects like politics, feminism and intercourse. In keeping with Rasekh, a free episode will air every week on high of a bonus episode that can drop every week.
Per week prior the community launched They Did That in partnership with Sony’s U.Ok. content material firm acquired in 2021, Somethin’ Else, identified for being one in every of BBC’s greatest producers. Freelance journalist Takara Small explores individuals who have made historical past from underrepresented teams like girls, individuals of colour and LGBTQ+.
