Slate and Pushkin both add Spotify paid subscriptions

• Exclusive: Slate Plus podcasts are now available on Spotify. Through their integration with Supporting Cast, Slate becomes one of the first and largest publishers in the world to distribute paywalled audio through Spotify’s Open Access Platform. Slate’s CEO Dan Check told Podnews: “The challenge with premium podcasts has always been offering listeners an easy way to use their preferred podcast app. A large and growing share of our listener base uses Spotify, and Supporting Cast’s integration with the Open Access Platform lets us deliver exclusive content seamlessly to a greater share of our audience.”

• And Pushkin Industries has also launched a direct podcast subscription program, which will also work in Spotify. Jacob Weisberg, Pushkin co-founder and CEO, acknowledges that they will continue to work closely with Apple Podcasts but adds: “We now want to make sure the same experience is available to listeners on other platforms.” The company will also use Supporting Cast.

• For podcast publishers, Spotify have released 2021 Podcaster Wrapped, showing how your podcast did during the year, where your audience is and what your growth is. (For us, it’s confused by the fact we only keep 50 episodes in our RSS feed, and thinks we launched in August). Spotify has also launched data for podcast and music listeners - for more details, see literally any social media network which is awash with people trying to show how cool they are.

• Spotify is testing an 'episode sponsors’ section for podcasts in the app. TechCrunch suggests it’s in early testing. We spotted it, but it appears to suggest that the Podland podcast is sponsored by, among others, Casper and Squarespace. It isn’t.

• Jon Ronson has apologised to audiences who are unable to hear his new BBC podcast. “It’ll be freely and easily available in the new year”, he says of “Things Fell Apart”, his new podcast - it’s on BBC Sounds in the UK only, though promoted on it across the world; and on Apple Podcasts as a paid subscription in the US only.

• Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast reports that the average CPM for a podcast ad dipped slightly in November to $23.25. It’s still up 5.3% year-on-year though.

• The team behind the British Podcast Awards have expanded to Ireland. The Irish Podcast Awards have been launched, and will be judged by over 50 audio practitioners.

• Buzzsprout say that Apple Podcasts is back in front - increasing its market share to 32.8% of identified downloads. The company got 48.5% of its downloads from the US, and now has 106,972 active podcasts.

• Auphonic has announced an integration with growth-oriented podcast host Captivate. The Auphonic service will polish your audio, adding noise reduction and fixing audio levels. Podnews’s Editor is an advisor to Captivate.

• As we went to press, Africa Podfest and Baraza Media Lab were reporting on podcasting research in the continent. We should have details tomorrow. (Astonishingly - in some African countries you need a podcaster licence - costing as much as $200!)

Thank you to Spreaker from iHeart, for returning as a gold supporter. Spreaker is how you podcast, they say: they’ve been a supporter of Podnews for a number of years, and we’re grateful for their support. You can be like them.

Moves and hires - with Pod People

• First look: Veronika Taylor has been promoted to SVP of Acast’s Creator Network. She will lead its podcast team globally.

  
  This link is no longer available, as at Sep 9 2023

• Samantha Skey has been appointed to Acast’s Board in the US.

  
  This link is no longer available, as at Sep 9 2023

Tips and tricks

• If you’re looking for a job in podcasting, meet Stephanie Coombes, who has read a LOT of applications for aspiring podcast producers. Here’s how to write a really bad job application for a podcast producer.

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If you don’t like that with Grant Napear is celebrating one million downloads in the first year. The show features Napear, a former KTHK sports radio personality. - read more

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PodcastOne launches Melissa Gorga On Display today: a new pop culture podcast hosted by the reality star and influencer. The launch episode features Gorga’s husband and fan favorite Joe Gorga. Gorga has spent a decade on the series Real Housewives of New Jersey.