Reviewed: the Nomono Sound Capsule

• Exclusive: Podnews has reviewed the Nomono Sound Capsule, an ingenious field-recording tool from Norway. What does it do - and who would benefit from it the most?

• The Podcast Academy has announced the association’s 2023-2024 Officers. Donald Albright (Tenderfoot TV) continues as Chairperson; Christy Mirabal (SiriusXM) continues as Vice-Chairperson. New as Secretary is Martha C Little (Audible), replacing Alia Tavakolian; the new treasurer is Sierra Reed (Vision Media Partners), replacing Rob Greenlee.

• SoundOut, a sonic brand tracking company, has published The SoundOut Index 2023, containing a look at company sonic brands in the US. Hot Pockets has the most recognisable sonic logo; Netflix is at 12; YouTube at 64; Audible at 104; and Acast’s “North Star” sonic brand is at #111.

• Podsights has released its Q2/23 Podcast Advertising Benchmark Report. The average conversion rate in 2022 was 1.21%, a 9% year-over-year increase. Conversion rates for mobile app installs rose sharply by 44%, says the data.

• Goodnight, Spotify Live. The app shut for good yesterday.

• Let’s change the standard for host-read advertising, says Nick Hilton in a blog post. He argues we’re undervaluing the medium: echoing Dan Granger’s thoughts in the Podcast Business Journal last Friday.

Moves and hires

• SCA, the owner of the LiSTNR app in Australia, has announced a new CEO: John Kelly, the company’s current COO. The current CEO, Grant Blackley, will step down on Jun 30.

Tips and tricks

• To check how your podcast looks in YouTube Music, you can either a) download the app or b) visit the website. If you’re outside the US, a VPN will do the trick: ProtonVPN is trustworthy and has a free tier. (Remember: you’ll need to upload your show separately to YouTube, as a video file - or use a service like Headliner.)

The Tech Stuff - with The Podcast Standards Project

• YouTubeMusic, according to the technical data that’s visible in the app (and checked against this list) makes all audio 128kbps AAC (roughly the same audio quality as 160kbps MP3).

• Podcast app Podcast Guru now supports podping - so you’ll get realtime notifications when your podcast app has released new shows, within a minute or so (unlike Apple, Spotify or others who can take much longer).

• There’s now a new space for announcements when changes have been made to the new podcast namespace (and there are a few technical additions to the value4value specs).

Podcast News

Let’s Not Be Kidding with Gavin Crawford is new from CBC Podcasts today - about a comedian, his mother, and her dementia. Host and creator Gavin Crawford’s seven-episode series is part memoir, part stand-up, and part meditation on grief and loss - and a dose of the very best medicine for anyone dealing with hard times.

Ten Thousand Things with Shin Yu Pai returns today from KUOW, Seattle’s NPR station. It’s a vibrant, diverse, and bittersweet celebration of Asian America… and a challenge for all of us to reimagine stories of the past and future. Across the series, Shin Yu Pai explores a collection of objects and artifacts that tell us something about Asian American life – from a second-hand novel to a blue suit.