Spotify Audience Network for more European countries

• Spotify is launching the Spotify Audience Network in France, Spain and Italy. “SPAN” was launched in Germany last year; the advertising marketplace is also available in Australia, Canada, the US and the UK, and allows advertisers to connect with audiences both on and off the Spotify platform.

• Our Editor, James Cridland, will be the opening speaker at The Podcast Show 2023 in London. He will speak at 9.10am on Wednesday, in the 400-capacity Amplify Theatre, in association with Amazon Music / Wondery and IAB UK: focusing on the last year in the podcast industry and the years to come. His speech will be followed by Crime Junkie host Ashley Flowers. (You can still buy tickets for the event - the code PODNEWS will get you a discount)

• Barometer has announced a partnership with NewsGuard to detect misinformation in podcast episodes. The tool uses NewsGuard’s research to help AI detection of episodes that are “likely” to contain false narratives.

• Podsum is the latest new website to summarise podcasts.

• Podbean has achieved SOC 2 Type II Certification, a data security accreditation.

• The (German-speaking) public can now vote for the Deutscher Podcast Preis: you’ve until May 28.

Podcast News

Podcast Bestie, the Podcast this time around features Lauren Passell - talking to host Courtney Kocak about finding podcast friends to collaborate with, and how to land a coveted Apple Podcasts feature.

Inside The Aspergers Studio interviews our Editor, James Cridland, on the future of audio. “Having passion in something is hugely important, and I think you can really spot those businesses and those human beings who lack the passion for what they do,” he tells host Reid Miles.

Want something to listen to? New Podcast Trailers contains trailers from many of the shows we feature in Podnews every day - subscribe and drop in whenever you want to find a new podcast to put in your ears.

Who’d think that a group of surfers in Malibu would end up forming a game-changing model of community resilience in the face of ever-worsening wildfires? Sandcastles tells the story of the 2018 Woolsey Fire and, perhaps, a blueprint for others to follow.

Podcast ads in the wild

This would have been quite good worldwide marketing for the Daily Express’s Royal Roundup Podcast, if one existed. The “podcast” appears to be a YouTube and Facebook video series, and unavailable on any podcast platform. (In any case, after reading this, it’s probably for the best.)