Spotify’s promises of money don’t materialise

• After announcing $100mn for a 'creator diversity fund’ in February 2022, Spotify has only spent 10% of that amount, says a report from Bloomberg (syndicated). Spotify’s Parcast Union has also highlighted that less than 5% of an internal diversity budget announced almost a year ago has been spent.

  • In 2021, Podnews highlighted many big shows that Spotify had announced but never got round to launching. Spotify Hi-fi was also announced in Feb 2021, but hasn’t yet materialised.

• The team behind Hot Take, a climate podcast cancelled by Crooked Media in December (and deleted by the company from Apple Podcasts), have written a critical post about Crooked’s handling of the show.

• Amaze Media Labs has purchased Rockable, a podcast advertising network. No terms were given. The companies have been working together for the past two years.

• YouTube appears to have turned-on specific UX for podcasting in the normal YouTube app. Our Editor sees it on iPad, iPhone and Android - with a full transcript and wording encouraging users to “Explore the podcast”. The Podnews Daily podcast is on YouTube.

• Podscribe has announced “simulcast reporting and attribution”, a tool allowing publishers to sell their podcast and YouTube audiences combined.

• Sennheiser has launched the Profile USB microphone, a USB-C condenser microphone built for podcasters, gamers and streamers. It also comes in a streaming set with boom arm.

• Formula 1 has signed with Audioboom for a further three years. The international racing championship has been with Audioboom since 2018.

• Triton Digital’s Canada Podcast Ranker for February was released. Measuring participating publishers only, there was no change in the top five podcasts. CBC/Radio-Canada moved up one place in the top sales network listing to #2.

• Earlier this month, PodX Group acquired Finland’s largest podcast company, Suomen Podcastmedia. It’s the latest acquisition by the company; no terms were given.

• The shortlist has been announced for The New York Festivals Radio Awards. There are 105 nominations for podcasts.

• The Hidden: A True Crime Podcast has released a statement about inadvertently publishing a legally protected conversation between a recently-sentenced murderer and his attorney. They blame the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office for wrongly releasing it.

• iOS 16.4, which fixes Apple Podcasts sometimes calling itself “AppleCoreMedia”, was released in final form to developers yesterday, which suggests that it’ll be rolled out to everyone next week. For podcast hosting companies that correctly split out Apple Podcasts and AppleCoreMedia, the end of April should see growth for Apple Podcasts of about 6%, we predict.

Tips and tricks - with Phantom Producer

• Persian Podcast Academy suggests that podcasting can be a form of self-care.

Moves and hires

• Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast has hired Cody Kleitz as a Sales Associate. He was at Havas Edge, where he served as a Media Buyer for the performance marketing agency’s Influencer Marketing team. Before that, he was a Media Manager at Veritone One.

Where the Internet Lives

Paid content

Guided by host Stephanie Wong, Where the Internet Lives is a Webby Award–winning podcast from Google about the fascinating world of data centers. Venture into places that very few people ever see firsthand – and learn about the technology, people, and places that make the internet run.

This season, explore how data centers change the world around us in surprising and beneficial ways. Hear stories about prairie restoration, the solar-energy boom, recycled canal water, and cities undergoing economic transformation – all enabled by data centers.

Find and follow Where the Internet Lives on Google Podcasts, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to your shows. The show is made by Post Script Media.

Podcast News - with Left Over

The much-awaited new show from Payne Lindsay, High Strange, launches today. Announced in January, from the creators of “Up and Vanished” and “Radio Rental,” Lindsey goes on an epic adventure to Roswell, New Mexico, Area 51, and more, as he shines light on real-life coverups, infamous cases, common UFO misconceptions and government secrecy. It’s from Tenderfoot TV and Cadence13.

Celebrating over 125,000 downloads so far, Sex Ed with DB is “a feminist podcast bringing you all the sex ed you never got through unique and entertaining storytelling, centering LGBTQ+ and BIPOC experts.”

Tony Robinson’s Cunningcast is launched today by Zinc Media, and is the group’s first self-financed podcast. Sir Tony takes the long view on the big stories of the day and delves into other weird and wonderful stories that grab him and make him want to know more about the world around us. He’s possibly best known as playing Baldrick in UK comedy Blackadder, and also the host of archaeology show Time Team.

Targeting young and ambitious students and professionals, Up Next is a new podcast that offers conversations about novel paths, inspiring takes, and what it takes to be successful. It’s hosted by 19-year-old Paul Elijas Scherer, who is a successful growth marketer in the US start-up scene.

My Story So Far is a brand new podcast featuring stories around a shared experience captured at live storytelling events in Colorado from Colorado Public Radio. Hosted by CPR Community Audio Producer Luis Antonio Perez, storytellers worked with Perez as their coach to learn how to craft and hone their stories.

Podcast(ing) in the wild

Spotted in Washington Square Park in New York NY, USA, over the weekend - an un-named podcaster just doing their thing. Spotted by a member of the Ausha team, we suspect they might now have some hosting lined-up for when they launch.