Granted Equity Awards Valued at Over $5 Million
LOS ANGELES, CA, Sept. 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire - PodcastOne (NASDAQ: PODC) a leading podcast platform and a subsidiary of LiveOne (NASDAQ: LVO), announced today that it plans to award to its active hosts and all current employees equity in PodcastOne through shares of its common stock. PodcastOne, which made its NASDAQ debut on September 8, 2023, plans to award nearly 100 individuals with various equity awards.
"PodcastOne has first and foremost always been a family. Making these equity awards allows PodcastOne to honor the hard work and commitment to growth our employees and staff have shown throughout the years no matter what stage of their career they are currently in. We are all partners in this business of podcasting, some for over a decade, and now through company equity, we're truly all in this together," said PodcastOne's President and co-Founder, Kit Gray.
Podcasting partners which are anticipated to receive equity in PodcastOne include longtime podcast hosts Adam Carolla (The Adam Carolla Podcast), one of the network's original show hosts, Jordan Harbinger (The Jordan Harbinger Show) Kaitlyn Bristowe (Off The Vine), T-Pain (Nappy Boy Radio), Brooke Miccio and Danielle Caroland (Gals On The Go) and Keltie Knight, Becca Tobin and Jac Vanek (LadyGang). Additionally, new to PodcastOne talent Brendan Schaub (The Fighter and The Kid, The Schaub Show), Natalie Buck and Sara Gretzky (Causing a Scene) and Jennifer Welch and Angie "Pumps" Sullivan of the smash hit I've Had It, received equity awards as well.
"We're proud that we are able to grant equity to our hosts. Each of our hosts puts in countless hours to deliver the best possible podcast and giving them the opportunity to have ownership, to be the first podcast company to do so across the board, is a milestone moment for PodcastOne," said Eli Dvorkin, Chief Content Officer of PodcastOne.
PodcastOne's network of top charting news, comedy, society, true crime and culture genre programming, including The Jordan Harbinger Show, Baby Mamas No Drama, Coffee Convos, When Reality Hits with Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright, Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe and Bad Bad Thing are available on PodcastOne, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart and wherever podcasts are heard.
The planned equity awards will be made subject to obtaining applicable approvals and complying with applicable securities laws, which PodcastOne anticipates to receive shortly.
About PodcastOne
PodcastOne (Nasdaq: PODC) is a Los Angeles based podcast network founded in 2012 by Kit Gray and Norm Pattiz providing creators and advertisers with a full 360-degree solution in sales, marketing, public relations, production, and distribution delivering over 2.1 billion downloads per year with a community of 250 of the top podcasters, including Adam Carolla, Kaitlyn Bristowe, Jordan Harbinger, LadyGang, I've Had It, and A&E's Cold Case Files. PodcastOne has built a distribution network reaching over 1 billion listeners a month across all of its own properties, LiveOne (Nasdaq: LVO), Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Samsung and over 150 shows exclusively available in Tesla vehicles. PodcastOne is also the parent company of LaunchpadOne, an innovative self-serve platform developed to launch, host, distribute and monetize independent user-generated podcasts. For more information, visit podcastone.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter at @podcastone.
About LiveOne, Inc.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, LiveOne, Inc. (Nasdaq: LVO) (the "Company") is an award-winning, creator-first, music, entertainment, and technology platform focused on delivering premium experiences and content worldwide through memberships and live and virtual events. The Company's wholly-owned subsidiaries include Slacker Radio, PodcastOne (Nasdaq: PODC), PPVOne, Gramophone Media, Palm Beach Records, CPS, LiveXLive, Drumify and Splitmind. LiveOne is available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Spotify, Samsung, Amazon Fire, Android TV, and through STIRR's OTT applications. For more information, visit liveone.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Twitter at @liveone.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements," which may often, but not always, be identified by the use of such words as "may," "might," "will," "will likely result," "would," "should," "estimate," "plan," "project," "forecast," "intend," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "seek," "continue," "target" or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including: the Company's reliance on one key customer for a substantial percentage of its revenue; the Company's ability to consummate any proposed financing, acquisition, spin-out, special dividend, merger, distribution or transaction, including the Company's pay-per-view business and the proposed merger of Slacker with Roth CH Acquisition V Co. (the "Proposed Business Combination"), the timing of the consummation of any such proposed event, including the risks that a condition to the consummation of any such event would not be satisfied within the expected timeframe or at all, or that the consummation of any proposed financing, acquisition, spin-out, merger, special dividend, distribution or transaction will not occur or whether any such event will enhance shareholder value; PodcastOne's or Slacker's ability to list on a national exchange; the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; the Company's ability to attract, maintain and increase the number of its users and paid members; the Company identifying, acquiring, securing and developing content; the Company's intent to repurchase shares of its common stock from time to time under its announced stock repurchase program and the timing, price, and quantity of repurchases, if any, under the program; the Company's ability to maintain compliance with certain financial and other covenants; the Company successfully implementing its growth strategy, including relating to its technology platforms and applications; management's relationships with industry stakeholders; the effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic; uncertain and unfavorable outcomes in legal proceedings; changes in economic conditions; competition; risks and uncertainties applicable to the businesses of the Company's subsidiaries; and other risks, uncertainties and factors including, but not limited to, those described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on June 29, 2023, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter year ended June 30, 2023, filed with the SEC on August 15, 2023, and in the Company's other filings and submissions with the SEC. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company disclaims any obligation to update these statements, except as may be required by law. The Company intends that all forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
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