Luminary (podcast network) explained

Luminary
Industry:Radio
Genre:Podcasts
Founded:2019
Hq Location Country:US
Parent:Luminary Media LLC

Luminary is a subscription podcast network[1] that launched on 23 April 2019.[2] [3] [4]

History

It was launched by Luminary Media LLC, a venture-backed company, that was co-founded in 2018 by Joe Purzycki,[5] and Matt Sacks.[6] [7] Preceding the launch, the company had raised $100 million in venture capital, from New Enterprise Associates and Sinai Ventures, among others. Nicholas Quah, writing for Vulture.com, described Luminary's launch week as "horrific",[8] with licensing and permission issues, and other controversies.[9] In late 2019, Simon Sutton replaced Matt Sacks as CEO.[10] [11]

In May 2020, Bloomberg News called Luminary a "money-losing podcasting startup" with an app that "has struggled to find an audience since its debut in April 2019. Only about 80,000 people who tried the app have remained paying subscribers" per sources.[12] Bloomberg reported that the company had received "$30 million in a new round" of investment and was looking for additional funding due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nicholas Quah, for Nieman Lab, commented that in light of Bloomberg's report "it would seem that Luminary's fundamental problem is that it didn't end up signing anybody who had a powerful enough pull to drive that many paid listeners. Sure, it assembled a catalog of interesting stuff, but it doesn't have a world-building Howard Stern/Bill Simmons-level asset, plain and simple".

Early 2022, Rishi Malhotra became CEO.[13] In March 2022, Dave Chappelle's Pilot Boy Productions invested in Luminary with an undisclosed sum; Chappelle's podcast is also hosted by Luminary.[14] Later that month, Jacob Kastrenakes, for The Verge, commented that "maybe Luminary's subscription-only podcast model still has legs". However, after scanning "the company's website before my chat with Malhotra, and nearly all of the shows featured on the front page hadn't posted new episodes in the past six months. In fact, if you look around Luminary's website, it's hard to find any shows that have updated recently. That's a tough sell for a service with a monthly subscription fee. [...] Luminary shows will continue to start and stop publishing throughout the year, Malhotra said, being produced in seasons more like a TV show".

The 2023 album Liberation 2 from Talib Kweli and Madlib was released exclusively on Luminary.

Programming

List of Luminary Original Programs
YearTitleHost or StarringGenreCo-producerNotes
2019SmartrNoa LukasComedyTeam Coco
2019The TenZach StaffordNews & PoliticsThe Advocate
2019Frontier TweenMaria Bamford, Conan O'Brien, Kerri Kenney, and Tim BaltzPerforming ArtsTeam Coco
2019Players' Tribune: The PodcastVariousSports & RecreationThe Players' Tribune
2019Vocal PointMartina McBrideMusicBelieve Entertainment Group
2019Telephone StoriesBrandon Ogborn and Omar CrookMusicNinth Planet Audio
2019Hyper-TheticalKerry BishéPerforming ArtsFilmNation Entertainment in association with Transmitter Media
2020Lies We TellAlex Gibney and Ellen HorneSociety & CultureJigsaw Productions
2020The Black List PodcastFranklin LeonardTV & FilmNinth Planet Audio & The Black List
2019PoeticsOmari HardwickMusic
2019Stoop TalksHana Baba and Leila DaySociety & Culture
2019Break Stuff: The Story of Woodstock '99Steven HydenMusicThe Ringer
2019Wisdom From The TopGuy RazCareersBuilt-It Productions, NPR[15]
2019TabloidVanessa Grigoriadis and Lux AlptraumNews & PoliticsNew York Magazine
2019Sonic Boom: How Seattle Lost Its TeamJordan Ritter ConnSports & RecreationThe Ringer
2019Celeste & Her BestCeleste BarberComedy
2019Karamo: The PodcastKaramo BrownEducation
2019The Rewatchables 1999Bill SimmonsTV & FilmThe Ringer
2021Above the NoiseRussell BrandReligion & Spirituality
2020Murder on the TowpathSoledad O'BrienHistoryFilmNation Entertainment in association with Neon Hum Media
2015History on FireDaniele BolelliHistory
2019FiascoLeon NeyfakhNews & Politics
2017SpookedGlynn WashingtonPerforming ArtsSnap Judgment
2019The Trevor Noah PodcastTrevor NoahComedy
2019The Roxane Gay AgendaRoxane GaySociety & Culture
2019The C-WordLena Dunham & Alissa BennettHistory
2017Under The SkinRussell BrandReligion & Spirituality
2014Guys We FuckedCorinne Fisher and Krystyna HutchinsonSexuality
2021The Midnight MiracleTalib Kweli, Yasiin Bey, and Dave ChappelleSociety & Culture
2019People's PartyTalib KweliMusicUproxx
2020British VillainsWilliam GreenHistoryNinth Planet Audio & The Cut
2020The Passion EconomyAdam DavidsonFinance & EconomicsArrow Productions & Three Uncanny Four
2016I Am RapaportMichael RapaportSports & RecreationDBPodcasts

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Roxane Gay Launches Talk Show Podcast With Luminary. White. Peter. 6 January 2022. Deadline Hollywood. 20 March 2022.
  2. Web site: Can Luminary entice podcast listeners to pay to listen?. Zorn. Eric. Eric Zorn. 19 April 2019. Chicago Tribune. 20 March 2022. Apr 19, 2019 [...] Tuesday may mark the beginning of the end of the free ride for podcast listeners. That's launch day for Luminary, [...].
  3. Web site: Big names and big doubts as Luminary launches subscription podcast app. Stelter. Brian. Brian Stelter. 23 April 2019. CNN. 20 March 2022. April 23, 2019 [...] Tuesday is the start of a big test. It's the launch of Luminary, [...].
  4. Web site: Podcast wars: $100 million startup Luminary launches Tuesday without Reply All or The Daily. Carman. Ashley. 22 April 2019. The Verge. 20 March 2022.
  5. Web site: Former Condé Nast Editor Plans a Vanity Fair for the Substack Era. Lee. Edmund. Hirsch. Lauren. 14 April 2021. The New York Times. 20 March 2022.
  6. Web site: Ex-HBO Boss Richard Plepler Invests in Luminary, Joins Podcast Company's Board. Spangler. Todd. 29 January 2020. Variety. 20 March 2022.
  7. Web site: Luminary's CEO says the subscription podcast model 'is working'. Kastrenakes. Jacob. 8 March 2022. The Verge. 20 March 2022.
  8. Web site: Quah . Nicholas . Nicholas Quah . 26 April 2019 . How Luminary's Messy Debut Ended Up Roiling the Podcast Industry . 20 March 2022 . Vulture.com.
  9. Web site: Podcast startup Luminary's launch week keeps getting worse. Carman. Ashley. 25 April 2019. The Verge. 20 March 2022.
  10. Web site: Former HBO President Simon Sutton Joins Luminary as CEO. Lang. Brent. 24 October 2019. Variety. 20 March 2022.
  11. Web site: Quah . Nicholas . Nicholas Quah . 19 May 2020 . We've finally got some hard numbers from Luminary (and they aren't great) . 25 March 2022 . Nieman Lab.
  12. News: Shaw . Lucas . Anand . Priya . May 2020 . Podcaster Luminary Seeks Fresh Cash to Buoy Struggling Business . . live . 25 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200604011743/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-13/podcaster-luminary-seeks-fresh-cash-to-buoy-struggling-business . 4 June 2020.
  13. Web site: Dave Chappelle Invests in Podcast Startup Luminary. Carman. Ashley. 1 March 2022. Bloomberg News. 20 March 2022.
  14. Web site: Chan . J. Clara . 1 March 2022 . Dave Chappelle Invests in Podcast Company Luminary Amid Executive Shake-Up . 25 March 2022 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US.
  15. News: 6 October 2021 . Luminary and NPR announce the wide release debut of 'Wisdom From The Top' . en . . . 25 March 2022.

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