Madison-based podcasting platform and tech company SPEAK.STUDIO unveiled multiple developments in its new media platform that combine creation, marketing and monetization.
On April 15, SPEAK held an unveiling event dubbed Launch Party Quarter One 2026 — or “LP_Q1’26” — featuring a live showcase. The company was started by Madison native and Los Angeles-based Matt Boatright-Simon. His vision with SPEAK is to reduce the friction between ideas and getting them out there with a seamless platform that allows people to record and publish podcasts.
Its latest development teased multiple ventures SPEAK has in its plans. Chiefly in its repertoire is its new media platform, which is still in beta, that Boatright-Simon demoed that centralizes podcast making, marketing and monetization.
“For creators, the world is too complex. There’s too many wires, too much gear, too much stuff,” he says. “For audience members, that’s even worse. There’s this sea of content that becomes a tidal wave of technology and noise that makes it almost impossible to enjoy your content.”
SPEAK has been on a mission to simplify the process and streamline the ability to make a podcast. Boatright-Simon envisions a future where anything could become a podcast, but only if the tools became readily accessible.
One key example Boatright-Simon points to is conferences. The events are a conjunction of ideas and expertise, but they quickly disappear after their conclusion. If those could be digitized and made into a series of sorts to catalog that expertise for future reference, it could be beneficial for years, he said.
“All of those wonderful bits of new knowledge created, discovered, it’s gone unless you capture and convert it into something that people can use forever,” Boatright-Simon said.
Part of the demo included announcements for SPEAK’s involvement with Make Music Madison. The annual celebration is part of a worldwide holiday that encourages creativity and music. Madison’s branch of Make Music is noted as the largest in the United States. Make Music Day will be held on June 21.
SPEAK will use its platform to capture the music there and the experiences of artists. To show how quickly it can come together, local musician Meggie Shays, known as M Shays, performed two of her songs and was interviewed by Boatright-Simon afterwards.
The showcase marked the inaugural episode for Make Music Madison’s podcast.
Other announcements included “MicroAdz” and “Polyglottal.”
The former increases ad presence, part of the marketing and monetization arm of SPEAK’s push, to expand past the limits of per-platform advertising, which has a limited ability to reach people.
“[Instagram], as an example, is limited by its own platform. You can’t advertise on Tiktok or billboards or on SPEAK. And with radio, you can only advertise to that group… if you’re listening at that particular time,” Boatright-Simon said.
Boatright-Simon compares purchasing ads to baking a pie. You have to go to the store and head to different areas all over to get the necessary ingredients to make the pie. With SPEAK, the idea is to centralize effort in one area and push the advertising into various platforms.
The latter, Polyglottal, provides cultural insights on audiences for brands, companies and creators.
