AudioBoom

AudioBoom PLC is an on-demand audio and podcasting distribution platform. AudioBoom offers business-to-business services to the radio, media and podcast industries.

AudioBoom

Type of site	On-Demand Audio & Podcasting Platform
Available in	English, Spanish
Traded as	AIM: BOOM^[1]
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom^[2]
No. of locations	London, New York City, Melbourne & Mumbai
Area served	Worldwide
CEO	Stuart Last
Key people	Brad Clarke, Jon Del Strother
URL	audioboom.com
Launched	2013; 10 years ago (2013)

AudioBoom's platform has been used to power on-demand audio for businesses including BBC, The Spectator^[3] Associated Press, NBC Sports, Yahoo!, Cumulus Media and Westwood One.

The company is based in London with offices in New York. It became AIM-listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2014 as Audioboom Group Limited (AIM: BOOM).

History

The company was founded in 2009 by Mark Rock as Audioboo Limited, with funding from 4iP, Channel 4's technology innovation fund. The initial product was a free iPhone app and website that allowed users to share audio clips up to five minutes long. Early high-profile users included Stephen Fry, Chris Moyles, the British Library and The Guardian.^[4]

In October 2012, Rob Proctor replaced Rock as CEO, and Rock left the company on 1 May 2013.^[5] Proctor refocused the business on providing content from professional broadcasters, and Audioboo was renamed audioBoom.^[6]

The main shareholders were UBC Media Group and Slovar Limited.^[7] In 2014 they sold their shares in a reverse takeover to the listed company One Delta plc., changing the name of the latter to Audioboom Group plc (AIM symbol BOOM).^[8][9]

The AudioBoom mobile app was discontinued in May 2019.^[10]

Features

AudioBoom provides hosting, publishing, distribution and monetization services for on-demand content. Key features include:

• Unlimited audio hosting on branded content channels through a publisher dashboard
• Automated distribution through partnerships with Apple Podcasts, CastBox, Deezer, Google Podcasts, iHeart, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and TuneIn.^[11]
• Embeddable media players
• Advanced analytics and consumption data
• Monetization through podcast sponsorships and a built-in ad network

Key users and partners

• Russell Brand's podcast series, featuring Matt Morgan and resident poet Mr. Gee, launched exclusively on audioBoom in February 2015 and ended in May 2015.^[12]
• Cumulus Media publish on-demand content from over 450 of their radio stations.
• Westwood One provide ad-sales services and distribute major syndicated radio shows through the platform.
• Associated Press distribute hourly news updates to their partner websites using AudioBoom.
• Zee TV post entertainment, news and general interest content across their Zee, DNAIndia and Ditto brands.
• Kidd Kraddick In The Morning show joined in January 2013 and became the most popular channel on the platform.
• The Guardian used the apps to liveblog news and gather reactions, including from the Gaza Strip and from the site of the Boston Marathon bombing.
• Yahoo! Sports Radio host their Podcast Arena shows.
• BBC Radio, including radios 2, 4 and 6, a number of local radio stations, and several World Service non-English language stations.^[13]
• The Premier League joined in late 2013, hosting its podcast^[14] and promoting the use of audioBoom among Premier League clubs.
• Stephen Fry^[15] recorded a welcome message which was sent to all new users.

Alternatives

• SoundCloud

References

1. . Archived from the original on 2014-10-19. Retrieved 2014-10-13.
2. "About audioBoom".
3. "Spectator Radio". audioboom.com. Retrieved 2020-04-17.^{[permanent dead link]}
4. "MediaGuardian 100 2010 - 14. Mark Rock". The Guardian. 19 July 2010.
5. Kiss, Jemima (10 April 2013). "Mark Rock to quit Audioboo". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
6. Collins, Barry (January 2015). "Profile: audioBoom". PC Pro. Dennis Publishing. p. 20.
7. "UBC Media : Update on progress of investment in Audioboo and proposed acquisition of 7digital". 14 April 2014.
8. "Acquisition, Name Change and Notice of AGM".
9. Sweney, Mark (20 May 2014). "UBC merges with 7digital to create £30m multimedia group". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
10. "Audioboom To Discontinue Mobile App for Recording and Podcast Listening". Audioboom. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
11. "Distribution Overview". Audioboom. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
12. "The Final Episode". Audioboom. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
13. "BBC gives the word to AudioBoo". Financial Times.(subscription required)
14. . Archived from the original on 2014-01-08. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
15. Stephen Fry's audioBoom page 2010-07-26 at the Wayback Machine.