Podnews Weekly Review

Send James and Sam a message or voicemailSpecial GuestsMoritz Kaminski - AlbyRoss Adams -  AcastBradley Davis - PodchaserShow NotesAcast is to acquire Podchaser, the “world’s most comprehensive and authoritative podcast database” in a deal worth $34m. Podchaser, which is expected to make a profit next year, will continue to operate as a separate brand: it contains data of more than 4.5m million podcasts, including advertising information. The integration will bring additional data to Acast’s advertisers.The podcast landscape is ever shifting!Alby, a browser extension for cryptocurrency, has added its own podcaster wallet. The service allows you to earn from your listeners as they listen. The company has written a full guide to enabling your podcast.Audioboom’s H1/22 financials were released, showing revenue was up 79% on the same period last year. Profit was $2m, up from last year’s $0.2m, and the company’s doing 124m downloads a month (up 35%).Pushkin Industries has purchased podcast creator Transmitter Media. Transmitter’s founder and CEO, Gretta Cohn, will join Pushkin’s senior leadership team. Auphonic and Hindenburg have announced an integrationWhich company is sending the most unsolicited commercial email to podcasters, by scraping your RSS feed to gather your email? We have been running a spamtrap on our podcast feed for the last three months, and today, we reveal the podcast industry’s biggest spammer. (No, it doesn’t start with an “A”).British Podcast Awards: Jul 23 · London, England, UKSupport the showConnect With Us: Email: weekly@podnews.netFediverse: @james@bne.social and @samsethi@podcastindex.socialSupport us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/supportGet Podnews: podnews.net

Send James and Sam a message or voicemailSpecial Guests:Mitch Downey - PodverseMike Mignano - Angel Investor and ex-SpotifyShow Notes:Michael Mignano, has written a piece about what he calls The Standards Innovation Paradox. In response, James Cridland wrote a long article that basically points out that Apple took the RSS standard and enhanced it. The thing that Mike Mignano says is impossible.Adam Curry said: Spotify is the shitcoin of podcasting.Spotify is expanding the ability to post video podcasts for creators in six new countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil and Mexico. This marks the first time the audio streaming company is making this feature available in non-English speaking countries.Spotify has purchased Heardle.Overcast, Marco Arment, describes “cheap, sloppy dynamic ad insertion in podcasts” as something that “continues to degrade the experience for listeners” in a tweet.Reddit is to start live audio Talks says Arielle Nissenblatt in a Twitter thread.Message Heard has signed an audio partnership with The Kyiv Independent.Descript launched Storyboard.Eddy, the audio editor that works like a word processor, now lets you edit video.Support the showConnect With Us: Email: weekly@podnews.netFediverse: @james@bne.social and @samsethi@podcastindex.socialSupport us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/supportGet Podnews: podnews.net

Send James and Sam a message or voicemailSpecial GuestsHarry Duran -  Full CastOscar Merry - Fountain AppShow NotesPodverse adds support for LIT and Video Support. Podcast Host Ranking from John Spurlock Fountain rewards users for listening to podcastsBlubrry has launched 'podcast media kits’ that update daily Libsyn StudioAnchor podcast fraud.  Here’s a link with details on how to report themAlby, a browser extension for cryptocurrency, has added its own podcaster wallet. The service allows you to earn from your listeners as they listen. The company has written a full guide to enabling your podcast.EventsThe British Podcast Awards, powered by Audible, Ceremony- Kennington Park, London - Saturday 23rd July - Tickets on Sale: Monday 20th June. BuzzsproutStart podcasting - keep podcasting!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showConnect With Us: Email: weekly@podnews.netFediverse: @james@bne.social and @samsethi@podcastindex.socialSupport us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/supportGet Podnews: podnews.net

Send James and Sam a message or voicemailSpecial GuestsTom Webster- Sounds ProfitableZachariah Moreno & Rock Felder - SquadcastSophie Hind & Jim Salveson - VoiceWorksShow NotesSounds Profitable released The Creators, a study of the people who create podcasts. Tom Webster revealed that US podcast creators are more diverse than the US population, but are significantly younger and more male. Most own both Android and iOS devices, though more than four in ten podcast creators have been listening to podcasts for under a year. You can download the full report here.Bloomberg Businessweek posts Spotify’s Billion-Dollar Bet on Podcasting Has Yet to Pay Off. The piece, originally titled “Spotify’s Joe Rogan-Powered Podcast Bet Hasn’t Paid Off”, suggests that the company’s investments haven’t yet yielded a major hit, and contains criticism of Dawn Ostroff’s growth strategy.Spotify and Anchor have debuted RADAR Podcasters, a podcast-creator version of the Spotify program designed to spotlight emerging voices worldwide. The companies start by highlighting more than 40 creators around the world.The number of open video podcasts are on the rise. In November last year, Podcast Index listed 39,194 video podcasts. As of June this year, Podnews can reveal the number had grown by over a quarter to 50,863. We measured these by looking for enclosure files with the extension mov, mp4 or m4v, the three filetypes Apple Podcasts supports. Apple has recently put video podcasts in the spotlight again; Spotify launched its own proprietary video podcasts tool in April (which we can’t measure).Support the showConnect With Us: Email: weekly@podnews.netFediverse: @james@bne.social and @samsethi@podcastindex.socialSupport us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/supportGet Podnews: podnews.net

Send James and Sam a message or voicemailSpecial GuestsCarlos Diaz - Uncut.fm is a new podcast platform that lets you "mint, share and sell your content as NFTs".Jake Warren  - UK podcast production company Message Heard has signed with CAAShow NotesBreaking: Acast+ has announced an integration with Facebook. It allows Acast+ subscribers to offer members-only Facebook groups, as a launch partner of new Facebook functionality. Fountain is now rewarding people for listening to shows with Bitcoin, which they can then share with their favourite podcasters as “value4value”. The more people listen, the more they get  (like this for Podland).The Creators FREE webinar from Soundsprofitable. register hereSpotify is testing a tool to record a podcast directly into the Spotify app Spotify to make streaming more social on new ‘community’ mobile app Support the showConnect With Us: Email: weekly@podnews.netFediverse: @james@bne.social and @samsethi@podcastindex.socialSupport us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/supportGet Podnews: podnews.net

Send James and Sam a message or voicemailSpecial GuestKen Miller - CTO Fathom New podcast app Fathom, designed for better podcast discovery, has been launched on iOS and in-browser.  It promises you can “ask any question and hear answers from your favourite podcasters and their guests.”https://fathom.fm/podcast/podland-newsShow NotesBreaking: Apple Podcasts has published details of how search in its app works. The post includes clarification that ratings and reviews aren’t factored into search results; and that the search function searches the show name, channel name, and episode title. In July last year, Podnews published data showing what metadata different podcast apps use: noting that Apple Podcasts does not search podcast (or episode) descriptions.During Pride Month, Google Podcasts is blocking and hiding some podcast episodes apparently because they use the word 'lesbian’. Transistor’s Justin Jackson has reported Acast to Canadian law enforcement after the company targeted Transistor customers. Acast recently targeted customers from Podbean, Captivate, Blubrry and others, using competitor’s logos, and sending multiple follow-up messages to each podcaster. International Women’s Podcast Festival in London is on Sat Jun 18.The British Podcast Awards, Ceremony- Kennington Park, London - Saturday 23rd July - Tickets on Sale: Monday 20th June. Support the showConnect With Us: Email: weekly@podnews.netFediverse: @james@bne.social and @samsethi@podcastindex.socialSupport us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/supportGet Podnews: podnews.net

Send James and Sam a message or voicemailSpecial GuestAlban Brooke - Head of Marketing at Buzzsprout. Buzzsprout the world’s second largest podcast host, has just formally announced Buzzsprout Ads, letting podcasters buy adverts for their shows (and other podcasters to earn revenue).We’re using them - automatically inserted by Buzzsprout Ads.Show Notes & LinksSpotify had an Investor Day last Wednesday.“Spotify share price slid 55% this year. Daniel Ek said Spotify would grow beyond music, increasing creator tools and moving into audiobooks. This growth, Ek predicted, would take the company to 10 times its current size, with an aim to reach one billion listeners by 2030 and generate US$100 billion in revenue.”Maya Prohovnik said Spotify brought in around €200m ($215m) in podcast revenue last year. Podcasting lost the company €103m ($110m), though is expected to turn a profit within two years.Maya Prohovnik described RSS as “outdated technology”, and said they have been able to replace it for their on-platform distribution. She also claimed that every new Anchor show brings 2.5 new monthly active users to the Spotify platform.iHeart’s Conal Byrne writes for Forbes, promoting the benefit of RSS, which was soundly denigrated by Spotify in their presentation.Bloomberg’s Ashley Carman noted in an entertaining Twitter thread that Joe Rogan was missing from their presentation.Blubrry has emailed its podcast hosting customers that the company is ready to launch programmatic advertising.AVURLAssetHTTPUserAgentKey has just appeared in Apple’s documentation for the next version of iOS, allowing all podcast apps to correctly state their user agent. Developers can adopt this today; there will be a public beta in July, and this will roll out for everyone in Q3. Expect Podnews to grumpily highlight apps that don’t bother with it.Headliner now supports direct sharing to TikTokKara Swisher is tSupport the showConnect With Us: Email: weekly@podnews.netFediverse: @james@bne.social and @samsethi@podcastindex.socialSupport us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/supportGet Podnews: podnews.net

Send James and Sam a message or voicemailSponsorsBuzzsprout - last week, 3,210 people started a podcast with Buzzsprout Squadcast - Create high-quality audio and video content just using your browser and using Dolby Enhanced Audio Mastering, they’ll sound better than ever.Special GuestDave Jones - Pod Sage from Podcast Index talks about ...Value 4 Value Lightning NetworkWebLNAlby Hive's PodpingPodcast Index new tags <podcast:liveItem> and <podcast:block>Show Notes & LinksOne of podcasting’s largest hosting companies, Megaphone, was down for more than nine hours. All the Spotify-owned company’s audio and RSS feeds disappeared at 8pm Eastern on Monday after a certificate expired. Spotify is conducting research within its app on new features. The company appears to be testing the ability to pay to promote your show, as well as automatically place ads in shows to earn revenue.Descript now supports new workflows that will let you jump to editing in Descript with one click - when recording in @RiversidedotFM or @SquadCastFM, live streaming in @Restreamio, or hosting in @CaptivateAudio EditEddy was launched on Product Hunt. The service makes audio editing simple - upload your spoken-word audio, get a transcript, and then edit your audio by editing the text. Here’s a video demo.Podverse enables searchable transcripts.  #podcasting BuzzsproutStart podcasting - keep podcasting!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showConnect With Us: Email: weekly@podnews.netFediverse: @james@bne.social and @samsethi@podcastindex.socialSupport us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/supportGet Podnews: podnews.net

Send James and Sam a message or voicemailShow notes are coming soon for this episode.Support the showConnect With Us: Email: weekly@podnews.netFediverse: @james@bne.social and @samsethi@podcastindex.socialSupport us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/supportGet Podnews: podnews.net

Send James and Sam a message or voicemailSponsorsBuzzsprout - last week, 3,282 people started a podcast with Buzzsprout Squadcast - Create high-quality audio and video content just using your browser and using Dolby Enhanced Audio Mastering, they’ll sound better than ever.Special GuestAshley Carman  - BloombergShow Notes & LinksJames Cridland Radio Days Europe - RoundupSelling paid subscriptions through Apple Podcasts? Until now, you’ve had to upload that audio separately to Apple; but Apple Podcasts Delegated Delivery was announced yesterday, allowing creators to upload and manage that audio through selected podcast hosting companies when this feature launches in Q3.A number of initial podcast hosting companies have been announced including RSS·com, Libsyn and Buzzsprout; but if you run a podcast hosting company and wish to participate in Delegated Delivery, you’re encouraged to fill out this form.  (Memo to Apple: here’s a list)."Interesting that both of Spotify's hosting platforms, megaphone and anchor, arent participating at launch."- Ashley C"Spotify works with third parties to support its subscription offering, too. the only overlap is acast, at least according to the initial partner list. curious if this means there's now additional stratification in podcast world: team Spotify or team Apple "- Ashley CiOS 15.5, iPadOS 15.5, and macOS 12.4 were made available yesterday. This brings annual paid subscriptions within the Apple Podcasts app. We told you last month; you can add an annual plan now.With the new iOS, the Apple Podcasts app has had a welcome tweak for automatic download settings, with per-show customisation. You’ll find the new settings in your Settings app on iPhone and iPad. The app will now also recommend removing old downloads when necessary.And one more thing - Support the showConnect With Us: Email: weekly@podnews.netFediverse: @james@bne.social and @samsethi@podcastindex.socialSupport us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/supportGet Podnews: podnews.net