New Heights in numbers

• Billboard reports record numbers for Taylor Swift’s appearance on New Heights. The outlet reports 9mn views on YouTube in the first twelve hours, and some data from Spotify - a “2,500% increase” in average streams, and female listeners up by 618%. However, in what might be a missed opportunity for podcasting, the ART19-hosted podcast from Wondery hasn’t published any data about podcast downloads, leaving the press to just report on video.

  • Podscribe reports that the show had just 7 ads (a 3% ad load). Brand suitability tools marked the show as a medium risk - it noted seven uses of the word “torture” (it’s in her latest album release title), a mention of “blow up” (about balloons), and two uses of the word “shooting”, both related to life goals. The show had 20 swears in it, mostly the f-word and the s-word.

• The LinkedIn Podcast Network is to close, we understand. The network launched in 2022, and signed a strategic partnership with iHeart a year ago; however, most shows have been stripped of LinkedIn branding.

  • Two of the largest shows, Negotiate Anything and The Anxious Achiever, have moved to YAP Media, joining a roster of business podcasters.

• Exclusive: No second chances. 41% - almost half - of listeners will not give a podcast a second try if the first impression disappoints them. That is another key finding from The Podcast Study: Growth, the results of which will be revealed next week at Podcast Movement (Wed 12.15pm, Keynote Stage). Hal Rood told Podnews: “Your first 10 to 60 seconds is your audition, and you only get one shot to earn a listener’s trust. If the open drags, lacks clarity, or makes people feel excluded, they will move on quickly and likely never come back.”

• Podcast launch, growth and monetisation company PodLaunch has licensed its podcast education curriculum to Resonate Recordings. The move expands access to PodLaunch’s podcasting methodology through Resonate’s award-winning production services and global client base.

• “What works in podcasting has rapidly changed”, says an article today in The Hollywood Reporter. Your Editor gets a short quote.

• The 7th Annual Afros & Audio Podcast Festival will be the the last in its current form, it’s been announced; the event is Oct 16-19 in Baltimore, MD, USA.

• “It’s up to each of us to do our part to engage in our democracy and build a better world”, Crooked Media says in a PR puff to launch a paid subscription on Substack for its podcasts - the same Substack that sends this awful stuff out. Crooked didn’t return a request for comment on how teaming up with people like that helps build a better world.

• The International Business Awards, also known as the Stevies, has announced its winners - including seven podcast categories. Winners are from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Belgium and the Dominican Republic.

• The entry deadline for the APAs from AudioUK is fast approaching. The awards recognise and celebrate outstanding achievement in the podcast and audio industry. You’ve until Sep 17 to enter - the ceremony is on Nov 27 at the BFI in London.

• Our “grumpy-but-accurate hot take of the week award” goes to DMG Media’s Jamie East.

Tips and tricks - with Patreon

• Do bite-size social media videos make money? The Wall Street Journal covers some companies who are producing them - and earning up to $30,000 a month.

Podcast News

With Airwave: The world, the universe and us from New Scientist is your essential weekly dose of science and wonder in an uncertain world. From the evolution of intelligent life, to the mysteries of consciousness; from the threat of the climate crisis to the search for dark matter, the show draws on New Scientist’s unparalleled depth of reporting to put the stories that matter into context.

One of Australia’s most successful podcasts, Rosie Waterland’s Just The Gist has returned for a brand new series after a two-year hiatus. Formerly with LiSTNR, the show is now owned by her own independent production company, and monetised and distributed by Acast. (Notably, she’s re-recording the old shows, to ensure she retains the master recordings moving forward).

This week, The Sean McDowell Show joins the Lifeaudio network. With a global platform reaching hundreds of thousands, Sean McDowell is challenging people everywhere to think more deeply about faith, truth, and culture. An internationally recognized speaker, he’s shared the stage with some of the most influential voices in the church and beyond, equipping audiences to engage with confidence and clarity.

Celebrity gossip has NEVER been juicer than this. It’s the 1660s. We just invented celebrities last week. In The Peek with Samuel Pepys, a jaded celebrity gossip podcaster time-travels to Restoration Era London and meets famed diarist Samuel Pepys, who introduces him to the city’s pop culture scene, which may just be where our modern concept of “celebrity” truly began…

Peaceful and polite? Maybe, but launching today, Canadian Scandal is a deep dive into the lesser-known and slightly-seedier side of the folks who live north of the 49th parallel. The series covers everything from the absurd, to the tragic, and everything in between - but it’s all uniquely Canadian! And, true to form, the first episode looks at The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist.

Monthly episodes for writing podcast Working Drafts are released on the 15th, which is today. Ted Fox talks with other writers about their work — what they’re writing right now and whether their open Word documents are making them want to throw their computers out a window. Covering the good, the bad, and the daunting word counts, these are conversations about the craft of writing meant to be both fun and helpful. Jim Lang joins the show this month.

The Roots and Branches JJC Alumni Podcast is returning for a second season. Hosted by Jen Davis, Annual Giving and Alumni Relations Manager at Joliet Junior College, the new season features a new lineup of alumni who are driving bold initiatives, forming powerful partnerships, and making an impact in their communities and beyond.