More than a year after Auxbus announced it was putting itself up for sale, founder and CEO Dan Radlin has found a buyer. Libsyn has struck a deal to marry the podcast creation platform with its hosting platform, a move that allows it to keep up with a growing shift toward offering a full-service experience to producers.
“Podcasting has undergone dramatic acceleration of new-show formation over the last 12 months, as the creator economy matures, and content creators seek durable means of connecting with their audiences,” said Libsyn President and Chief Operating Officer Laurie Sims. “The addition of Auxbus is beneficial to Libsyn’s platform as a one-stop shop for podcasters from veteran professionals to first-timers seeking assistance and guidance on making their initial show a success,” she said in the announcement.
The addition of Auxbus will help Libsyn compete against companies such as Anchor. The Spotify-owned companyallows podcast newcomers to create a show, host it on its platform, and then distribute it with a few clicks on Spotify. It is a similar setup for the podcast creation platform Spreaker, which became owned by iHeartMedia last fall as part of its $50 million deal to buy Voxnest.
Financial terms of the Auxbus sale were not immediately disclosed. But in a brief statement, the company told its users that it will continue to operate within Libsyn, with its features and tech expected to be integrated into the Libsyn platform over time. Libsyn powers publishing, distribution, and metrics for more than 75,000 podcasts. Auxbus Chief Engineer and system architect Ryan DuVal will join Libsyn to lead its newly formed Creation product line.
Radlin will provide transitional and strategic consulting services to Libsyn. But the 15-year veteran of audio companies such as Harman, SteelSeries, and Alesis, has already taken on other new roles. He has been Director of Product Marketing at the audio technology company iZotope since March 2020, and he has also been an advisor to both audio company Guidepoint and D2C electronics brand Raycon.
The web-based Auxbus is designed to save podcasters time, while producing professional-quality podcasts for even the most novice audio creators. Auxbus guides first-time podcasters through planning and creating their content. Auxbus technology then automatically completes and distributes finished, polished podcasts. It can even plug-in music from its library if a podcaster does not have their own.
Radlin announced at the end of 2019 that he was putting Auxbus up for sale. He explained that the company – which was formerly known as Podcraft – had failed to build a big enough customer base to support its business model. “We’ve focused too heavily on building a great product while not focusing enough on building a great business,” he said. In addition to putting the Asheville, NC-company up for sale, Radlin and his team went to working part-time at Auxbus in 2020.