Spotify helps new listeners discover podcasts

• Getting people to listen to their first podcast is important: so it’s good to see that Spotify is adding a new feature for users who don’t yet listen to podcasts. “Get podcasts for you” is now appearing in the app, encouraging non-listeners to use a topic picker to find podcasts that will interest them most. This appears for Spotify Free users in the US, Germany, UK, Brazil, Canada, Sweden, Australia, Mexico, Ireland and New Zealand. (Podnews is on Spotify).

  
  Aug 19 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• Google Podcasts is adding a “recommended” tab, containing personalised recommended episodes, according to AndroidPolice (note: episodes, not entire podcast feeds). It seems a test: we don’t see the feature yet. (Podnews is on Google Podcasts).

  • 18 months after the launch of Google Podcasts, Google Play Music Podcasts, an unconnected and competing Google-branded podcast player, is still available.

• Birds. Graceful in flight, but really noisy. Spotted on Twitter (where else?), DeBird is standalone software that removes bird noises with a single click from your recordings. Sadly, it’s not very cheep.

• Breaker has published a top 100 episodes list for 2019: compiled by listens, likes and comments on the Breaker platform. Joe Rogan is #1 for his interview with Naval Ravikant. (Podnews is on Breaker).

• PRX has announced TRAX, a network of original podcasts for preteens and teens ages 9–13 years old. It’s funded by a $1.6 million grant from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. (The podcasts will contain commercial messages.)

  • In Spain, a group of primary schoolchildren are making podcasts.
  • In France, France Inter is taking one of their popular kids podcasts, Oli, and turning it into a set of books.

• Sony Music Entertainment has made a “strategic investment” in Neon Hum, a podcast production house. The terms weren’t disclosed. Meanwhile, Adam Cardew will manage the UK podcast division, being appointed Vice President, Podcasting & Creative Strategy.

• Shamrock Capital has invested in podcast advertising company Ad Results Media. They’ve not disclosed by how much.

• Subscriber numbers gone down in YouTube? Don’t panic - they’re just removing numbers related to closed accounts.

• Can podcasts help sell books? DiscoverPods says: yes.

• Acast Australia’s boss Henrik Isaksson explains in AdNews why podcast advertising is effective

• Podcast transcripts can grow your audience, says Sounder, a podcast host that, in a splendid coincidence, offers free transcription.

Tips and tricks - with Acast Open

• ICYMI: we looked at how to properly do HTML episode notes, according to the RSS specifications (which most podcast hosts don’t actually follow),

• Noticed that some podcasts sound less loud than others? LUFS is a measurement to help get the loudness of your podcast right. Here’s a look into LUFS.

Podcast News - with Spreaker Prime

Spreaker Prime: Destination Heal is hosted by best-selling author and lifestyle blogger Ty Alexander. Join her in each episode as she explores strategies and ideas for becoming your best self. This podcast will inspire you to take life by the horns and enjoy the ride despite your traumas or circumstances. She’s using Spreaker Prime to increase exposure and maximize monetization.

Flawless makes the case that a music album is Flawless (whatever that means), and the hosts decide whether or not they’re right. They’ve just hit fifty episodes (featuring Queen’s A Night At The Opera at 50). (Podbean)