Almost half all downloads are of archive shows

• 48% of podcast downloads are of old shows, says research from Firstory. The company points out that dynamic audio insertion for advertising makes all shows monetisable, even old ones; and will launch mass DAI tools this quarter.

  • In July, Audioboom described a similar percentage of back-catalogue show downloads.

• Exclusive: PodInbox has launched a monetisation feature to allow podcasters to get fan donations. As podcasters ask fans to leave audio messages on their page, they can now ask for donations too; message tipping and recurring donations are on the way.

• WOC Podcasters share that the Oprah Winfrey Network is accepting podcast pitches.

• 270 scientists and medical professionals have written to Spotify about Joe Rogan’s podcast, asking for Spotify to moderate misinformation on its platform after a recent episode with Robert Malone. The letter suggests “Spotify is enabling its hosted media to damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance offered by medical professionals.” The Daily Beast suggests “he’s a platform for all sorts of unfiltered crazy”.

• Chartable now offers a pixel-less onboarding option for SmartAds. The new solution is server-to-server, and unlike the pixel-based version, cannot be detected or disabled by ad blockers.

• Branded podcast agency Sweet Fish Media is to build new offices in Winter Garden FL, USA, including four studios and a go-kart track.

We’ve got a slightly new look with tweaked colours for accessibility, and a bolder font for new skimmable links to make reading Podnews even faster. We’d be grateful for your feedback.

Moves and hires - with Pod People

• Maria Garcia is the new Executive Editor of Futuro Studios. She joins from WBUR.

This link is no longer available, as at Sep 10 2023
• Steven Hein has launched his own podcast company, Story Mill Media. He was SVP of Digital Content at NBC Entertainment, and worked for Nerdist Podcast Network and Fox.

Sep 10 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

The Tech Stuff - with RSS․com

• Jason Snell posts some fancy AppleScript that lets you hit one button on an external keyboard to add a note for better podcast editing.
• A method to inform podcast apps the instant a new episode is published, Podping saw 139,328 new episodes published over the last seven days.
  • You can use the Podping Watcher to see new episodes appear in real time.
  • Apple Podcasts or Spotify don’t use Podping. Both platforms check our RSS feed every five minutes or so. Assuming they do that for each of Buzzsprout’s 107,045 active podcasts, that is more than 18,090,605 RSS feed requests. Podping would reduce that traffic to just 159,696 requests (one per new episode): saving 99.2% of bandwidth, server time and electricity while offering a better-updated directory for listeners.
• The open list of podcast analytics prefixes has been updated with Podkite and Mediamétrie. The same repo also includes updated RSS useragents and podcast app useragents.
• Does anyone know what Podcast Player/1.1 is a useragent for? (Imagine how easy that is to Google).

Tips and tricks - with Podpage

• An important interviewing tip most hosts miss is, according to George Acevedo, not to wing it - but, most importantly, to listen.
• Jeremy Enns talks to Courtney Kocak about how to make your podcast unique.

Podcast News - with Quill

Produced by Quill: C Suite Join Claudette McGowan, TD Bank’s Global Executive Officer for Cyber Security, as she explores how cyber-attacks happen and what we can do to avoid them. From phishing schemes to robocalls, Claudette meets with C Suite leaders to discuss cyber challenges and ways to help people become more protected.

Exactly. With Florence Given is launched today by Somethin’Else - artist, feminist and bestselling author, Florence and her guests will take big topics – sex, relationships, social media, feminism, and body image – and examine them through a feminist lens. - read more

In the latest episode of The Podcast Accelerator, co-founder Mark Asquith talks about podcast hosting company Captivate’s acquisition by Global, and the company’s plans for 2022. (Podnews’s Editor was an advisor for Captivate).

From ID, Mafia Tapes dives into the history of the DeMeo crew, and a trusted associate, Dominick Montiglio. You’ll hear from Montiglio in his own words - before his sudden and unexpected death during the making of the podcast. It launches today. - read more