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Host-read ad marketplace Gumball, from podcast network Headgum, announced LightningPay, a tool where podcast creators have the option to get paid a few days after a podcast campaign runs.
The tool works through Gumshoe, the company’s audio verification and transparency tool introduced in September that lets Gumball track a campaign and guarantee its completion. Once that’s verified, a transaction will go through to podcasters via Gumball within seven days. The company takes a 5% cut from the profits.
While there are businesses that cater to expedited buyouts, LightningPay works internally with creators in Gumball’s network. The network launched in 2020 to streamline the process of buying and selling host-read ads for creators on the platform. In launching the tool, Gumball opens up an additional revenue source while aiming to fix one of the issues with late payments for podcast creators.
“Probably the number one complaint that we hear from creators is them asking where their money is or when they’re going to get paid,” Gumball co-founder and chief executive officer Marty Michael told Adweek. Podcast creators typically wait between 90 to 120 or more days for their payout, said Michael.
“Slow and inconsistent payouts affect independent creators and campaigns of all sizes,” Michael told Adweek.
Michael pointed to one of Gumball’s exclusive podcasts, The Know For Sure Pod, featuring comedian B. Simone and media personality Megan Brooks discussing life lessons, which ran a campaign in June that generated roughly 500,000 impressions. The creators have yet to see their money. Michael said the chain of payment collection is to blame, starting from the advertiser to media buying agency to Gumball, where each transfer going through the chain can take more than 30 days.
Audio ad revenue is slowly growing, with the channel predicted to reach $2 billion by the end of 2023, per Intelligence Insider. Still, companies are trying to weather macroeconomic uncertainty, indicated by Spotify’s slowdown in ad revenue in its Q3 earnings this week.
Gumball aims to grow its revenue three-fold this year, with host-read ads making up all of its revenue. The company raised $2 million in revenue in its series A and has doubled its workforce since its start in 2020.
