Granted Equity Awards
Valued at Over
$5 Million
Los Angeles, CA - September 15, 2023 -
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.
No Offer or Solicitation
This communication does not constitute a proxy statement or solicitation of a
proxy, consent, vote or authorization with respect to any securities or in
respect of the Proposed Business Combination and shall not constitute an offer
to sell or exchange, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or exchange any
securities, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of any such
securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or
sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the
securities laws of such state or jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be
made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or an exemption therefrom.
Press Contacts:
For PodcastOne
310.246.4600
Susan@Guttmanpr.com