Spotify aims to be a podcast destination

Spotify is going to be more involved in podcasting in 2018, says their global head of ads monetization, Brian Benedik. “We’re serious about making Spotify a destination for podcast users.” … “We’re starting to monetize some of our original podcasts.”

• A useful primer for those wondering why you should advertise your business on podcasts.

• Edison Research is expanding their Infinite Dial study to Canada - the research covers both radio and podcast data. They’ve also produced a version for Australia.

• Apple are rolling out a new podcast news feature in iOS 11.2.2 - much like Alexa’s Daily Briefing or Google Assistant’s “Tell me about my day”, it allows you to customise your news sources.

• HotPod 147 is out. Nick focuses on Slate and Gimlet.

• Podcasts “will be the saviour of radio”, claims this piece from Distorted, except they don’t like the name podcasts. “A “podcast” is a meaningless term left over from the historical piece of technology called an iPods. … At Distorted, we don’t make podcasts, we make “radio shows” and “programmes”. These shows are usually delivered to listeners and fans via the podcast format through iTunes or Stitcher or Acast etc, but that’s just a small part of the picture.”

  
  Jul 29 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• UK politician Jacob Rees-Mogg has a podcast. It (and the artwork) gets a decent review.

• A new podcast called the Global GoalsCast launches - not about soccer, it instead focuses on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, also known as the Global Goals, signed by 193 countries in 2015.

• Your brain loves podcasts, argues Cabana’s Stephanie Vance.

• Coming February 13, Disgraceland is a podcast for people who love true crime and music.

• A piece about the advanced searching available in the Castbox app, on a tech website covering China.

• For noting: This American Life has a new website. Lots of white space, lots of serifed fonts. Looks real nice.