Australian podcast duo Toni Lodge and Ryan Jon are the hosts of the hit podcast Toni and Ryan. This month, they are celebrating three years of content, laughs, and chaos, plus a new multi-year, multi-channel partnership with global audio giant Acast.
The move was announced by Toni and Ryan on their Tuesday podcast this week. Jon explained because of the switch to a new platform, they cannot post new episodes between Wednesday and next Monday. Could the hosts also be using the break to travel to the destination of their mystery third birthday party? (See below.)
The former home of the Toni and Guy podcast was Spotify, where they signed on in 2022.
See also: Toni and Ryan sign exclusive podcast deal with Spotify
Duo say no to radio, staying on a podcast platform
The duo launched the series in 2021 and over three years have released over 700 episodes. The Australian podcasters have expanded globally and now boast over 3m monthly downloads, daily audio and video content, and a combined social media following over 3.5m.
As Jon alluded to in his comment on their new contract, the pair has said no to offers from commercial radio networks.
Toni and Ryan fans are branded TARPers (Toni and Ryan Podcast) and those with a real addiction follow the hosts on Patreon, where subscription packages range from $4 monthly to $25 monthly to be a Champion TARPer.
Executive producer of the Toni and Ryan podcast is former Spotify producer Sophie Woods.
Welcome to Acast: ‘We’ve been huge fans’
Guy Scott-Wilson, Acast Australia and New Zealand’s creator network director, said their booming local and international audience makes Toni and Ryan a great fit for Acast.
“We’ve been huge fans of Toni and Ryan since the very start, and have been cheering them on from the sidelines as they bring their unique format to audiences around the world. They are absolute masters of the craft of podcasting, so it’s no surprise to see them resonate so deeply with international audiences.
“Acast has a physical presence in 15 countries around the world, so we’re so pleased to be partnering with Toni and Ryan to continue to grow their global community of TARPers, maximise their commercial opportunities across audio and social and increase the relevance of commercial messages to their local audiences.”
Henrik Isaksson, managing director of Acast Australia and New Zealand, said: “Acast will be working with Toni and Ryan to further this incredible growth story, maximise their commercial opportunities across audio and social, and increase the relevance of commercial messages to their audiences across the world.
“Advertisers: get in touch to see how you can reach Toni and Ryan’s massively engaged audiences across audio, video and social.
“Welcome to Acast, Toni and Ryan. In their words: We are back to being independent baby.”
Toni and Ryan will be available across all podcast platforms, including full-length video episodes on YouTube for the first time. The podcast already has over 600,000 subscribers on the video platform, which will be part of Acast’s offering to advertisers.
Party like it’s 2024
To share their success with listeners, Toni Lodge and Ryan Jon have announced the podcast’s third birthday party. All TARPers around the world are invited to the birthday event on Saturday 17 August, provided they can guess “Where in the world are Toni and Ryan?”
The first birthday party clues will be dropped in the podcast published on Monday 12 August – the first to be hosted on the Acast platform. There will be another clue in each of the episodes released across the week.
“Somewhere in the world, we’re throwing a party. It’s on Saturday, the 17th of August. It’s in a physical location, and everyone’s invited. The only catch is you have to find where we are, and you can come and have a beer and we’ll hang out,” co-host Jon said on Monday’s episode.
“It’s your job to figure out the clues, figure out where the party is, and come on down and let’s have a good time.”
Goodbye to Spotify
Lodge said: “We’ve had an amazing time being part of the Spotify team for the past two years and are grateful to everyone we’ve worked alongside. Now moving to Acast is really exciting for our little business and we couldn’t be happier to join forces with them! We love making our podcast and serving our TARPers all over the world, so getting to keep doing this job is the best part.”
Jon added: “Whilst it’s flattering to receive offers from Spotify and the big radio networks, we’ve got our own little team and our own little studio, and are quite happy being independent creators doing our own little thing.
“Acast has already done incredibly well generating revenue for the podcast. From here, they’ll keep doing the job of managing ads and sponsorships, and I’ll keep doing the job of sitting across from Toni and laughing my ass off.”
