Podcast Day Asia takes place in Malaysia

• Podcast Day Asia took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Guang Jin Yeo (above), presented data from his research for Podnews’s Podcasts in Asia series; Kellie Riordan shared data from Australia; Acast, Audacia Audio and MeaVox Live spoke to our Editor about podcast monetisation opportunities in the region; and the winners of the RadioInfo Asia Podcast Awards 2023 were announced.

• In the US, ABC Audio has announced an exclusive multiyear podcast advertising partnership with Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast. Shows include Edward R. Murrow Award Winners Start Here and Reclaimed.

• 63% of parents have noticed improvements in their children’s grades attributed to audio content. The detail is part of “Sounds of Self-Esteem”, a study from ABF Creative that takes a look at how children consume, respond to, and benefit from various forms of audio content.

• “Criminal gangs behind a rise in bombings and shootings in Sweden in recent years are using fake Spotify streams to launder money”, is the unusual claim in Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. The article, reported in The Guardian, suggests that Swedish gangster rap is actually funding Swedish gangsters. Spotify says it has not found “any data or hard evidence that indicates that the platform is being used at scale in the fashion described”.

• The Ambies are open for entry, with a special low price until Sep 15.

• The Hot Docs Podcast Festival in Toronto released its full program. The first in-person Festival since 2019, the festival welcomes a slate of international and Canadian podcasts, including The New Yorker’s Fiction Podcast, Articles of Interest, and Dinner SOS. It also hosts the Creators Forum on October 19 and 20, featuring top executives, producers and hosts from Acast, Bumper, Canadaland, CBC Podcasts, Condé Nast, HBO, Media Girlfriends, NPR, Pushkin Industries and more.

• PodcastOne is scheduled to start trading on NASDAQ today, as NASDAQ:PODC. It says it’s the first and only podcast network to go public.

• A new platform for UK podcasting talent is to be launched: called The Pod Guestlist, the service “will be a thriving hub for podcast promotion bringing together for the first time crucial parts of the industry.” It launches next month, but applications are open now.

• Emmy award-winning remote recording tool Cleanfeed has launched a new podcast landing page, explaining how the tool works with podcasters. (We use it for the Podnews Weekly Review).

• The winner of Acast’s “Pod Power-Up” competition was Reprise, a plant-based activewear brand. The company wins $10,000 of podcast advertising.

Moves and hires

• PodcastOne, which starts trading on the NASDAQ today, signed a longterm deal with co-founder and president Kit Gray.

• Jessica Wills has been promoted to be JAR Audio’s Director of Operations.

Podcast News - with Airwave

Part of the Airwave Podcast Network: We all need a bit of Useless Information in our lives. For example: in 1970, one American TV channel voted to not allow Sesame Street to be shown, and it was banned - postponed, officially - for three weeks. Or, in 1935, one New York cab company wired up the horns of their cars to go on, permanently, as soon as they went over 35mph. If you find this interesting, this podcast is for you!

Alone: A Love Story is now available in two other languages, thanks to work by Acast, CBC Radio-Canada and Studio Ochenta. Named by The Atlantic as one of the 50 Best Podcasts of 2017, Alone: A Love Story is an award-winning memoir by Michelle Parise, who wrote, performed, and produced the series.