Spotify rolls out video for all podcasts

• Spotify now allows you to upload videos for podcasts that are not hosted on its platform. We reported this in June last year; but the feature hasn’t been available to many creators until a partial roll-out last week: we’re now seeing it for some of our shows.

  • Like YouTube video, it doesn’t use RSS - the video file is hosted on Spotify’s servers, so plays won’t appear on your own podcast host’s analytics (and things like DAI won’t work).
  • Caution: Once you upload the video version, it seems that Spotify will never use your RSS audio - even if your listener doesn’t watch the video. In this episode we’ve uploaded the video version, and edited the opening jingle to add “this is the video audio”. In our tests, we don’t seem to be able to play it at all without hearing that (even when downloading as audio-only) - and that video is only on Spotify’s servers.

• Exclusive: King Bach, who originally went viral on Vine and is now big on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, is launching a podcast with Cloud10. King Bach’s Court will launch this Wednesday.

• Podtrac released its rankers for May. After being #1 global publisher in March, Acast is now absent from the global publisher list altogether; it’s fifth in the list of US publishers. Total RSS traffic was down 3% month-on-month, while YouTube views were up 11%.

• Lenny is a new monetisation option for podcasters - sharing $4 with your four favourite podcasts. You can sign up (as a creator or a listener) now.

• dmg Media has signed with Adelicious for hosting and monetisation. The deal encompasses both current titles and new forthcoming shows.

• Podcast hosting company Podbean has launched “in-app AI functionality”, pre-populating titles and descriptions, and processing the audio.

• Another podcast hosting company Podigee has also launched a mobile app, on iOS and Android. The tool offers analytics, publishing and notifications.

• Podcast app Castro is rolling out a new version, including plenty of fixes and a new widget.

• While some of the podcast industry are in Cannes, Australia’s SCA has been in Cairns.

The Tech Stuff - with RSS.com

• Buzzsprout now supports Podlove chapters, meaning that chapter support for all Buzzsprout shows is now available within Spotify, which supports the format.

• Alby, which many new podcast apps rely on for monetisation, is no longer offering new accounts to people based in the US, even via its API. It’s a significant speed-bump in the world of “streaming sats”, the monetisation option enabled in a number of podcast apps, since it makes it harder to on-board new listeners. The Podcasting 2.0 podcast in recent weeks has raised the alarm; and discusses Greenlight and the Breez SDK as potential ways forward.

• The “course” medium has been formalised in the new podcast namespace. It’s part of the Phase 7 process; other proposals will also be posted for public review. Follow those here.

• Libsyn’s Wordpress “Publisher Hub” plugin was removed in March for a “security issue”, possibly this one. The plugin was last worked-on in Sep 2023; it is, however, still promoted on the Libsyn website.

• Apple’s WWDC starts today at 10am PT. Don’t expect anything new with Apple Podcasts, according to the Apple news websites.

Tips and tricks - with Memberful

• Castos looks at The 8 Best Audio Interfaces for Podcasting

• Golden Goose Creative publish tips for recording outdoors.

Podcast News

Continuing Studies: A Higher Education Podcast for University Podcasters looks at Podcasting 2.0 today; with Podnews’s Editor, James Cridland, as a guest to explain what Podcasting 2.0 is, and why it’s an important part of podcasting’s future.

Bone Valley posted a special episode about the release of Leo Schofield, who has spent 36 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. The episode coincided with a special episode of ABC’s 20/20 on his release.

The Jordan Harbinger Show posted episode 1,000 on Friday. Harbinger was recently at The Podcast Show in London; his thousandth episode was a 'Feedback Friday’ episode.

As part of Pride month, All About Change today features Jason Collins, NBA’s trailblazing athlete who made history as the first active male athlete from the four major North American professional team sports to publicly come out.