@ashleycarman
reportin’ on all things audio -- music, podcasts and audiobooks -- at bloomberg news tip me: acarman5@bloomberg.net or ashleycarman.01 on signal sign up for my newsletter! https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/soundbite?source=ashleycarmantwitter
For your weekend perusal: An attempt to explain how Youtube ate podcasts and how everything is television now feat. NPR's Rachel Martin, Bloomberg's @ashleycarman.bsky.social, and @dkthomp.bsky.social
YouTube’s Right-Wing Stars Fuel Boom in Politically Charged Ads By Davey Alba Priyanjana Bengani Leon Yin Ashley Carman Julia Love Rachael Dottle Elena Mejía Technology Big Tech November 20, 2025 On YouTube’s conservative airwaves, podcast hosts tout products that let people buy into the MAGA crowd: Republican Red Winery vintages for toasting the “silent majority;” Black Rifle Coffee for caffeinating gun owners; XX-XY Athletics for workout clothes symbolizing opposition to the “lunacy of the left social agenda.”
The popularity of YouTube podcasts among conservatives is driving a boom in small businesses tailoring ads to their millions of listeners, paying hosts like Joe Rogan and Candace Owens to read out promotions in the hope that fans will place orders. The phenomenon has enriched both the hosts and YouTube, supporting further growth of the businesses using ideology to sell. A Bloomberg analysis of host-read ads across nearly 1,000 videos from eight of the platform’s top right-leaning podcasters found that advertisers on the shows routinely tapped into political identity in marketing. At least one host-read ad with a political message appeared in 91% of videos reviewed.
NEW: For months, my colleagues and I dug into YouTube's conservative airwaves and found a flourishing network of host-read ads on right-leaning podcasts. This phenomenon has enriched hosts, YouTube, and businesses that use ideology to sell. bloom.bg/3Kaio9w
Music is in such an interesting place… great @ashleycarman.bsky.social report on Spotify's "Discovery Mode"
The long-tail matters, of course, but to mount a real campaign and take market share away from YouTube, Spotify needs the biggest creators, too.
I wrote about this and more in my latest newsletter below:
Those signed with big networks likely will struggle to make the leap because dynamic audio ads that can be swapped out are the lifeblood of the industry
Spotify recently started compensating video creators based on consumption rather than ads, meaning these hosts have to decide whether they think they'd make more that way or through a combo of AdSense and audio ads everywhere else
At least one prominent show that used to upload video there, Call Her Daddy, has stopped doing so after moving to another network (SiriusXM). And lots of other programs that regularly find viewers on YouTube aren't moving their video to Spotify
NEW: Spotify has said 70% of eligible creators and networks are uploading video podcasts to the platform, but, in reality, few of the top podcasts are doing so.
Of the top 50 shows in the US, 37 regularly post to YouTube. Only eight also uploaded their episodes to Spotify.
As @ashleycarman.bsky.social writes, "While liberals are trying to build their answer to Joe Rogan's podcast, Brett Cooper is creating the right's version of Call Her Daddy that'll appeal to Gen Z women who don't identify as feminist and are anti-abortion"
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
NEW: Bloomberg reviewed +1K hours of YouTube vids from 9 popular streamers and podcasters who cater to American men. We analyzed 2 yrs of guests and transcripts to see how they discussed political topics and understand their role as a new mainstream info hub www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
For everyone just tuning in: The most Jersey political scandal of all time has dropped — www.inquirer.com/news/nation-...
youtube shared this stat today, in case anyone doubted people were using the platform to watch podcasts (and, more interestingly, are doing so on the biggest screens in their houses)
Found the ghost in the machine with my AI Spotify podcast 😳
an update on my newsletter! from me, on linkedin. link below to subscribe 🫶🫶
www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions
i wish they had a comment section on streeteasy
Still thinking bout my thanksgiving sugar cookies 🥹🥹
i think this is partially a reaction to the youtube and video push we've been seeing, but i've got lots more context in my story, which first went out to my newsletter subscribers. linked below!! sign up to read!!
my latest: podcasters are sick of talking to the same guests as everybody else, so they're moving away from interviews.
this means more co-hosts or even monologue-style shows (a fascination of mine).
podcasters are getting bored of interviewing you
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
@ashleycarman.bsky.social escribe sobre el agotamiento de los podcasts de entrevistas y la "nueva" moda de, tal vez, mologar o meter co-hosts para "intercambiar ideas".
O sea... charla.
En dos años pega la vuelta y se pone de moda el documental de nuevo 😌
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
Audible started facing competition from Spotify when the service began giving subscribers 15 hours-worth of audiobook listening per month. Now it’s facing Amazon Music as a possible threat
Spotify’s turning into YouTube and Amazon Music is turning into Spotify www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
The Daily is one of the biggest podcasts in the world. On YouTube, it averaged around 1,000 views per episode over the past week 😅
NPR’s podcasts were downloaded more than 168 million times last month. This past week, the network’s podcasts averaged around 179 views on YouTube https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-05-04/youtube-s-podcast-deals-with-npr-slate-and-new-york-times-are-flopping
