The winners of the 2nd Annual Signal Awards

• The Signal Awards announced the 2023 winners. Audible won the first-ever Signal Company of the Year. Podcast fans cast over 130,000 votes in the public voting stage.

  • Our list of the winners includes links to all platforms, hosting companies, and show trailers.

• A new podcast company has launched. Caloroga Shark Media is focused on short-form podcasts, and is formed by a collaboration between The Shark Deck and Caloroga Media. It starts with a slate of 16 shows.

• Studio71 is now the exclusive ad representation network for rewatch podcast company PodCo.

• The stats page at Listen Notes appears to show a significant drop in new podcast launches this year.

  • Should we worry? Well - a) Listen Notes data appears to also suggest that the number of new episodes could be higher in 2023 than 2022, so the amount of podcast episodes being created isn’t in decline; b) we’ve spotted a large number of new podcasts being launched in existing podcast feeds - a new podcast taking the place of a dead one won’t appear as a “new” podcast in any data; c) Podcast Index reports that the number of “active” podcasts seems to be bouncing back upwards; and d) podcast consumption appears to be increasing in every country with comparable figures.

Tips and tricks - with Spotify for Podcasters

By publishing your podcast on Spotify, you’re tapping into a global audience of over 500 million listeners. With new impression analytics in Spotify for Podcasters, you can now see exclusive insights about how and where your show gets discovered. Find the total number of impressions for both your show and the individual episodes over a 30-day period, with trending data and a breakdown of where on Spotify the impressions came from. Find out how to engage new listeners, and get more in-depth data to understand your active listeners and grow your show — no matter where it’s hosted.

• Podcastpage posts tips for choosing a good podcast name.
• We’ve a list of the 100 most popular podcast names - from “Introduction” to “Real Talk” and “The Journey”, all your favourites are in here.
• And in 2020 John Dinkel wrote how Parcast chose its show names.

People News

• Chris Long has been hired as Chief Revenue Officer at Gemini XIII. He was Regional Vice President of Sales at SXM Media.

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Learn more, and enter the 28th Annual Webby Awards by our Early Entry Deadline of October 27th, 2023.

Podcast News

The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark, the third project to be released as a part of Spotify’s multi-year agreement with DC, and Warner Bros, is out now: exclusively on Spotify. All eight episodes are available to stream now.

Today is National Coming Out day in the US, and is important for the LGBTQ+ community to create awareness and drive change. Clout for Good is launched today, and is on a mission to amplify the voices of LGBTQ+ people who are making a difference in the workplace.

The first episode of Have You Heard This One?, also new today, is also relevant for National Coming Out day. The show is a music anthology series where every episode is hosted by a different person telling an overlooked or forgotten story from music history. The first episode focuses on Dusty Springfield. Dusty was in the closet for her career; we learn the story of Norma Tanega, an African-American musician who was Dusty’s partner for five years.

Machine Takeover - which blends Artificial Intelligence voices, narrative comedy, and immersive sound design as well as human acting - has produced a fully animated video version of the first episode. As befits an AI show, the video is completely AI-generated.

(ON CAM) Ready with Jamie Maglietta calls itself “a YouTube first podcast” - and is here on the platform. The show is focused on helping professionals attract the media: showing people how they can increase their chances of being booked on television, as well as providing them with insider information that may help them secure recurring on-camera opportunities. The podcast version is hosted on Spotify for Podcasters.

Jen & Lottie do… Parenting, hosted by Irish duo Jennifer Zamparelli and Lottie Ryan, has signed with Acast. A new season starts today - Jennifer Dollard, Acast Creator Network Director, Ireland said: “We’re huge fans of Jen & Lottie, and not only are we now hosting the show, but we will work with them closely on advertising, sponsorship, growth, promotion and revenue. These things make Acast the best place for podcasters in Ireland.”

A new season of Radio Diaries starts today, called The Unmarked Graveyard: Stories from Hart Island. New York’s Hart Island is off the coast of the Bronx and has been the site of burials for unclaimed deceased people for decades. Until recently, access to the cemetery has been limited—close relatives of the deceased only gained visitation rights in 2015. However, Hart Island is expected to open to the public in the coming months for the first time. The series shares the life stories of the “unknown” told through the lens of their family members and close friends as they uncover what happened to their loved ones.