What's Happening: Week of March 12, 2018

It's all about the bumpers (and the madness!) this week, but first some news about the pipeline.

I have a new stock music submission awaiting curation at Pond5. It's a big dramatic intro with :60, :30 and :15 edits, plus a looped version and a stinger/bumper. Here's a preview of the 30 second version.



Now for some more news on the stock music front. In reviewing sales, I found that a couple of the very short tracks in my podcast intro music collection are doing a lot better than the rest (although many of them are doing well). The key similarity between the two is that they're right at the edge of the six second range. That jogged a memory of something I may even have discussed here some time back.

I had seen some reportage last year indicating that YouTube had introduced an option for their advertisers to air six second bumper ads instead of the standard longer ads that viewers often either skip through or abandon entirely. Sure enough, I researched and found that the six second bumpers are growing in popularity with advertisers. The two bumpers (I've been calling them logos, but I guess they really aren't) that are doing well for me are seven seconds, but have fades that I could shorten to make them run in six.

So, I plan not only to begin editing those down, but I'm also going back to check out some of my other intros to see if they, too, can be cut down to the six second mark. Then, I intend to introduce (ASAP) a collection dedicated just to those six second bumpers, promote it, and see what happens. Wish me luck.

Finally, I have indeed survived the switch to Daylight Savings Time here in the US and I must be adapting well. How do I know this? It isn't even 5 PM (1700 hours) on the old time and I'm already hungry! Plus, my alma mater Wright State University is playing in college basketball tournament for the first time in over a decade. I have to wrap this up so I can find food and be ready by 7 PM (1900) for the tournament matchups to be revealed. With so many tough teams in the top echelon this year, it's very likely to be a quick exit. But just being there is what former VP Joe Biden would call "a big f---ing deal."

So, GO RAIDERS and everyone else have a great week.