“Audible Inc. is introducing a tool to help advertisers measure how many people are listening to podcasts, the Internet-based audio shows that are downloaded to listeners’ computers,” Sarah McBride reports for The Wall Street Journal. “That means advertisers will be able to get a handle on how many people are really listening to shows. By providing a way to track not just how many times the show is downloaded, but whether it is played back and for how long, Audible hopes to give podcasters some audience information.”

McBride reports, “Audible, based in Wayne, N.J., plans to sell a measuring service, starting next quarter, that is based on technology the company already uses for distributing bestselling books, magazine articles, newspapers and the like in audio form. It is revising that technology for podcasters.”

“Audible is making its tracking service available to outside podcasters. The company will charge three cents per downloaded podcast to report whether a downloader listened, and for how long. Audible will also offer tools that will stop the podcast from being emailed to others. It will charge five cents per download to track listening and attach the access restrictions. For half a cent per download, Audible will insert an ad relevant to the podcast,” McBride reports. “With the tools, ‘you can build a bona fide rate card’ for advertising, says Foy Sperring, Audible’s senior vice president for strategic alliances. The company says it will provide only aggregated statistics; it won’t disclose what individual podcast downloaders listen to.”

Full article here.

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