Breanna De Vera
Breanna de Vera is a dot.LA editorial intern. She is currently a senior at the University of Southern California, studying journalism and English literature. She's previously reported for the campus publications the Daily Trojan and Annenberg Media.
Los Angeles-based Goodpods launched at the start of the pandemic in the hopes of answering the question "What podcast should I listen to?"
As the podcast market has become more saturated, more and more companies are trying to make discovery easier. Google's Podcast app relies on AI-powered suggestions to lure listeners. Other podcasting platforms like Breaker take an approach more like that of social media.
<p>"So many podcasts are being created every single day. And so the vast universe of podcasts that you can listen to is just getting bigger and bigger," said JJ Ramberg, co-founder of Goodpods. "Discovery is getting harder and harder."<br/></p><p>Ramberg, the former host of MSNBC's weekend business program "Your Business" and "Been There Built That" podcast, came up with the idea for Goodpods after she found herself stalling her daily jog so she could search for a good podcast. She realized there was likely a more efficient way to ask her friends for podcast recommendations.</p><p>So she co-founded Goodpods with her brother, Ken Ramberg, as a way to stay connected with friends about what they were listening to in the podcast world. Both Rambergs are investors in dot.LA.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUzMDI0My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NDcwMTgzNn0.oBw2FI5xFfGKCuWkgit9QEGX8V1sd3M_u6hfV9d_V8g/img.png?width=980" id="ecae6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9de86ca1d792622c7f02e0aa0f45e2f6" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Brea" data-width="1014" data-height="1204" />
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Breaker was recently bought by L.A.-based Maple Media.</small></p><div style="display: none;"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUzMDI0My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NDcwMTgzNn0.oBw2FI5xFfGKCuWkgit9QEGX8V1sd3M_u6hfV9d_V8g/img.png?width=980" id="ecae6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d8042d732073e6ef67ce09d46abab68c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Brea" data-width="1014" data-height="1204" /></div><p>"Rotten Tomatoes does it for movies. Yelp does it for restaurants, Goodreads did it for books," said Ken Ramberg. "There was no really social network or discovery platform for good podcasts, really."<br/></p><p>Over half of Americans have listened to a podcast and about a quarter listen to a podcast at least once a week, according to<a href="https://www.edisonresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/The-Infinite-Dial-2020-from-Edison-Research-and-Triton-Digital.pdf" target="_blank"> a recent survey</a> by Edison Research, which examines trends in digital media consumer behavior. </p><p>Breaker, a social podcasting app similar to Goodpods, has also been trying to make it easier for listeners to find podcasts they love. Maple Media, run by Michael Ritter, recently bought the platform and its social media handles <a href="https://dot.la/breaker-podcast-2649943995.html" target="_self">after Twitter absorbed their staff</a>. He thinks the problem is that all this content was created without a well-thought-out infrastructure that could channel it to consumers.</p><p>"Podcast discovery trails other media formats, such as video," Ritter said. "YouTube executes very well with a robust recommendation system that has been refined over the past 15 years and TikTok is innovating in this area as well. Podcasting does not have this infrastructure, but new shows and audiences are both growing very quickly."</p><p>Goodpods launched at the start 2020, and has averaged over 1,000 downloads monthly since, according to Apple app store data. Since March, the Los Angeles-based app has attracted attention from celebrities including <a href="https://twitter.com/kimkardashian/status/1298334414095753217?lang=en" target="_blank">Kim Kardashian West</a>, who offered to follow back the first 10 people who followed her on the app — a move that was not a paid partnership in any way, said JJ Ramberg.</p><p>Other notable users include journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell, actor and producer Alyssa Milano and journalist and host Katie Couric.</p><p>Among the groups that have popped up on the app's recently released feature are "Gen Z College Podcasters," university students who are sharing the podcasts they've made with each other; "History Lovers," podcast listeners who share their favorite podcasts; and "Slopeside Pod Club," whose description reads "Pods for dog walks."</p><p>Podcast creators can also use the app to see how many listens their own podcasts are getting and they can interact directly with their audiences, enabling them to crowdsource opinions and ideas for later content.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-proxy-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vbWVkaWEucmJsLm1zL2ltYWdlP3U9JTJGbWVkaWElMkYxMDMzMTRfMDFiNzBmODNkY2RjNGQ4ZWE2ZDg4NGI5N2M5NjhmNTIlN0VtdjIucG5nJTJGdjElMkZmaWxsJTJGd181NjQlMkNoXzQzOCUyQ2FsX2MlMkNxXzg1JTJDdXNtXzAuNjZfMS4wMF8wLjAxJTJGMy1waG9uZXNfdjMud2VicCZobz1odHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnN0YXRpYy53aXhzdGF0aWMuY29tJnM9MTA5Jmg9NTA2M2ZlNzEzODE3YTRkZWI4NjZlNTM5OGFhNDMxNWQ3ODhkY2QzNDIxNDkwNjA5ZGJiNjk4ZWM1YWM3NGM3OSZzaXplPTk4MHgmYz00MDM3NTI5NzkzIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNDkyMTU2MH0.cNDsMpm6GS7q2nQ_sZMy2-AS5ZSsUorzIfJzsCbTWXk/img.jpg" id="cb9c7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="453077da8a1579329bb085a67cc2db0c" alt="Goodpods" />
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Goodpods aims to make it easier for listeners to find podcasts they love. </small>
</p><p>Podcasts have long had trouble gaining new audiences, so there is a market for companies like Goodpods if they can successfully create a revenue model.<br/></p><p>"Podcast discoverability isn't a business in itself," said Colin Maclay, a research professor of communication at USC and executive director of USC Annenberg's Innovation Lab. "It may be a feature, but it is not a business by itself. But if you imagine a mixture of a social network with that, then you maybe [can] build toward a business."</p><p>Maclay is optimistic that larger players in the podcasting world like Amazon, <a href="https://dot.la/wondery-2648972988.html" target="_self">who recently acquired Wondery,</a> Spotify and Apple, won't crowd out smaller companies like Goodpods. He points to Twitter, <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/technology/history-of-twitter-facts-what-s-happening-in-2019-14995056#:~:text=The%20two%20worked%20on%20a,a%20new%20employee%2C%20Jack%20Dorsey." target="_blank">which started as a podcasting app</a>, and eventually grew into a much more general social media site.</p><p>Ritter, who now runs Breaker, said the advantage companies like his have is that larger players have been more focused on exclusive content rather than the social aspects of podcasting such as sharing and listening — both key to discovery.</p><p>"We believe social podcasting platforms continue to have plenty of room to innovate and create unique sharing and listening experiences in the future," said Ritter.</p><p>As for the Rambergs, this is not their first venture together. In 2005 they founded Goodshop, an online shopping coupon code site that donates a portion of each sale to charity. It's raised $13 million since it launched, donating to causes from local schools and dog shelters to the American Cancer Society. Ken Ramberg also co-founded JOBTRAK, a college job site which was acquired by Monster.com in 2000.</p><p>When asked what Goodpods' plans are moving forward, JJ Ramberg said: "We're still early days. It's not even been a year yet. So we are 100% focused on the user experience and fulfilling the promise that users find great new podcasts, and podcasters find new users."</p>
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As the entertainment industry comes to rely on high-powered cameras, rapid rendering and new workflows that require sharing across vast networks, professionals are increasingly getting bogged down dealing with IT issues.
OpenDrives, a provider of network-attached storage solutions, hopes to help solve that problem. It announced it has closed a $20 million Series B round, led by IAG Capital Partners, on Thursday.
<p>The Culver City-based startup was founded in 2011 by Hollywood professionals who were searching for ways to store film that was increasing in both quality and size. With the growing popularity of using 4K — then eventually 8K — cameras and computer-generated images, films were at resolutions that made storage size enormous and difficult to access. Editors were wasting a bulk of editing time finding, compressing, downloading and reopening film.</p><p>Executives say they'll use the funds to expand their marketing, develop partnerships and hire talent, particularly engineers to further develop their software. This raise brings OpenDrives's total funding to $30 million, and comes very soon after the launch of both new hardware and software, called Atlas 2.1.</p><p>OpenDrives was founded by Jeff Brue, Kyle Jackson and Chad Knowles, to provide physical drives equipped with software that avoids the time-consuming processes of file compression and decompression.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUwODY4OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1ODI2NTk3Nn0.gPj0D_azutWPoxrkPnQM01wnzu3YgrqC2k6eNAhibmc/img.png?width=980" id="fea19" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ecca8b948aba108e070d9e433e107644" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="3956" data-height="1840" />
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">A rendering of OpenDrives' system.</small></p><p>OpenDrives Chief Executive Officer David Buss, a former U.S. Navy vice admiral, found his way to the company from the defense industry. He had previously been president of Cubic Global Defense, which used OpenDrives's products to develop training systems for U.S. military and security forces.<br/></p><p>"Think about a pilot in the cockpit trying to train with a fellow pilot in a virtual simulator 3000 miles away," said Buss. "If there's any latency whatsoever in the exchange of their information, their visuals, interactions that are having communications, whatever the case may be, the training breaks down and you completely lose credibility."</p><p>Buss joined as CEO in 2019, as OpenDrives made several hires, including former Ogilvy global divisional chief executive Jonathan Adler as chief marketing officer and former Dell EMC technologist Robert Adolph as business development vice president.</p><p>The pandemic has increased a need for remote workflows and storage, and Buss predicts growth for OpenDrives in the media and entertainment industry and other industries that may have not needed HPC and storage solutions before.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUwODY5MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MjI0NDc1N30.c1ztNokZpP4ZJ88GoOhXHePhfdCJgLqQm-iASC-S97g/img.jpg?width=980" id="865af" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cad775a0391b471f54df08fcb70bc786" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="David Buss, OpenDrives CEO" data-width="1066" data-height="1200" />
OpenDrives CEO David Buss
<p>"If you look at the the remote workflows that have been part of the COVID environment and are likely to continue, OpenDrives has been very nimble in being able to create what we call OpenDrives anywhere, where you can work remotely the workflow… that would take place in a big production house, Sony or Disney or Panasonic," said Buss. "But we now have through our software package, our new scale out architecture ... it puts us in the cloud, and it doesn't matter where your storage is done now."<br></p><p>OpenDrives clients include HBO, Spotify, Disney, Riot Games, Paramount, Sony and YouTube.<br></p><p>The company also announced a strategic investment in Ctrl IQ, Inc., a company founded by Gregory Kurtzer, who also recently <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/goodbye-centos-hello-rocky-linux/" target="_blank">developed Rocky Linux</a>. Together, the companies are working on a hybrid model of storage and computing that will support workflows with higher data security and better computing. Buss hopes these features will attract clients from other industries.<br></p>
<p><span style="background-color: initial;">"Worldwide spending on data storage architecture is set to be worth $78 billion in 2021," said Joel Whitley, principal at IAG Capital Partners, in a statement. "OpenDrives not only stands to capitalize on that, but with its powerful alliance with Ctrl IQ, is well-positioned to capture share in strengthening HPC and cloud computing sectors, which are expected to hit $10 billion and $832 million respectively by 2025."</span><br/></p>Related Articles Around the Web
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Univision's PrendeTV Pushes Into Spanish-Language Streaming with a Free Service. It Has Competition.
Jan 20 2021
Under new leadership, Univision is pushing into streaming with PrendeTV, a free Spanish-language streaming service expected to launch this quarter. And with so many new entrants into the space, it will face tough competition.
<p>PrendeTV boasts that it's the only entirely Spanish platform, with even its library menu written in Spanish. </p><p>At its launch, PrendeTV will offer over 30 channels and 10,000 hours of ad-supported streaming, the company announced this week. Univision has yet to announce a launch date but has confirmed that titles "Nosotros Los Guapos," "Strawberry Shortcake," "Walking Tall," "Amar A Muerte," "Love Nature" and "Lo Mejor De Liga MX" will be offered on PrendeTV.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7f0de67cc743e4f4abcaf313b33b0822"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PuRZRpBGNcA?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
</p><p>Telemundo, <span></span>another American Spanish-language network and Univision's largest competitor, offers some of its programming on Peacock, NBCUniversal's streaming platform. But it doesn't have an exclusive Spanish language platform. Meanwhile, ViacomCBS' Pluto TV, Discovery's Vix and Fox's Tubi services all also offer Spanish-language media catered to American audiences.<br/></p><p>"The most important thing is that [PrendeTV] has been built from the ground up for the U.S. Hispanic," said Univision Chief Digital Officer Sameer Deen. "What we see as an opportunity is that the U.S. Hispanics are really underrepresented and underserved in the streaming marketplace. We are really taking the time, the energy and bringing all our expertise, to build a product that is 100% in Spanish language, in-culture and really offers a unique and compelling user experience."</p><p>Latino households make up a large portion of streaming video-on-demand subscriptions, according to <a href="https://www.nielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/08/nielsen-2020-hispanic-dis-report.pdf" target="_blank">a Nielsen report on Latino cultural connectivity</a>. Seventy-eight percent of Latino households have at least one streaming video-on-demand subscription, compared to less than three-quarters of the total U.S. population.</p><p>"This move is a validation that there's a growing market [for Spanish-language media] in general," said Alejandro Rojas, the director of applied analytics at Parrot Analytics. "Spanish spoken content is actually increasing in demand. Overall, it's actually growing faster than English speaking content, though on a much smaller scale."</p><p>Late last year, Univision was acquired by Grupo Televisa, Searchlight Capital Partners and ForgeLight, an investment firm founded by Wade Davis, the former chief financial officer of Viacom and Univision's chief executive.<br/></p><p>"The announcement of PrendeTV within two weeks of closing our acquisition of Univision underscores our focus and commitment to rapidly driving the transformation and growth of the company," said Davis in a statement. </p>
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