ARN’s iHeartRadio has appointed two new members to the content team as part of its audio content growth strategy.
Leanne Stamps has been appointed to the role of iHeartRadio music director & programmer while Shannon Fong will take on the role of iHeartRadio Music & Operations Manager.
Stamps joins iHeartRadio from K rock Geelong where she has been Music Director as well as across on air and producing roles. Fong has held programming roles on Foxtel’s music channels and more recently at the ABC.
iHeartRadio Australia’s Content Director Brett “Nozz” Nossiter said, “Lee and Shannon bring a wealth of music programming experience and knowledge, and will be valuable additions to the content team. In these roles, they will be responsible for enhancing, building, and growing the content offering as part of ARN’s continued commitment to investing in iHeartRadio to cement its place as Australia’s audio entertainment app of choice.”
In the 12 months since launch, the iHeartPodcast Network Australia’s downloads have more than doubled. The average weekly downloads in February 2021 are up 111% compared to the same time last year.
in 2021, 1.2 million Australian devices have been used to download iHeartPodcast content – a record number for the platform.
All podcast categories on the iHeartPodcast Network have shown an overall upward growth across the past 12 months. Business & Finance podcasts are the fastest-growing category with 407% growth in the past year. The start of this growth coincided with the height of the pandemic in Australia but has remained strong as people continue to seek information to help navigate challenging financial times.
The top five most popular genres across the iHeartPodcast Network are Entertainment & Lifestyle (up 20% YOY), followed by Catchup Radio (up 81% YOY), Comedy (up 93% YOY), News (up 52% YOY) and Music (up 80% YOY).
Fong will begin her role on Monday, March 22 and Stamps will join on Monday, March 29.
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Top Photo: Leanne Stamps and Shannon Fong