Articles
How to
How to get live captions for every podcast you listen to - on whatever app
There's a way to get live captions on almost any phone and almost any app: with one exception
How I make... Podrunner and Groovelectric
Steve Boyett uses a lot of musical hardware to produce his two podcasts
How to add your podcast to every podcast directory
We have a daily podcast. Here's where to find it - and all the directory links to add your podcast, too
How to spot Google Podcasts in your server logs
It turns out that Google Podcasts is harder to spot than many podcast apps. Here's the definitive list.
How to embed a podcast player into your website
Want to embed a podcast player into your website? Here's how...
How to use commercial music in your podcast
Can you use commercial music, from records or CDs, in your podcast? No, you can't. Here's a full set of reasons why you can't: not even a little bit.
How I make... True Crime Reporter
How does a proper investigative reporter turn his hand into making a true crime podcast? And what does he think of the others?
How WebSub works: and why it's good for your podcast
WebSub fixes one of the main problems for podcasting in an elegant manner
How to understand podcast stats
Podcast Connect analytics, podcast charts, downloads, Podtrac and more: what does it all mean, and how do you know your podcast is doing well?
How to get universal links to your podcast for everyone
One link to rule them all - or to get your new listeners. Here's how to get one.
How I make... Grumpy Old Geeks
More than 460 episodes, and 'a few million downloads'. Jason DeFillippo shows us how it's done.
How I make... Podnews
What tools are used by Podnews every day to produce the newsletter and the podcast?
How I make... Podcast Pontifications
Evo Terra tells us why it takes 3.5 hours for him to record an episode that lasts for less than ten minutes.
How I make... Podcast Gumbo
Paul Kondo explains how he makes his weekly podcast recommendation podcast
Who's the best podcast host - how to choose
One of the most-asked questions on podcasting forums is "which podcast host should I use?" So, here's the answer.
How long should a podcast be?
How long should my podcast be? What's the right duration for a podcast? This is one of the first questions ever asked when people are thinking about making a podcast. Here's an attempt to answer.
How to install Audacity on your Chromebook
Yes you can - and yes, it works. Here's how to install this audio editor on almost any modern Chromebook.
How to do loudness: the LUFS and LKFS FAQ for podcasters
What are LUFS and LKFS, and why is Apple asking for -16 of them? This article helps with understanding loudness levels for your podcast, and how to achieve them.
How to get your podcast into Google Podcasts and Google Home
How to get your podcasts into the Google Podcasts app, and onto Google Home and other smart speakers
How to do HTML episode notes in your RSS feed
Want to make your episode notes look lovely? Here's the way to avoid also making them look rubbish.
How to see if Google has indexed your podcast
Not got an Android phone, but want to see if Google knows where your podcast is? Here's how to find out.
Advertising A Podcast, Part 3
Promo ad swaps, episode drops and crossovers
Advertising A Podcast, Part 2
Buying Social and Search Ads
Advertising a Podcast, Part 1
How to Stand Out and Build An Audience
How to encode your audio: MP3 or AAC / M4A?
What should you use for your podcast?
How to add a donate or payment link to your podcast
Here's how to make sure that many podcast apps can link to your donation page for your podcast
How to link to your podcast
If you want to link to your podcast from social media, posters, business cards, your email footer or anything else... what's the best way?
How I make... The Freenoter
From ATR-2100s to Auphonic, here's how The Freenoter is made
How much does it cost to host a podcast on Amazon AWS?
Is hosting a podcast on Amazon AWS a good idea?
News in depth
Can you help yourself to free podcasts for your audio app?
Can anyone take your RSS feed and use your podcast audio however they want? Another company doesn't quite understand the way that podcasters work.
The best podcasts in the world - Apple Podcasts 2020
The biggest shows of 2020, according to the largest podcast platform in the world
Podcasting offers novel ways of media reporting in South Africa
Johannesburg-based podcast production studio Volume got creative, using WhatsApp to shed light on how media startups in South Africa were reporting on the toughest parts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
How to pirate someone else's podcast onto Anchor
Pirating someone else's podcast is easy - you don't even need to know the RSS feed of the podcast you want to pirate. Let us show you how: and what Anchor ought to be doing.
Updates in iOS14's Apple Podcasts app for podcasters
What new features in iOS14's Apple Podcasts means to podcasters, and why they matter
All you need to know: podcasts in Amazon Music
Where podcasts in Amazon Music are, how to get yours listed, and how many shows
The podcast app that's eight times bigger than you thought
One of the oldest and best-known audio apps is probably much bigger than you think.
Some unusual clauses from podcast host terms and conditions
We discover some of the more strange clauses from podcast hosts
Anchor could automatically delete your account without warning
The robots are coming - Anchor removed an entire account within two hours of posting one piece of new audio.
Are Anchor podcasts different?
Is Anchor full of dead podcasts and rubbish? Or are committed podcasts in Anchor no different to podcasters on other hosts?
The 100 most popular podcast names
The most popular podcast names - including Kevin's Podcast
Do ID3 tags matter for SEO?
Are they a sure-fire way of helping your SEO? Or not used at all?
Analysis: Is Spotify REALLY bigger than Apple Podcasts?
How can Spotify really be #1 when Apple is clearly so much larger?
Will podcasts prove to be recession-proof? One business that’s booming during the pandemic - podcasting
With revenues down in traditional media as advertisers pull out amidst the global pandemic, one platform is proving to be well, recession-proof.
Podcasts - do they mean more spam?
If you do a podcast, is your email address being used for marketing emails?
The Podcast Academy: what and why?
Rob Greenlee writes about what The Podcast Academy is there for, and how to join
Podcast transcripts: who's in control?
Is automation a good idea for all transcripts? And who gets to choose?
How much does Anchor add to Spotify's bandwidth bill?
Bandwidth isn't cheap: for many podcast hosts, it's the biggest bill they have. We were curious: how much does Anchor add to Spotify's bandwidth bill?
Podcasting's Growing Market Imbalance
Too many podcasts, not enough listeners?
Today's most popular Android podcast apps
What are the best podcast apps for Android? We look at the data.
The publishers who don't want their podcast to be on every platform
The podcast publishers who are making deliberate choices to stop audiences finding their podcasts on some platforms
Google Podcasts Manager: a first look
We take a look at the new analytics service from Google Podcasts - and discover a way to submit your podcast
New Weekly Podtrac Download and Audience Data Amid the COVID-19 Crisis
Data from the US's largest podcast measurement tool
How the coronavirus is affecting podcast downloads
Are downloads down, or up, because of the effect of covid-19, self isolation, and working from home?
Eight Things I Learned Making a Podcast about How F*cked We Are
Lessons learnt when developing and making the first season of Crazy Town
Opinion: podcast hosts should not be forced to remove fake COVID-19 information
It's a first step towards censorship, argues Gordon Firemark
What app buttons should you have on your podcast website?
The Apple Podcasts one, of course, but which else? We discover something interesting from our own data.
The Podcast Academy: Hernan Lopez keynote at Podcast Movement Evolutions
The full video, and transcript, from Hernan Lopez's keynote speech at Podcast Movement Evolutions 2020 in Los Angeles CA, USA.
HubHopper republishing hijacked RSS feeds: their response
Our original story, and their response, shows much to be concerned about
Audio quality comparisons
What effect does bitrate, samplerate, and mono/stereo have on audio quality?
In podcasting too, consent isn't optional
Some podcast companies are endangering the strange and potentially fragile equilibrium between the listeners, the creators, and the apps that are connecting them
Review: Make Noise, a creator's guide to podcasting and great audio storytelling, by Eric Nuzum
A podcasting book that doesn't focus on the technology. Music to my ears.
B2B podcasts: count your meetings, not your downloads
What's the best way to measure success for your branded podcasts?
Why Parcast's SEO makes it a podcast agency to look up to
Parcast's naming strategy for their podcasts is ingenious
iHeartRadio Podcast Channel - confusing, poorly executed
A radio professional takes a listen
Is Hot Hollywood really the #5 podcast in Podtrac?
Two new entries in this month's Podtrac podcast charts highlight the fragility of podcast stats
A full test: how do show notes display in podcast apps?
Podcast show notes display, it turns out, in many different ways in over 40 different apps we tested. Here's what to do to make sure they work best.
Podcasting 2020 – The Rise of the Machines
Is 2020 going to be the year that podcasting gets smart?
What happened at PodFest China 2019
PodFest China 2019 was a half-day conference held in Shanghai on November 9, 2019. Here's what you missed.
New and changed Apple Podcasts categories: summer 2019 (updated)
All the changes for podcasters announced by Apple: what's gone, what's new
The iHeart Podcast Awards - how the nominations worked
Think the judges helped choose the nominations? Think again.
The difference between a dynamic microphone and a condenser microphone for podcasters
Do dynamic microphones reject room noise and echo? No. Not unless you use them right.
Details on the Podcast Music deal: a good day for podcasting?
The claim: Think licensing popular music to podcasts is impossible? Think again.
Data: podcast consumption in the Netherlands
Highlights from the first major piece of research amongst Dutch podcast listeners
Is iHeartMedia really the leader in 'snackable' podcasts?
A configuration error means that their Podtrac stats could be thousands of times too large
Share Podnews with others and get unique stuff
Recommend us to others, and get some unique stuff
Anchor bypasses Apple Podcasts approval process with copyright violating podcasts
Anchor's special deal with Apple lets anyone post anything, seemingly
Podtrac admits to error on website as it aims for IAB Certification
An erroneous post on Podtrac's website claimed they were measuring something they weren't
The radio station making money from podcasts
This station is doing something unusual: charging for podcasts
The strategy behind WarnerMedia Podcast Network's first indie podcast
A look at the reason why they're working with Rainstream Media on Somebody Somewhere
What's a proxy server? And why was Luminary using one?
What actually is a proxy server? And why is it a bad thing for podcasting?
The end of open: BBC blocks its podcasts on Google [UPDATED]
The BBC has blocked access to its podcasts from Google Assistant, Google Podcasts and Google Search.
Episode number support in podcast apps
How many podcast apps support the episode tag?
Episode numbers in episode titles: all you need to know
People are worried about episode numbers, following an email from Apple this week. Here's what's up.
Technical analysis of the top podcasts
What bitrate are some of the most popular podcasts in the world using? And what LUFS value do they run at? We were curious: so, we decided to take a look. This page is continually updated.
How much is mobile data worldwide?
We examine typical data costs for mobile phones across the world, and discover wide variety in pricing
Root of Evil launches: Q&A with Tyler Moody
We spoke to Tyler Moody, the GM and VP of Turner Podcast Network, about the company's new podcast Root of Evil, and the state of the industry.
Apple Podcast Connect's terms of service, 31 January 2019
The terms of service, as published by Apple on 31 January 2019.
Our take: Spotify in talks to buy Gimlet Media. Good plan?
Spotify is in talks to buy Gimlet Media for $230m. Is it worth $230m? What next?
Podcast apps, privacy, and GDPR
Is NPR's RAD a privacy violation? No... but yes. We explain how podcasting works, and exactly how much data you're sharing.
Do ratings and reviews really help you get featured in 'What's Hot'?
How do you get into the 'What's Hot' section of Apple Podcasts? Is it anything to do with ratings and reviews? Or is it... something else? By Daniel J. Lewis
Promote Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts equally: and here's what happens
It turns out that if you promote your podcast on both services equally, you get equal usage. You just have to promote it that way.
For podcast hosts, what does 'IAB compliance' mean?
What does 'IAB compliance' actually mean? Spoiler: not much. You want to be looking for IAB Certification.
Chapter points in podcasts: a waste of time?
Which podcast apps support chapter points? Is it worth your while spending time and effort on them?
Placings on Apple's Podcast Chart can be bought
A company promises to get you into the Apple Podcast Charts. All they want is money.
Is this proof that Apple's Podcast Charts are being manipulated?
Does this show strong evidence that it's easy to game the iTunes Chart?
COO Stuart Last on Audioboom's future
'The future is good', he says
British Podcast Awards: 2018 winners
The British Podcast Awards 2018 took place on Saturday 19th May at Kings Place in King's Cross, London.
Apple kicks out a republisher of 'top 5' podcasts from Apple Podcasts
Apple acted swiftly to kick out a republisher this week. But should they have approved the podcasts in the first place?
Popular podcast app Castbox altered RSS feeds and is still removing links
Castbox has been republishing unauthorised and altered versions of podcast RSS feeds, and deliberately removing links to the websites of the podcasters they link to.
Q&A with Panoply's CEO, Brendan Monaghan
We asked Panoply some questions. They sent us some answers.
Resources
Google Podcasts app: an FAQ for podcasters
All you need to know about Google Podcasts, on apps, the web and smart speakers.
Insecure feeds and audio, identifiable domains, and why you don't want them
Insecure feeds and things - why are they bad? Especially, what's the problem with a unique domain name?
Sample podcast user agents
Some sample podcast useragents for developer use
Additional RSS namespaces
RSS namespaces extending podcasting
Podnews's Google Podcast RSS Helper
A bookmarklet to help people with which RSS feed Google Podcasts is using
Podcast recommendation newsletters
Looking for some new podcasts to listen to? Here are some of our favourite recommendation newsletters.
A list of all podcast hosts
Looking for a podcast host? Here are all of the podcast hosts we see in our podcast pages.
Is the Australian APRA mini-licence a way for podcasters to licence music?
This music licence says it covers podcasting. So does that mean you can use music in your podcasts?
Podcast availability indicator
Wondering how complete the Spotify, Stitcher, Luminary and Google Podcasts catalogue is? We run the figures on some recent podcasts. (This page is constantly updated).
Podcast app user-agents
We wondered what user agents were being used by which apps. Here's a full list.
Podcast subscribe pages for everyone
How to get a simple page to link to your podcast from social media, letting people subscribe and listen instantly
About Podnews
Submissions and Disclosures
How to submit stories to Podnews; and our relevant editorial disclosures
Advertising and supporting Podnews
Want to support us - or get your company's name out there? Here are the options at Podnews.
Things I learnt when self-hosting my own podcast
Some things learnt after self-hosting a podcast for a while
The PodnewsBot
All about our bot
Do not sell my personal information
A legal page that Californians want us to have - with a twist
Podnews LLC: Advertising Contract, Terms and Conditions
For advertisers on Podnews's newsletter, website or podcast
How our UTM codes work
We help websites understand where their traffic is coming from with UTM codes. Here's how they work.
Tom Webster
When it comes to advertising, podcasting isn't special
Crappy ads don't work, wherever they are
Promoting a podcast like TV - when a download isn't a download
A good promotion idea brings a measurement challenge
Reading in the bathroom - why podcasting isn't bigger on smart speakers
We are all spending longer in our bathrooms
The Most Shocking Audio Stat of the Year and What it Means
Where were you at 8.00am?
A Meditation on COVID, Radio, and Podcasting
Tower Defense and Burning Boats
Best Practices: and other foods for thought
Tom Webster calls for podcasting to have a separate organisation to promote its interests and unique benefits to the advertsing community
How Big is Podcasting's 'Independent' Audience?
Has this once fiercely independent space been rolled up into a handful of companies?
How Can Podcasts Create 'Events?'
All I wanna do is zoom-a-zoom-zoom-zoom in a zoom room
Seeing Is The New Listening
The most straightforward way to grow your show is to get it on YouTube.
Transcripts
Divided States of Media: Dan Granger interviews Jordan Harbinger
Jordan Harbinger, on his start into podcasts, self-censorship, and defending yourself against misinformation
Why Joe Budden is leaving Spotify, in his own words
A machine-produced transcript of the reasons why Joe Budden is disillusioned with Spotify.
A Conversation about Podcast Movement Virtual With Megaphone CEO Brendan Monaghan and Podcast Movement President Dan Franks
What's happening with Podcast Movement, and how this is an evolution of the space more broadly?
Media's New Deal: Dan Granger interviews Entercom CEO David Field
A transcript from Media's New Deal, presented by Oxford Road