Podcast-to-podcast ad attribution launched by Magellan AI

• First look: Magellan AI has launched podcast-to-podcast attribution as part of its measurement suite. The service will be able to tell you how many new listeners came to a podcast after it was promoted on other podcasts (and even whether they turned into repeat listeners).

• An investor that put £5mn (US $6.3mn) in Feb 2023 into podcast production company Novel, has sued Sean Glynn, Novel’s founder and former CEO, for £15mn ($18.8mn), reports Ashley Carman.

• The judgement for the National Association of the Deaf vs SiriusXM court case alleging a lack of transcripts - ongoing for two years now - has been kicked back a further month. SiriusXM is “not willing to engage in meaningful settlement discussions at this time”, suggests a letter to the judge. In the US, you can now turn on live captions on iPhone, Pixel phones and your browser.

• We’ll see a dip in advertising in early January, predicts RedCircle in a new blog post today. It’s the natural way of things, the company says: as budgets and marketing strategies are set for the year.

• Adthos, an AI audio platform, has launched a new tool to create fully produced audio ads from a picture: a product image, billboard, or even a storefront.

• WTF with Marc Maron and Cat and Nat Unfiltered are highlighting messages about mental health and addiction resources in their Acast podcasts this holiday season, in a new campaign for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation.

• Not a podcast: Yule Log Jamz, the world’s “hottest” wood-burning sounds. The album features wood fires in Argentina, New Zealand, Sweden, Vermont and many other places. It’s an hour long and available wherever you stream your music - and even as a thrilling watch-along.

• 9to5Google has published a look at the Google Podcasts migration process to YouTube Music. It also reports that “mark as played” will be coming shortly as a feature in the YouTube Music app. It has also added a “podcast recommendation” notification, which notifies you of podcasts you might like.

• A number of companies have posted a look back at 2023.

  • UK sports podcast network Sport Social has hit 10mn downloads a month, and welcomed 100 new shows this year.
  • In Germany, Acast’s average podcast advertiser increased their spend by 34% year-on-year. (auf Deutsch)
  • In the US, 66% of US listeners say it’s easier to concentrate on a podcast than an audiobook, says Acast, which published a roundup of trends for 2023.
  • Talkhouse saw a 148% increase in listens across the Talkhouse Podcast Network. Unique reach also increased by 148%.
  • Amplifi Media looks at the ups and downs of audio in 2023.

Moves and hires

• Rob Greenlee has joined the Business Development team at insoundz. The company produces an AI-powered tool that enhances sound quality for podcast production.
• Jackie Moss is to be the new VP of Audio at Canadian broadcaster Corus from Jan 1. She replaces Ronnie Stanton, who is taking his collection of bright colourful shirts back to a new opportunity in Queensland, Australia.
• AJ Feliciano has been promoted to VP of The Roost Podcast Network. Nadia Elias has been made Executive Director, Sales Operations & Strategy, and Farid Haji has been elevated to Head of Partnerships.
• In the UK, What’s The Story Sounds is expanding and looking for Senior Producers.

Podcast News

In the Dec 11 episode of The Content Byte, Podnews reader Kim Kerton gives a mention of Podnews as her favourite resource for podcast industry insights. Excellent news!

Desperately Seeking Paul, a Paul Weller fan podcast, ends today after three years of episodes. The final episode is a conversation with Paul Weller himself. The podcast made it into The Guardian - and it turns out that Paul Weller is a listener!

Hot Money: The New Narcos is new from Puskhin and the Financial Times. The show examines the rise and fall of a Dubai-based super cartel, a network of European criminal entrepreneurs believed to control a third of Europe’s drug market. It turns out that the crime bosses aren’t just hiding from governments, but working alongside them.

Terry Mynott, the comedy actor, writer and impersonator, stars in Moonkarta - a warm-hearted and hilarious podcast that launched this month. With writer Col Howarth, the audio fiction podcast is the work of just two people: and Terry plays every single cast member of the show (even singing with himself).

Mind The Gap: Tube 160 is the first podcast from Transport for London (TfL), to celebrate the 160th anniversary of London Underground. Hosted by railway historian and broadcaster, Tim Dunn, the podcasts shine a light on the iconic transport network, looking at the architecture and history of stations, innovation in transport and how public transport connects people and places: with plenty of guests along the way.

Podcast promotion in the wild

Podcast reader Meggan sent us this billboard for Radiotopia podcasts, as seen in St Paul MN, USA, in September. The Google Maps camera saw it too! “Podcasts to keep you going (even in a gridlock), the podcasts promoted were Everything is Alive, Song Exploder, a podcast that we legally have to call You Get A Podcast!, and The Stoop.

Spot some marketing for podcasts in the real world? Hit reply and send us a (landscape) photograph.