Gen Z listeners: more diverse, more listening

• The Gen Z Podcast Listener Report was unveiled by SXM Media, focusing on US podcast listeners aged between 13-24. According to the study from Edison Research, 47% have listened to podcasts in the last month, and they are more diverse than US monthly podcast listeners as a whole. They discover shows by using YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. The report will be the subject of a free webinar on Jun 15.

• Inaugural member of the Podcasting Hall of Fame Scott Sigler has been signed by the Realm Podcast Network. He brings his entire back catalog to the service.

• AdsWizz has released The State of Audio Technology Report 2023. The free report looks at brand safety, identity, and future audio advertising opportunities.

• iVoox has launched monetisation using dynamic advertising for its Spanish-language podcasters. Creators who publish their show on iVoox will earn revenue from the ads inserted in their episodes.

• Spotify for Podcasters saw a slight fall in market share for new episodes in May, dropping 0.6%. They still remain the market leader by some margin.

• Canadaland is looking for podcast pitches. “For a series to spark our interest and belong on our network, it needs to be unique, surprising, and instantly compelling.”

• Since there’s been some discussion about it on podcasts we listen to… according to the RSS ingest document we covered last week, podcasts uploaded to YouTube cannot contain ads but may contain sponsorship messages. Here’s the section of that document making that clear. Here’s YouTube’s definition of a regular ad, and sponsored segments.

• Speaking in a conference, SiriusXM CEO Jennifer Witz said that while the ad market is “choppy”, brands are still keen to enter podcasting. The company is helping brands that previouly just used Pandora to access audiences across SiriusXM (satellite radio) and podcasting.

• In Nigeria, a radio conference included a session on podcasting, with insights and strategies.

Podcast News

Media Roundtable this week goes all international, with a new feature - the Editor of the Podcast Business Journal (and Podnews), James Cridland, talking through the week’s podcast business news with Dan Granger, Neal Lucey and Jennifer Laine. The show then looks at the international growth in audio.

Miss Congeniality with Eli Rallo has joined the CAKE MEDIA podcast network. The show covers everything from dating and relationships to interviews with celebrities and gives fresh takes on the latest headlines.

Charm Words: Daily Affirmations for Kids has joined APM Studios, as part of APM Studios’ new slate for 2023 that features diverse voices and a variety of perspectives.

In the Podnews Weekly Review this week, Sam Sethi and James Cridland talk with Alban Brooke from Buzzsprout and Maxime Piquet from Ausha about their use of AI in podcasting. The title and description is produced by AI, too.

Gateway: Cocaine, Murder, & Dirty Money in Europe is new from Project Brazen and PRX. The six-part podcast series from Peabody Award-nominated Project Brazen explores Europe’s cocaine crisis through personal stories of cartel leaders, cops, journalists, and the victims caught in the middle.

Modern Love, the based on the weekly New York Times column, is back for a new season. The show, hosted by Anna Martin, explores the complicated love lives of real people through conversation and storytelling.