Free podcast host closes

• Libsyn has closed its free podcast hosting platform, Libsyn Studio. Launched nine months ago, it offered ad-supported free podcast hosting: the recording tool is now a feature for all paid Libsyn plans. The service lets you record directly from your computer into Libsyn, and assemble a show with custom intro and outros. Libsyn Studio accounts have been migrated to Libsyn 5.

• RØDE is virtually giving away its streaming software Unify. “A powerful virtual mixing solution that allows streamers and gamers to take full control of their audio, including routing up to four microphones and six virtual audio devices into one easy-to-use mixer, creating fully independent sub-mixes for every output, adding studio-quality processing to microphones, and much more” normally costs AUD $69 for twelve months, but the price is just $1 for the year until Nov 30.

• “Crazy”, “Wow” and “Exactly” are some of the most popular words used in Joe Rogan’s podcasts, according to a language study by Preply, while My Favorite Murder favours “Wow”, “Totally”, and “Man”. The company has also done analysis on the most popular podcast searches by US state, and the most popular words in political podcasts: liberals like the word “family”, while conservatives like “money”.

• In the UK, the Radio Academy has released details of the 2023 ARIAS Awards, including additional judging pools specifically for indie podcasts.

  • Also in the UK, the Audio Production Awards take place tonight. (Good luck!)

• Zeitpedia is “a new kind of podcast network”, using Generative AI voices to produce audio news digests. Updated through the day, here’s an AI-generated podcast called World Cup 2022 News Now.

• The UK’s Podcast Radio has signed a content partnership with the National Trust.

Podcast News - with CBC Podcasts

From CBC Podcasts #5 is: Sickboy Laughter is the best medicine, right? Join co-hosts Jeremie, Brian and Taylor for illuminating, insightful and hilarious conversations about what it’s like to be sick with the people who experience it firsthand.

In this week’s New Media Show, Todd Cochrane calls on advertisers to “grow some”, and rails against companies offering services like “ad safety” and brand suitability. Gratifyingly, both Todd and Rob quote Podnews’s current title sponsor, Barometer, as a company offering this service. Advertising in Podnews works!

UNBOXED is the first original podcast from UK production company Listen, in partnership with Jordan Schwarzenberger, co-founder of Arcade Media and manager of The Sidemen, one of the biggest creator collectives on the globe. The first two episodes drop today.

Podcast ads in the wild

One from the archives: from March 2018, this was the launch of Start Here from ABC News, as shown on the “ABC SuperSign” in Times Square, New York NY, USA. Unlike some of the billboards we’ve shown recently, you’d be left in no doubt that this was a podcast. The ABC SuperSign is 3,865 square feet in size, which is 342 m², half the size of a World Cup soccer pitch, or, and we know this will help, 0.000016 times as big as Belgium.