A year of clandestine talks between Spotify, SiriusXM, and others produced an alliance with a single stated goal: unlock a billion dollars. The Alliance for Measurement in Podcasting claims inconsistent definitions scare advertisers away.
James Cridland notes key industry bodies like the IAB are absent. Sam Sethi is skeptical of a secret group setting standards for the entire ecosystem without YouTube, Spotify, or Acast. The alliance plans to reveal its definitions in July.
Adam Curry argues the data problem is artificial. Apps deliver the audio but capture no value. He proposes cutting app developers into ad revenue - a 5% to 10% share would incentivize them to share first-party playback data advertisers need.
"If agencies offered a 5% to 10% cut of ad spend to app developers, the data problem would vanish."
- Adam Curry, Podcasting 2.0
Curry’s model mirrors Apple’s existing approach. James Cridland argues this aligns incentives, transforming the ecosystem from loose RSS feeds into a formal partner network where data flows with the money.
While the alliance seeks top-down control, other moves target the neglected middle tier. Captivate and Global’s Dax US launched a unified monetization suite for mid-tier creators, combining programmatic and direct sales tools.
Brian Conland says Dax will use contextual targeting and attribution partners to offer advertisers a single CPM, treating podcasting like digital radio. The goal is scale the major holding companies require.
"The tension lies in whether a 'secret' group can actually force the rest of the ecosystem to align."
- Sam Sethi, Podnews Weekly Review
The fight is over who defines the terms and who gets paid. The alliance wants to codify ‘podcast’ and ‘impression.’ Curry wants to pay the gatekeepers. Both claim the same pot of gold.
