Brazil: the world's number two for podcast listening

• Brazil is the #2 country for podcasting in the world, according to new statistics released by the Brazilian Association of Podcasters. Spotify hosted a podcasters summit in São Paolo last weekend, announcing that monthly podcast consumption in the country, on Spotify, has been growing by 21% every month since January last year.

• Exclusive: Audible UK has announced the winners of their Audio Production Grant (which was announced in May). They will be awarded a £5,000 grant and will get free access to Audible’s state-of-the-art studios in Barbican, London to develop one of their own productions. The company tells us:

“The panel of judges were hugely impressed by the commitment, skill and varied approaches of all four finalist teams both in the recording studio and of their final produced pieces. Due to the high quality of all four entries, the judging team found it a very close and tricky competition to judge, but are ultimately delighted to announce that the winning team is Adrienne Quartly & Hannah Price with their production of Treasure Island. Adrienne, Hannah and their team stuck to the brief they had devised for themselves and delivered a production with a distinctive soundscape of musical and sound tones and pulses, which was richly layered to create an atmospheric, contemporary production, complimented by solid performances and sound effects. The brief suggested an unusual approach to such a normally organic piece, and that is precisely what was delivered. The team also displayed proficiency in the recording studio throughout their four hour session - they were excellent at communicating their audio vision with their actors, with clear focus on the schedule and a calm, professional approach to technical problem solving. This resulted in excellent, nuanced performances and believable character choices forming an excellent platform for the unusual production style mentioned. Audible hopes to work with the team fully on something even more demanding in future.”

• Spotify has been revealed as the title sponsor for Pods Up North, a conference in Manchester, England. The event is on November 23.

• The Asia Podcast Summit has an event this Friday at Google Singapore. Get your free ticket today - literally, today - to get in.

• The full judgement against TuneIn has been published. The company lost a court case in the UK last week. Notable: “If you do not target the UK, you do not need a music licence for the UK”, says the judge.

• In a radio conference in Barcelona yesterday, Rune Born Schwartz shared some podcast stats from Denmark, showing significant growth over the last two years.

• “Once you have the on-demand habit, you can’t go back,” said Somethin’Else MD Steve Ackerman at London’s Drive to Digital conference. The conference, aimed at UK terrestrial radio broadcasters, was dominated by news of disruption from podcasting, on-demand and other services.

  
  Aug 18 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• Netflix is testing a way to watch movies at faster speeds. MarketWatch compares the experience with podcasts.

• More people than ever are creating podcasts in the United Arab Emirates, says The National, estimating that the country is producing 400 different active shows. The country has 9.4m people.

• Accessibility is a big thing for websites, say Elena Fernández Collins and Wil Williams writing for Podcast Movement.

• A new “magazine”, Podcast Magazine, is to publish early next year. The magazine is digital-only: it’s free to subscribe.

Podcast News - with Spreaker Prime

Spreaker Prime: Love HBO’s new show Watchmen? Then Who Watched The Watchmen is just the podcast you should be listening to! Each show breaks down the storyline and interesting details of each episode. They’re using Spreaker Prime to earn money and cut their hosting costs.

Influence takes a deep dive into the world of advertising: the good, the bad and the ugly. WeTransfer CCO Damian Bradfield hosts the podcast, which asks how much of a say we really have when it comes to the things we buy. (WeTransfer / Pippa)

Final Sessions is a new music history podcast from music publishers Warner Chappell. The first season focuses on the music of Harry Nilsson. (ART19)