What is DAI? 🤔
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Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) is a technology that allows podcast hosts to insert targeted advertisements into their episodes dynamically. Instead of pre-recording ads and splicing them into episodes, DAI uses algorithms to deliver ads to listeners based on factors such as their location, interests, and listening habits.
Uh-huh… but what does that mean?
It means that two different listeners may hear different ads during the same episode, depending on their individual characteristics. DAI makes it easier for advertisers to reach their target audiences and for podcast hosts to monetize their content more effectively.
One of the key benefits of DAI is that it allows for more flexibility and control over ad placement. Hosts can choose to insert ads at specific points in an episode, or even to insert different ads for different segments of their audience. This can help to create a more seamless listening experience for listeners, while still generating revenue for the podcast host.
Do All Hosting Providers Support DAI?
While DAI is certainly becoming industry standard podcast tech, not all hosting platforms currently support the capability. Find a list of hosting providers that support DAI HERE
Note: This is not a complete list – if you don’t see your host here, simply reach out to their support team and ask if they support DAI!
Overall, Dynamic Ad Insertion is a powerful tool for podcasters looking to monetize their content more effectively and deliver more targeted advertising to their listeners.
Announcing: Artist First ‘Kickback’ Series
tl;dr
Numbers don’t define talent, and shouldn’t decide opportunities.
Watch Kickback to see artists from various stages in their career perform live in an intimate setting and answer fan questions. Submit to be featured on the kickback here.
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At WAV, we’re about seeing and celebrating artists wherever they may be in their music career, and offering intimate experiences to fans who are eager for undiscovered music.
The music industry is a complicated space, as blending business with art and expression can often get messy. I’d love to tell you the music industry is just, fair, and judged on talent, message, and craft – but we all know that absolutely isn’t true. Often when an artist is considered for an opportunity – before any questions around the music, the message, the talent, the energy, the artist themselves – the question “how many followers?” comes first.
So much talent gets lost in the shuffle simply because the numbers attached to artists tell us that they “aren’t ready for” the investment of time, money, or spotlight just yet.
Bullshit.
We’re here to celebrate you where you are in your career right now, backed by a community of fans who don’t want the music industry to tell them who to listen to.
Our weekly live stream series Kickback showcases artist performances in an intimate setting with a live in-app Q&A, allowing fans to discover and get to know artists within the WAV community, as well as the music community at large.
Kickback started as an experiment, throwing monthly parties at WAV HQ, inviting friends from electronic music labels and collectives like OWSLA, Perfect Driver, and Buygore by to perform live over some pizza and beer. In season 2 of Kickback, we stripped down the atmosphere and changed the vibe to a more intimate feel, focusing on highlighting artists within the WAV community of any genre, and showcasing their talent for exactly what it is… raw talent.
Follow Kickback on WAV to keep up with new episodes every other week.
If you want to be considered to perform on Kickback, submit your music here.
Welcome to the WAV Blog!
Oh, hello.
We don’t know how you got here, maybe it was one of our amazing partners that introduced you to us, maybe Kanye had a hand in it, maybe an artist that you love joined and you followed, or maybe you don’t know us at all and you’re aggressively rolling your eyes at the subtle name drop above. Totally fair.
Whatever the case – We’re happy you’re here, and so excited to share a new chapter of the WAV journey with you.
Let’s jump into the basics, shall we?
What is WAV?
WAV is a live streaming platform and a community built to give artists the support they need to succeed, while giving fans access to valuable experiences they can’t get anywhere else.
That’s why we’re here. That’s our mission.
Why Join WAV?
AS AN ARTIST
WAV was built with you in mind. Built to support you along your entire journey, from creating and collaborating, to promotion and performance.
We’re always brainstorming around what problems you face in the industry, and where we can help even the playing field of all artists, wherever you land in your career.
AS A FAN
What is an artist without their fans? WAV wants to bring you closer to the artists you love, give you intimate access to exclusive digital experiences you won’t get anywhere else – all while making it easy for you to support artists directly, personally, and before anyone else.
Buy artists coffee via digital gifting, attend exclusive listening events via livestream, and put your friends on to the best new artists you find on WAV. We want artists to win, and can tell you first hand there is no better feeling than watching an artist you love succeed and knowing you had a part in that journey.
We’ve got a lot planned for this space, we’ll be highlighting new artists, showcasing behind the scenes content, and offering some industry tips, thoughts, and special surprises along the way. Keep in mind that we made this for you. Use this space to reach out with thoughts, feelings, questions, and suggestions along the way.
We’re listening.
WAV ARTIST BENEFITS
When it comes to promoting your music online, the possibilities are endless. WAV is always working to support artists along their journey, wherever they may be. Whether you’re creating a visualizer for a new track, want to perform at a major show or festival, or are curious about how the industry works – we’ve got something for you.
Let’s walk through a few of our artist benefits, shall we?
LIVESTREAM
Our livestream capabilities were built with community in mind. Go live from your phone or with WAV’s desktop partner PRISM. Interact with your audience in real time, ask questions, share new music, get to know your WAV family better while having fun with filters, titles, images and screen sharing. Go live!
VISUALIZERS
By far the most popular feature on the WAV app for artists looking to give a track more life. Use your own artwork to create and customize visuals or pick from WAV’s visualizer library. Use the visualizer tool to promote new music, freshen up old music, or just for the hell of it.
GET PAID
MAKE. THAT. MONEY.
WAV integrates PayPal so you can get paid when your fans drop diamonds (WAV’s in-app currency) while watching your content. We’ve seen artists make hundreds of dollars from both VOD content and livestreaming while teasing new music, fundraising for new projects, or simply doing makeup while chatting about music.
Get creative. Get paid. That’s it.
WAV ORIGINAL CONTENT
Artists who are active within the WAV community have opportunities to be featured in WAV’s original content series like our bi-weeky show “Kickback.” Kickback is a live music showcase and Q&A hosted at WAV’s headquarters – highlighting artists from within the WAV community. That’s you. Engage with the WAV platform and submit your music to be considered!
PARTNERS
WAV has worked closely with leading industry partners like Mixmag, The FADER, Insomniac, Industry Talks, and more – all aligned in a mission to support the music community. Offering everything from festival performance opportunities, docu-series features, or exclusive access to industry events – our partners are dedicated to creating real-world opportunities for artists like you.
INSIGHTS
Music’s impact is much bigger than numbers could ever measure – however, it’s important to be aware how your work is being received. With WAV’s insight tool, you can see exactly how your content is performing, what’s working for your audience, and what’s not.
PRISM LIVE STUDIO x WAV PARTNERSHIP
Calling all desktop users – livestreaming on WAV just got easier.
We’re excited to announce that WAV has partnered with PRISM live studio in an effort to make livestreaming even more accessible for the WAV community. Not only can you now livestream from your desktop, PRISM studio allows you to create a more engaging livestream by offering interactive effects, background filters, and screen sharing features to create a one of a kind digital experience. Elevate your live stream by creating content quickly, easily, and straight from your desktop.
Once you create a PRISM account, you can connect your WAV profile and stream to your WAV channel seamlessly. Get started today!
HOW DO I DOWNLOAD PRISM?
Download PRISM to your desktop, Mac and Windows links provided below:
WHAT FEATURES DOES PRISM HAVE?
Easy to Use Interface
Start streaming within minutes. PRISM’s intuitive interface allows artists to easily set up their livestream environment and engage with fans!
Experiment with Tools and Effects
Screen share, add photos, videos, production screens, text and style to your livestream. With PRISM, it’s easy to create a professional setting – no fancy gear necessary.
Look Your Best on Air
You’re already sexy as hell, but for when you want it – facial filters powered by automatic face recognition technology allow you to look on point every time you go live.
Communicate in Real Time
Enjoy real-time communication with the audience without having to visit the WAV app. Get closer to your audience than ever before!
We’re so excited to offer you this new tool, and cannot wait to see how the WAV community gets creative with all the new capabilities.
Go live on WAV with PRISM today!
Top 5 Books Every Independent Artist Needs – #AudiobookAwarenessMonth
The music industry can be a daunting thing to approach as an independent artist. At WAV, we want to help you along multiple points of your journey through the tangled web of creativity meeting business.
If you’re a member of our Facebook group “Artists First” – you may have noticed we’ve been celebrating National Audiobook Awareness Month by dropping in weekly book recommendations for you. If you’re not a member yet – join us.
To close out the holiday, we made a list of our top 5 book recommendations for all independent artists out there. Whether you’re brand new to the game and need basic guidelines, or a veteran of the industry and want to get a refreshing take on navigating your own creative mind – we’ve got a book for you.
1. All You Need to Know About the Music Business – Donald S. Passman
Ok, ok – we know this is audiobook awareness month, and this text doesn’t have an audiobook counterpart (it’s updated consistently with new information) - however this one is a staple for any musician.
Did you hear that? ANY MUSICIAN. So if you’re looking at your book collection and don’t see a version of this on your shelf – we think you need to fix that.
All You Need to Know about the Music Business is essentially a dictionary of the music industry, if you have any questions around how anything works – you’ll find it here. From building a team and signing a deal, to touring, merchandising, and collecting royalties, every detail you need to get started is here.
Get your copy of All You Need to Know About the Music Business here.
2. How to Make it in the New Music Business – Ari Herstand
Ari Herstand, a musician himself, wrote this book while looking at the music industry as a “democratic DIY business” – which is largely the direction it’s heading with each independent artist’s success.
This text gives aspiring artists practical tools needed to build and maintain a lifelong career, while also encouraging artists to pave their own paths in this world. There is no one way to approach this world, make it your own.
Read or Listen to How to Make it in the New Music Business here.
3. Six-Figure Musician – David Hooper
“Struggling artist” is such a common descriptor in the music industry, it’s almost assumed that any artist who is unsigned is also broke.
That is absolutely not the case.
If you know what to do, you can make a great living as a musician. This book shows you what to do – how to make money with your music – in clubs, on the internet, and on the road.
We’re not saying it’ll be easy – but we are saying you’re absolutely capable.
Read or Listen to Six-Figure Musician here.
4. How Music Got Free – Stephen Witt
Moving away from “how-to” texts, let’s take a step back and look at the endlessly fascinating history of the music industry.
How Music Got Free – A Story of Obsession and Invention weaves narratives around key players and characters in the secret history of digital music piracy. Witt writes about the moment in history when ordinary life became tangled with the world online.
This book takes a look at what happened when an entire generation committed the same crime, and how the music industry was forced to adapt in order to save itself from the internet. Insane.
Read or listen to How Music Got Free here.
5. Creative Quest – Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
This audiobook listens almost like an album, featuring original music by author Questlove and The Roots, with plenty of vocal guest appearances.
Questlove, a legend in the music and creative space, shares wisdom around inspiration, originality, and living your best creative life.
We love this book because it dives into the emotional and philosophical side of the music industry. Reflecting on his personal experience and pulling from creative philosophies, lessons, and stories he’s heard from the many creators he’s worked with in his life, Questlove addresses everything from creativity – what it is, where to find it, how to maintain it – to coping with critics, and the shortcomings of success. 10/10 will forever recommend.