Spotify signs Meghan and Prince Harry

“Tracking pixels”, “exposure” and “conversion”: Sounds Profitable with Podscribe this week helps you understand podcast lift reports. An excellent explainer into how podcasting ad tech works, it’s another reason why you should subscribe, free.

• Spotify Podcasts has exclusively signed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Archewell Audio, the audio-first production company owned by Prince Harry and Meghan has a multi-year deal. They’ve posted a trailer for a “holiday special” podcast.

• Looking for something outstanding to listen to? The Bello Collective has published its 100 outstanding podcasts from 2020, their fifth annual list. “This was a year that was so particular, a lot of the shows kind of already feel dated,” Galen Beebe, Bello Collective’s co-editor, told us. (Listen to Podland tomorrow for an interview).

• Magellan and Sounds Profitable have released v1.1 of The Podscape, a visual landscape of the podcast industry. It’s got us in it now, so go download it.

• Spotify has announced a global distribution agreement with NPR, meaning that many NPR shows are now available across the world on its platform. Podcasts from NPR were added to Spotify podcasts in May 2018, but only for US listeners. They’ve always been available on other podcast platforms.

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• The IAB has moved their Podcast Upfront earlier to May next year, the week after their video-based NewFronts event.

• Sports podcast publisher Blue Wire has raised $5m in funding. The money will be used for an executive team and on editorial talent and content.

  
  This link is no longer available, as at Aug 30 2023

• Audio was on everyone’s radar in 2020, says Steven Goldstein in a look back at the year. “Apple is up to something,” he adds.

  
  Aug 30 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• On a Mac? Safari on Big Sur now lets you view RSS feeds in the browser, thank goodness.

• If you’re a podcast host, you may have had fun trying to spot Google Podcasts in your server logs. Here’s the definitive guide of all the ways it might appear.

Tips and tricks - with Podpage

• How to use Facebook ads to grow your podcast audience (Mark Asquith)

• 8 podcast myths that need to die in 2021 (M R Brown)

Podcast News - with Fable & Folly

Fable and Folly presents We Fix Space Junk, the award-winning sci-fi comedy from Battle Bird Productions, following seasoned smuggler Kilner and reluctant fugitive Samantha as they travel the galaxy, dodging bullets and meeting strange and wonderful beings as they carry out odd jobs on the fringes of the law.

Brian Butterfield, the British entrepreneur, businessman and inventor of the Butterfield Diet Plan has launched his own podcast. The Brian Butterfield Pod-Pod-Podcast launched this week, and is very excellent. Guaranteed. We’d also recommend Brian’s website.

The latest edition of The Sound Off Podcast features an interview with Jeff Vidler about the latest research from The Canadian Podcast Listener.

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