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May 8, 2024:
May 3, 2024:
    In the Podnews Weekly Review this week, Kevin Finn talks about "fanmail", a new way for listeners to get in touch with Buzzsprout podcasters. Plus, Captivate's Mark Asquith talks about the YouTube integration the company has worked on this week.
May 2, 2024:
May 1, 2024:
April 29, 2024:
April 25, 2024:
April 24, 2024:
April 23, 2024:
    Google appears to have set a date for Google Podcasts to be switched off in countries outside the US. A support document has been updated to say “Users outside of the United States will be able to use Google Podcasts until mid-to-late June 2024”, 9to5Google has spotted.
April 17, 2024:
April 12, 2024:
    Want to help your listeners listen to your podcast on the YouTube Music app, but would prefer they listen to your proper RSS feed, rather than whatever YouTube wants to do with it? RSS2YTM gives your listeners instructions on how to get your RSS feed in the app. (You can share the link, too).
April 11, 2024:
April 9, 2024:
April 5, 2024:
April 1, 2024:
March 29, 2024:
March 28, 2024:
March 27, 2024:
March 26, 2024:
March 22, 2024:
    Joe Rogan has 14.5mn followers on Spotify, reveals Ashley Carman in Bloomberg; that’s smaller than his total subscriber number on YouTube of 16.4mn. Her compilation includes the top shows on the platform, taken from a new UX feature.
March 19, 2024:
March 18, 2024:
March 15, 2024:
March 14, 2024:
    An interesting example of good podcast ad-targeting on entertainment business podcast The Town (from Puck and The Ringer) - an ad targeting Disney shareholders telling them who to vote for in an upcoming AGM. (Thank you for the spot, Gene Monterastelli)
March 11, 2024:
    Episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast are now available, in full, on YouTube - after the podcast ended its exclusivity deal last month with Spotify. Some industry observers had expected the video version to remain exclusive on the Spotify platform. However, the biggest podcast in the world is not marked as a “podcast” within YouTube Studio, and therefore doesn’t appear on the YouTube Podcasts index page.
March 7, 2024:
    The YouTuber-presented Dad V Girls After Hours has hit "1.5mn audio downloads and full episode YouTube views" in its first month since launch. It hit #1 in Spotify and #1 trending worldwide on YouTube on launch. It's produced by The Fellas Studios, a video podcasting company targeting 16-35 year-olds.
March 6, 2024:
    After a flurry of announcements last year, YouTube has gone quite quiet about podcasting. However, Steven Goldstein spotted Kai Chuk, who is Head of YouTube Podcasting, in the audience at the HotPod Summit last week. He writes about the session that Kai attended - which contained frustration about how slow YouTube is to see audience growth.
March 4, 2024:
February 29, 2024:
    Podcast Tips with Rob Greenlee is live at 7pm Eastern today, with a special guest of our Editor, talking about video podcasting and podcasting round the world. Come for the British accent, stay for the insight.
February 27, 2024:
    A new sales company has launched for podcasters and YouTube creators: Amplitude Media Partners has been formed by John Donahue, who was most recently Senior VP of Sales at Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast. He says: “Our network’s goal is to assist Independent Creators in monetising their content through a back-to-basics approach of dedication and transparency, utilizing our experience and extensive Advertiser connections.”
February 26, 2024:
February 23, 2024:
February 20, 2024:
    Buzzsprout has just rolled out YouTube as a supported destination in their Directories page, with six steps to get your podcast listed. In Buzzcast this week, a debate as to whether Spotify and YouTube are good for podcasting or not.
February 16, 2024:
February 13, 2024:
February 12, 2024:
February 6, 2024:
February 5, 2024:
February 2, 2024:
January 31, 2024:
    Exclusive: Acast is blocking YouTube from ingesting Acast podcasts via YouTube’s RSS tool. An email from Acast’s support team seen by Podnews points out that YouTube requires all submitted podcasts to be ad-free; that creators will be unable to make money from listens on YouTube; and cites concerns that YouTube will divert listeners away from podcast platforms. “Acast has exclusive monetization rights to podcasts hosted with them,” it adds.
January 29, 2024:
January 25, 2024:
January 19, 2024:
January 18, 2024:
    The Media Roundtable returns this week, with our Editor among the guests. Does podcasting need the IAB? Why isn't programmatic advertising as good as host reads? And are podcasts on YouTube a real thing now?
January 17, 2024:
January 16, 2024:
    Is it worth making a podcast? Transistor’s Justin Jackson started in 2012, and suggests it “has led to almost every good thing in my professional life since”.
January 15, 2024:
    YouTube Music is missing too many podcast basics, says 9to5Google. Abner Li is missing “mark episodes as played”, chapter support, and new episode notifications. (We’d add: skip-silence and volume-boost, please; but we like the “New episodes” view and when it gains swipe-to-mark-as-listened, it’ll be excellent).
January 11, 2024:
January 3, 2024:
January 1, 2024:
    Want to hack your way to seeing what YouTube’s podcast homepage look like in other countries? No need for a VPN - just add ?gl=CA to the podcast homepage URL, where CA is the two-letter country code you want. (You can only use this if your region has a podcast homepage of its own though).
December 29, 2023:
December 28, 2023:
December 26, 2023:
December 25, 2023:
    Blubrry has announced that it will support the alternateEnclosure tag, in a limited way, to help link to YouTube videos. That way, explains Todd Cochrane in the New Media Show, podcasters can link to YouTube videos directly (and use their bandwidth), while supporting SAT streaming, boosts and other things. This sounds fun - we might play with an example in our RSS feed.
December 22, 2023:
December 19, 2023:
December 14, 2023:
    Almost 47% of people who watch video podcasts in the US say they have watched The Joe Rogan Experience in the last month. Only 29% consume the show on Spotify, though, with 71% saying they watch the show on YouTube. A new study called Sound You Can See, released by Signal Hill Insights and Sounds Profitable, also claims audiences differentiate “podcasts” from other content, and that YouTube podcast consumers hate YouTube’s ads.
December 12, 2023:
    For consuming podcasts, YouTube has more than twice the users of Apple Podcasts, and almost twice that of Spotify, according to a study of YouTube’s growth as a “power podcast player”, highlighted in a new study from Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights.
December 11, 2023:
December 8, 2023:
December 5, 2023:
December 4, 2023:
    Listeners can now add RSS podcasts in the YouTube Music app on all platforms, including iOS. Our own RSS2YTM website will help you/them add your favourite shows.
December 1, 2023:
    In the Podnews Weekly Review, we talk to Anna Sian from Spotify for Podcasters; Christiana Cromer from Descript; and Neil Mody from Headliner. Neil thinks YouTube is good for podcasters; Christiana shares what Descript is doing in terms of AI, and Anna talks about the new Spotify 2023 Wrapped for Podcasters. It's sponsored by Buzzsprout.
November 30, 2023:
November 27, 2023:
November 20, 2023:
    YouTube Music is (whisper it) quite a good, if basic, podcast app. From your friends at Podnews, this website will help you - if you want - listen to any podcast in YouTube Music, via the power of RSS. Shh.
November 16, 2023:
November 15, 2023:
    YouTube Music continues rolling-out its support for playing podcasts via RSS feeds. You can currently add new RSS feeds to the app using Android or the web; but you can play them back on the app on iOS already. We built a website to help listeners find RSS feeds (and for podcasters to link to). You'll also find a new YouTube Music button in our podcast pages.
November 14, 2023:
November 13, 2023:
November 10, 2023:
    Exclusive: On Android and the web, the YouTube Music app is rolling out support for adding a podcast using an RSS URL. This lets you listen to any RSS-based podcast within the YouTube Music app; it works as passthrough direct to the podcast host. So, even if your favourite podcast isn't on YouTube... you can still listen, on YouTube Music. (The app is pre-installed on most new Android phones).
November 9, 2023:
    Financially Inclined is back for a new season. Yanely Espinal looks how we can all use our finances to live life on our own terms. It's also on YouTube, and is created by Marketplace.
November 8, 2023:
November 6, 2023:
    Podcast host RSS.com has sold the streaming rights to Se Dice y No Pasa Nada with Chumel Torres, the company's first fully-owned Spanish language podcast, to TVOAI and Grupo Formula. It has been in production for 2 seasons, and was filmed for video. Se Dice y No Pasa Nada is also available on YouTube.
November 3, 2023:
November 1, 2023:
October 31, 2023:
October 25, 2023:
    Total monthly active users reached 574mn (up 26% on the year). The company has 226mn paid subscribers (up 16%). By way of comparison, Google announced late last year that they had 80mn YouTube Music and Premium subscribers; and YouTube Shorts, alone, reach 2bn MAUs.
October 24, 2023:
October 23, 2023:
October 20, 2023:
    Steve Goldstein and Jay Nachlis are guests on this week's Podnews Weekly Review talking about their research into YouTube's place in podcasting - and Gene Liverman is guest co-host. Come for the podcast news, and stay for the home automation chat.
October 19, 2023:
    YouTube will be sharing its RSS ingest tools in a closed information session to podcast hosts today.
October 18, 2023:
October 17, 2023:
October 16, 2023:
    YouTube appears to be rolling out limited access to its RSS ingest service to some podcasters (we've heard it is visible to some people in the US and the UK). Invitations appear in YouTube Studio for podcast playlists. YouTube's Help Center has some detail on it. Podcast shows ingested in this way are visible globally on YouTube and within the YouTube Music app in selected countries.
October 13, 2023:
October 12, 2023:
October 11, 2023:
    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.
October 10, 2023:
    Podcasts are launching on YouTube Music in the UK today, the second-largest podcast market in the world. We're told there will be a podcasts destination page within the YouTube Music app (normally pre-installed on all modern Android phones). The company also reaffirmed that "Later this year, we'll offer support for creators to directly submit their RSS feeds to YouTube to distribute their audio podcasts." YouTube UK Lead Alison Lomax said: "We’re thrilled to be launching podcasts in the UK on YouTube Music. Podcasts have soared in popularity in recent years among all age groups, particularly Gen Z users, and there is clearly an appetite for this longer–form audio visual content."
October 9, 2023:
    YouTube continues to roll-out podcasts globally, and has added a podcasts homepage in Australia. It looks like this. We're expecting more countries to get podcasts in YouTube later this week.
October 6, 2023:
October 4, 2023:
October 3, 2023:
October 2, 2023:
September 27, 2023:
September 26, 2023:
September 22, 2023:
September 21, 2023:
    Headliner has added a free transcription service into Make, the company's audiogram and video tool. Once you log in, look for the big pink transcribe button. The product, called Eddy, also allows you to edit a podcast as if it's a word document. (We were given a complimentary subscription to Headliner to publish the Podnews Weekly Review on YouTube.)
September 20, 2023:
    Podcasts are now available via search in the YouTube Music app in many more countries. A search for Podnews Daily now finds our podcast in - according to our searches - Australia, New Zealand, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand (and, perhaps, other countries too) - along with the US, Canada and Latin America, who've had it for a while. It looks like this. We're not yet seeing podcasts appear in search results in Europe or the Middle East; though the search box correctly auto-completes "Podnews Daily".
September 19, 2023:
    Amy Westervelt, founder of Drilled Global and the Critical Frequency podcast network, has received a Journalist Of the Year award from Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration co-founded by Columbia Journalism Review and The Nation. Watch the video announcing the award.
September 15, 2023:
September 13, 2023:
September 7, 2023:
September 5, 2023:
September 4, 2023:
    Podshorty, a tool to “turn any YouTube video into an AI-summarized podcast” which we mentioned last month, has closed and refunded its users.
September 1, 2023:
    Transistor's Justin Jackson posts a review of Podcast Movement: "What makes the conference special is the relationships you build with people there. It's the one place you can get face-to-face time with podcasters, platforms, and other folks in the industry. This year, came away from Podcast Movement more inspired than ever."
August 31, 2023:
August 29, 2023:
August 28, 2023:
August 25, 2023:
    After covering the Iraq War, the Cuban Revolution, and the Korean War, today sees the launch of season four of Blowback, with co-hosts Brendan James and Noah Kulwin turning to Afghanistan. There's a fancy video trailer over here.
August 23, 2023:
    YouTube will fully support ingestion of RSS feeds for podcasts by the end of the year, it was announced at Podcast Movement by the Product Lead Podcasting at Google, Steve McLendon, speaking to Ausha's Jennifer Han. He also made the first public acknowledgement of the ongoing beta testing that we reported on in May. (It ingests RSS audio feeds and turns them into YouTube-hosted video, like CNN One Thing which we understand is using it.)
August 22, 2023:
August 15, 2023:
    Podshorty will "turn any YouTube video into an AI-summarized podcast", joining many others doing audio summary tools.
August 14, 2023:
    Bad news: YouTube's Kai Chuk is no longer answering questions at Podcast Movement (Wed, 2.30pm, Aurora C). Good news: his place will be taken by the Product Lead Podcasting at Google, Steve McLendon. A former co-founder of 60dB, he's been involved in the launch of podcasts on YouTube, but also looks after Google Podcasts - so knows a thing or two about the whole space. We hope to be there (if we can squeeze in) - the session's sponsored by Ausha.
August 3, 2023:
    If you love learning heaps of personal stuff about people on the internet including their embarrassing trips to the emergency department and tips on asserting dominance over landlords, SBS has all the laughs in its newest podcast, The Parasocial Social Club. It's hosted by TikTok'er Jenny Tian and Sydney comedian Kevin Jin, and is also available on YouTube and SBS On Demand.
August 1, 2023:
July 31, 2023:
July 27, 2023:
    YAP Media CEO Hala Taha is hosting a free webinar about cross-channel podcast campaigns on Aug 2. "Podcasts are no longer an audio-only format, and effective podcast campaigns lean into the strengths of each podcast influencer's platforms across audio, social media, livestream and youtube. Learn how cross-channel podcast campaigns drive better results and how to effectively design, price and track your next campaign."
July 26, 2023:
    Kai Chuk, YouTube's Head of Podcasting, will be at Podcast Movement next month. He'll be interviewed by Ausha's CMO, Jennifer Han (Tues, 2.30pm).
July 24, 2023:
    Kast Media stands accused of not paying its podcasters. Jim Cornette and Brian Last devoted almost an hour of their latest show covering claims of Kast Media's behaviour. They allege that the company hasn't paid for the advertising sold on the show for some time; and that, should Kast Media's acquisition by Live One go ahead - and they sign an agreement - they would only be paid two-thirds of the money they are currently owed, with the final third as shares. Without the Live One deal however, which was pre-announced two months ago but has yet to go through, Kast Media is likely to go bankrupt, according to Kast Media's own lawyer, they say. The apparent situation is described by the podcasters as "forcing us into a bad deal".
July 21, 2023:
    Riverside has teased a set of updates being launched on Monday. Expect an AI-powered tool called "Magic Clips"; and awkwardly-long-silence detection. The company has also released a test of its transcription service.
July 20, 2023:
July 19, 2023:
    YouTube could be great at finding new listeners for your podcast, according to a study into podcast consumption on YouTube from Veritonic. 65% of people who watch a podcast on YouTube are consuming it for the first time, the data says. Also, we learn that 54% of listeners like to consume podcasts on YouTube because they enjoy seeing the hosts and their guests talk, we also learn; and (slightly unnervingly) 2% of people watch YouTube while driving.
July 18, 2023:
July 17, 2023:
July 14, 2023:
July 11, 2023:
    Podcast Bestie, the Podcast with Courtney Kocak this week has Jeff Umbro from the Podglomerate sharing his five tiers of audience development to market your podcast. For the first time, the podcast is on YouTube too. (But it's still a podcast, right, Todd? Right?)
June 29, 2023:
June 27, 2023:
    When asked which platform listeners use most often for podcasts, Spotify is #1 with 34%; YouTube #2 with 24% and Apple Podcasts #3 with 11%. (Apple Podcasts isn't on Android; Kantar says Android has a 51.6% share in Australia).
June 23, 2023:
June 22, 2023:
    First look: Magellan AI will announce today support for measuring the impact of traffic coming from YouTube alongside podcast and streaming audio. “In podcasting, there has historically been a gap in analytics with video viewership and results, leading to an over-reliance on modeling or guessing. We’re excited to bring a data-forward solution into the marketplace,” says Jim Ballas, Head of Publisher Partnerships at Magellan AI.
June 14, 2023:
June 12, 2023:
    First look: Podcast hosting company RSS.com has launched PodViz, an in-house visualisation tool to produce videos from audio podcasts for services like YouTube. The service supports chapter art and YouTube metadata; an example is here. It's not limited to the company's hosting customers: any podcaster can try it here.
June 6, 2023:
    YouTube is now the "most utilized podcast listening platform" in the U.S.: 29% say it is the platform they use the most, followed by Spotify (17%) and Apple (16%) - according to Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights, who have released the Spring 2023 Podcast Download Report.
June 5, 2023:
June 2, 2023:
    The Gen Z Podcast Listener Report was unveiled by SXM Media, focusing on US podcast listeners aged between 13-24. According to the study from Edison Research, 47% have listened to podcasts in the last month, and they are more diverse than US monthly podcast listeners as a whole. They discover shows by using YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. The report will be the subject of a free webinar on Jun 15.
May 31, 2023:
    Gabriel Galaza is looking for full time or freelance opportunities within the podcast and YouTube marketing space. He writes: "I have 9 years of experience with video audience development and recently moved into podcast marketing. Most recently, I worked at SiriusXM marketing numerous Stitcher podcasts to increase audiences and downloads (The Fckry with Leslie Jones, How Did This Get Made? to name a few)."
May 30, 2023:
May 29, 2023:
May 26, 2023:
May 25, 2023:
    Above: YouTube's UK Managing Director, Alison Lomax, spoke at a packed session yesterday at The Podcast Show in London, after we unveiled the company's RSS ingest trials. Asked whether she had any updates to share, she started by saying: "There is no big launch today, for anyone who's been reading Podnews. I hate to disappoint anyone on that." She did, though, confirm that podcast features on YouTube will be coming to the UK. "Can't say which part of the year, but what's launched in the US will be coming to the UK".
May 24, 2023:
    Exclusive: Podnews has obtained a document with full details of a YouTube "RSS Ingestion" pilot that it is running with some partners. The service pulls new audio from an RSS feed to upload it to YouTube, complete with a static image of the show art. Shows already using it are CNN's One Thing and CityCast Pittsburgh.
May 23, 2023:
    In his latest podcast, prominent podcaster and YouTuber Bandrew Scott explains why shows from companies like NPR and Slate are not doing well on YouTube. He suggests podcasters need to supply YouTube with video, and a specific re-edit, to make the most of the platform.
May 22, 2023:
    "I'm never going to click a podcast app to try and get into podcasting [for the first time]." Spotify's CEO Daniel Ek spoke to the Acquired podcast in a Spotify studio in Stockholm, and focuses on podcasts. Ek describes why podcasts are in the main Spotify app, rather than in a separate one; and when asked if Spotify should pay podcast creators, he replies that the company's goal is to be "the best partner for creators". (It's also in video).
May 17, 2023:
    A new podcast search experience in Google is being rolled out in the US. Users on mobile who search for generic terms like "kids podcasts" or "news podcasts" now get individual podcast cards, which, when clicked on, include links to players: Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. The podcast pages also contain recent episode titles (and display on tablets as well as phones). Links to Apple Podcasts appear on Android, too (taking you to the web experience); the new search experience does not contain any podcast links to YouTube.
May 16, 2023:
    Let's get ready to Rumble; the online video platform is getting into podcasting with the acquisition of Callin, a social podcasting and live streaming platform. No terms were disclosed. Rumble hosts Donald Trump's Truth Social network, and the video platform is popular among American right and far-right users. Its competitor YouTube added podcasts last month.
May 11, 2023:
May 10, 2023:
    As YouTube gets into the podcast world, how does the YouTube algorithm really work? How does it decide whether videos are any good? This video by Answer in Progress comes recommended by YouTuber Tom Scott.
May 8, 2023:
May 5, 2023:
May 1, 2023:
    SoundOut, a sonic brand tracking company, has published The SoundOut Index 2023, containing a look at company sonic brands in the US. Hot Pockets has the most recognisable sonic logo; Netflix is at 12; YouTube at 64; Audible at 104; and Acast's "North Star" sonic brand is at #111.
April 28, 2023:
April 27, 2023:
    Exclusive: Indonesia is going through a period of real and exciting change - some would even argue that it's reaching an inflection point. In our study of podcasting in Indonesia, we discover the Joe Rogan of the country, why many Indonesians confuse a YouTube video with a podcast, and the history of the medium.
April 26, 2023:
April 24, 2023:
    Spotify is the most popular platform in the country (by reach), with BBC Sounds, YouTube, and then Apple Podcasts also in the top platforms.
April 19, 2023:
    Video podcasts are coming to APM. Financially Inclined, starting on Thursday, will break down money lessons for a teen and young adult audience. Episodes will be available on both YouTube and, in audio form, via RSS.
April 14, 2023:
April 13, 2023:
April 12, 2023:
April 10, 2023:
April 7, 2023:
April 3, 2023:
    YouTube will (globally) roll out a new podcast tab in its main YouTube app this week - pic 1 pic 2. The tab lists all podcasts owned by that particular channel.
March 31, 2023:
    Libsyn has mailed its hosting customers announcing Apple Podcasts subscriptions, YouTube stats and an episode tracking tool, as well as stats exports.
March 30, 2023:
    Highlighting the stories of never before told Jewish entrepreneurs who overcame the odds and built legendary businesses, Big Shot launches today - a podcast that looks like a documentary and feels like a conversation at a deli. Hosted by Harley Finkelstein (Shopify) and David Segal (DAVIDsTEA), the show is also in video on YouTube and Spotify.
March 28, 2023:
March 27, 2023:
March 24, 2023:
March 23, 2023:
March 22, 2023:
March 21, 2023:
    YouTube has confirmed our story/guess yesterday that podcast creation and analytics tools in YouTube Studio are now rolled-out to all creators. (Confusingly, those tools are still described as a test by YouTube, but we're told it's a full roll-out.)
March 20, 2023:
March 17, 2023:
    The second season of Navigating Narcissism with Dr. Ramani has been released (and, also now has its own YouTube channel. Guests this season include Bill Cosby survivor Lili Bernard, Harvey Weinstein survivor Sarah Anne Masse, journalist Abby Ellin who was duped into falling in love with a conman and many others who have endured heartbreaking infidelity, devastating fraud, terrifying abuse and more.
March 16, 2023:
    9to5Google has spotted upcoming code in the YouTube Music app for podcasts. The data indicates that podcasts will appear in your library tab; and the search function in the app will search podcasts as well. You'll also be able to add episodes to your playback queue. YouTube Music gets podcasts in the US only later this year.
March 15, 2023:
March 13, 2023:
March 10, 2023:
    Our Editor James Cridland shared the results of the Podnews Report Card at Podcast Movement. We'll have this data in full in Monday's Podnews; but overall, Apple has increased its lead over Spotify as the most favoured podcast platform used by podcast creators. YouTube is eagerly awaited by many publishers; and Google Podcasts saw a disappointing fall in ratings from those in the industry.
March 9, 2023:
    A video "celebrating podcast creators" includes Joe Rogan saying how much he's enjoyed being on Spotify. The first promotion of Rogan for some time by the company, it could, perhaps, be read as a suggestion that he'll renew his contract later this year.
March 3, 2023:
March 2, 2023:
March 1, 2023:
February 28, 2023:
February 27, 2023:
    YouTube podcasts: The Hollywood Reporter was present at the Hot Pod Summit last week, and the YouTube Music announcement. So was Axios, who said the mood was upbeat. Bandrew Scott calls the announcement confusing, asking how the "ad-funded background listening" is going to work for podcasters. In emails to Podnews, "I only think this will work if the podcasts are available both on YouTube and YouTube Music simultaneously. I’m not sure if that was clarified." says Anthony Frasier. (Our podcast playlist appears visible on YouTube too). "Upsetting it is US only at the moment," says a Canadian reader (echoing our thoughts); "they are totally fumbling a massive opportunity".
February 24, 2023:
    YouTube Music is to add podcasts, and will support RSS uploads. See our full report, below.
February 23, 2023:
    YouTube's Head of Podcasting Kai Chuk is to speak today at the Hot Pod Summit in Brooklyn NY. We are expecting an announcement about YouTube's plans for podcasting.
February 22, 2023:
February 21, 2023:

images of the YouTube podcast test that we reported on yesterday.

February 20, 2023:
February 17, 2023:
February 15, 2023:
    YouTube's Head of Podcasting Kai Chuk is to speak at next week's Hot Pod Summit in Brooklyn NY, USA. Ariel Shapiro "will be doing a short interview with Chuk about how YouTube plans to leverage its position as the top streamer of podcasts". YouTube took part in a number of large events last year, but didn't make any announcements; and features in a leaked document shown to publishers last March have yet to materialise.
February 14, 2023:
February 8, 2023:
February 3, 2023:
January 31, 2023:
January 27, 2023:
January 19, 2023:
January 18, 2023:
    The Google Podcasts app has had no feature updates for the last eighteen months; the Google Podcasts Creators Program closed this month; and now with the removal of the product from Google Search, the business unit that owns the app, we asked if Google Podcasts is to close. The answer: "YouTube and Google Podcasts serve different needs. Both serve podcast listeners today and we are not changing this right now. We have nothing more to share at this time."
January 17, 2023:
January 16, 2023:
January 13, 2023:
    46% of podcast listeners say they prefer listening to podcasts with video, according to a Morning Consult survey. Among the reasons why: "to see facial expressions and reactions from the hosts and guests", and "to better focus on the podcast". The same survey unsurprisingly puts YouTube as the most preferred podcast platform among podcast listeners; Spotify, Apple Podcasts and then Pandora.
January 12, 2023:
January 6, 2023:
    The Google Podcasts app itself got no new feature updates in 2022. A press release announcing a Google-branded podcast forgot the platform existed in February. A YouTube document suggested it might merge into that product; but progress seems to have stalled. The third biggest podcast app, it was responsible for 2.6% of all podcast plays from Buzzsprout in December.
January 3, 2023:
    Exclusive: Spotify appears to have enhanced chapter support within the Spotify podcasts app. Nic Ivanov, founder of Vizzy, notes that there's a new Chapters section in an episode page, and chapter marks and titles within a new player which is rolling out to both iOS (above) and Android. However, Spotify isn't supporting either ID3 embedded chapters, nor chapters via the new podcast namespace: instead, Spotify uses timestamps in the episode description, much like YouTube. See these chapters in action on Spotify in the Decorating by the Book podcast, which Vizzy has helped build.
December 30, 2022:
    Podcast producer David Rosen releases a new album of instrumental music today, called More Content (YouTube Music|Spotify). In the Piecing It Together Podcast today - an album length commentary track featuring the songs from the new album, with Rosen recounting the stories behind the music.
December 26, 2022:
    In Dec 2021, Adobe revealed Project Shasta, which we noticed in Oct 2022 had rebranded to Adobe Express Podcast. It's now branded Adobe Podcast beta, and offers a mix of Descript-like "Edit words, not waveforms", SquadCast-like "Remote recording", and Auphonic-like "AI-powered audio" - and there's a waitlist on the website. But how does it compare to the market leaders? From Castos, Matt Medeiros gives it a full review.
December 23, 2022:
December 22, 2022:
December 21, 2022:
December 8, 2022:
    Lateral with Tom Scott is a fun listen if you like "No Such Thing As A Fish" but you wished it was played like a game show. It features a number of top podcasters and YouTubers, and is hosted by YouTuber Tom Scott.
December 5, 2022:
    AudioLabs has just launched - a service that lets podcasters make videos from audio-only podcasts to help promote their shows on YouTube Shorts, TikTok or Reels. Here's an impressive example featuring sharks and pigs; the tool uses generative AI.
December 2, 2022:
    YouTube has launched a podcast. Like & Describe, YouTube’s first-ever official trends podcast, is of course available on YouTube itself, but also on all podcast platforms. It's hosted by Captivate.
November 29, 2022:
    Meet Your Podcast Editor is probably due a name-change today to "Meet Your Podnews Editor", because that's who the guest is today. James Cridland, our editor, talks about humour to host Stephanie Fuccio. Watch on video if you'd rather.
November 18, 2022:
    My Spouse Has Dementia is produced by Zita Christian, who started podcasting at 69 and is now 75. The show uses personal stories, occasional interviews, and simple rituals to support dementia caregiving spouses. Here's a separate post-produced short piece, My Alzheimer's Secret, which is worth a listen.
November 17, 2022:
    In the clearest sign yet of YouTube's growing podcast ambitions, the video website has published a full guide on how to podcast on the platform. "Podcasts on YouTube help creators expand their reach and build their community while providing monetization opportunities", the website says.
November 16, 2022:
    Podcast company Ausha has launched a new podcast called Tips - How to grow your podcast - hosted by Sarah Donnelly, an American comedian and podcaster, it's also available on YouTube. “Our goal is to create 10 minute bursts of joy, clarity, and inspiration for podcasters,” says Odile Beniflah, Head of US at Ausha.
November 15, 2022:
November 14, 2022:
November 10, 2022:
November 9, 2022:
November 7, 2022:
October 31, 2022:
October 27, 2022:
    Audioship claims it's the easiest way to upload your podcast to YouTube, and comes well reviewed by a few podcasters we know.
October 24, 2022:
October 18, 2022:
October 14, 2022:
October 13, 2022:
October 12, 2022:
    Popular podcast platform Ausha ('Oh Sha') has launched in the US. The hosting platform, used by more than 7,000 podcasts in France, includes a social media manager, one-click sharing to YouTube, and monetisation options.
October 11, 2022:
October 10, 2022:
    "Nos vamos de Spotify", says popular Argentinian podcast El Método Rebord. The podcast is leaving Spotify because "Spotify does not pay us - but YouTube does … Spotify pays for playback in the case of musical content, but does not pay the creators of podcast content" /via Via Podcast
October 5, 2022:
September 28, 2022:
September 27, 2022:
September 22, 2022:
    YouTube has announced Creator Music, a music licensing service for YouTubers. Some tracks are available for purchase; others available as a rev share. The company has announced indie record labels it is working with: it'll launch in Q3/22 in the US only, and more widely next year. “Creators have told us, time and time again, that finding the right song isn’t the hard part. It’s actually figuring out how to license it,” said Amjad Hanif, VP of Creator Products at YouTube.
September 16, 2022:
September 14, 2022:
September 7, 2022:
September 5, 2022:
September 2, 2022:
August 31, 2022:
August 29, 2022:
August 26, 2022:
    YouTube says that its new podcasts section will be enhanced later this year. "We will continue iterating on the current destination page and plan to launch new features meant to enhance the podcast listening experience for our users within the coming months," the company tells Podnews. It's currently available for US users only.
August 24, 2022:
August 23, 2022:
August 22, 2022:
August 19, 2022:
August 18, 2022:
August 1, 2022:
July 15, 2022:
July 13, 2022:
    With Podscribe, the essential tool to verify your podcast and YouTube ads run correctly, Sounds Profitable this week looks at programmatic ads: and "why programmatic is a huge boon for all of podcasting." Bryan Barletta cautions, though: "To get there, we’re going to need more from our hosting platforms."
June 23, 2022:
June 20, 2022:
June 16, 2022:
    Justaposition is new today from Audacy's Cadence13 and UTA, featuring Hyram Yarbro, a TikTok and YouTube star. Hyram will explore issues including mental health, navigating the complex world of social media, vulnerability, how to make a positive social impact, and skin care. The show will also be available on YouTube.
June 15, 2022:
    The Reuters Institute and University of Oxford has released the Digital News Report 2022. Interviewing a total of 92,000 people across 46 countries, the data shows podcasting use is growing again after a pause due to the pandemic. Spotify is continuing to gain ground over Apple and Google Podcasts, and YouTube also shows increasing use. Now, 34% of people in surveyed countries listen to podcasts (up from 31% in 2021): they are most popular in Ireland, Sweden and Norway. Choice quote: "In our qualitative research in both the UK and US, it was striking how many younger people regularly listen to The Joe Rogan Experience, even as they worry about some of the content."
June 7, 2022:
June 3, 2022:
June 1, 2022:
    Law&Crime Sidebar is a new podcast which has hit the charts quickly: a daily recap of the Depp v Heard trial. From Law&Crime, the show is available both as a podcast and as a YouTube show, and regularly gets 300,000 views on YouTube alone.
May 25, 2022:
May 24, 2022:
    Exclusive: In new research from Podtrac, YouTube is the most popular platform for podcasts that post full video. 22% of Podtrac's top 250 podcasts are posting full video episodes to YouTube - which do particularly well on the platform, with bigger and more engaged audiences. You can grab a copy of the research here.
May 23, 2022:
May 20, 2022:
    YouTube is now the most popular podcast app in the US, according to new data from Signal Hill Insights. The data suggests that listeners prefer podcasts with video. The question was "Which of the following places do you use the most to access the podcasts you listen to"; YouTube got 24.2%, Spotify 23.8%, and Apple Podcasts got 16% (despite being unavailable on Android).
May 11, 2022:
    Patreon has unveiled an update to the audio tab in the Patreon mobile app. It allows patrons to listen to all the creators they follow in one place. Here's a short video showing it off; the company says podcasting on Patreon has doubled in the last three years, with podcaster earnings increasing fourfold.
May 9, 2022:
April 29, 2022:
    It's less than a month to go until The Podcast Show 2022 in London, on May 25-26. The website currently lists 196 speakers (more on the way). Speaking to the Podland podcast yesterday, Tom Billington said that YouTube will be a partner at the event, sponsoring the "Talking Podcasts" stages. YouTube say it will "facilitate conversations with Podcasters who have found success on YouTube, while also leaning on other platform experts to help delegates understand best practices and the various podcast trends emerging on and off-YouTube."
April 28, 2022:
April 22, 2022:
April 21, 2022:
    Spotify is the clear leader for "apps and websites used to listen to podcasts" - in terms of people, with 41% of respondents claiming to use it. BBC Sounds and YouTube are #2 and #3, with Apple Podcasts at #4 with 23%.
April 20, 2022:
    Podnews's Editor, James Cridland, was a guest on Monocle 24's The Globalist today - talking about YouTube, Facebook and Spotify. The daily news show is available on online radio as well as a podcast.
April 19, 2022:
April 18, 2022:
April 14, 2022:
April 11, 2022:
    Podcast host Anchor's creator interface is now available in 35 different languages. Of the top five podcast hosts, Omny Studio is in six languages, Spreaker available in four; Buzzsprout and Libsyn only offer English, though YouTube is in 82 different languages. It's unclear whether support is available in all of them. Podcasting is growing faster in non-English languages.
April 7, 2022:
April 5, 2022:
April 4, 2022:
April 1, 2022:
    Podland this week has an interview with Chris Messina - inventor of the hashtag and host of the Techmeme Ride Home Experience. Sam and James also discuss the latest YouTube news.
March 30, 2022:
    Exclusive: YouTube is planning tighter integration, monetisation and analytics for podcasts
March 28, 2022:
    A much-previewed talk at Podcast Movement Evolutions by YouTube's new director of podcasting, Kai Chuk, didn't contain any new announcements. He did promise that "over the next few months you’ll hear some announcements from us as to how we plan to continue supporting the podcast ecosystem".
March 24, 2022:

import podcasts from RSS feeds or upload audio files, enhance them with visualizations, and upload those enriched assets directly to YouTube.

March 23, 2022:
March 22, 2022:
    Upload those enriched assets directly to YouTube
March 21, 2022:
March 16, 2022:
March 15, 2022:
March 14, 2022:
March 11, 2022:
March 10, 2022:
March 8, 2022:
March 7, 2022:
February 25, 2022:
February 24, 2022:
February 23, 2022:
February 18, 2022:
    Over half Super Listeners have listened to podcasts on YouTube; and 19% say that's their primary way of discovering new shows.
February 16, 2022:
February 11, 2022:
    Amazon Music and Wondery have signed How I Built This with Guy Raz. Wondery gets the exclusive ad sales and YouTube distribution rights for simulcasts; NPR keeps the radio distribution rights and the underwriting credits. Production of the show will double to two a week; and Amazon Music gets exclusive rights to air the podcast for a week.
February 4, 2022:
January 31, 2022:
January 26, 2022:
December 30, 2021:
December 20, 2021:
December 17, 2021:
    Data: Why would Spotify want to bring more radio shows to their platform by buying Whooshkaa? Some numbers: 92% of US adults listen to radio every week; 28% listen to podcasts. 46% of all US audio listening (by time) is to AM/FM/satellite radio; 6% is to podcasts. US AM/FM radio brings in $14.1bn of yearly ad revenue (in 2019); US podcasting is around $824m (2020).
December 16, 2021:
    Amazon Music has a proprietary solution for transcripts, which are patchy and automated. There is no mechanism for publishers to supply their own transcripts.
December 15, 2021:
December 9, 2021:
December 8, 2021:
December 7, 2021:
December 6, 2021:
November 25, 2021:
November 18, 2021:
    Toronto's Random Order Podcast has signed with Acast. The comedy show from Jae and Trey Richards, who each appear to own an expanse of facial hair, will also celebrate its 100th episode in the next few weeks. The duo have achieved 100m views on YouTube, too. - read more
November 16, 2021:
November 8, 2021:
    Our podcast on YouTube now include some subtle audio visualisation. Ffmpeg can do the visualisation for you: this post has more information on how; scroll to the bottom for the ffmpeg command we use.
November 4, 2021:
November 2, 2021:
October 29, 2021:
    Earlier today, the Australian Podcast Awards announced their nominations in this video. All Australian podcasts can take part in the Listener's Choice Award, as explained by a scruffy man in a cheap shirt about 22 minutes in. The awards will be in Sydney on 2 Dec.
October 27, 2021:
    Kai Chuk has been hired at YouTube, according to HotPod as Podcast Lead, to "manage the large volume of existing podcasts and relationships across the YouTube platform". He's been at YouTube for almost a decade.
October 25, 2021:
    Captivate is due to launch AMIE, their dynamic ad and content insertion tool, live on YouTube this Friday at 12pm Eastern. Podnews's Editor is an advisor.
October 20, 2021:
October 14, 2021:
    Spotify is launching "its first video podcast in the UK". Internet Sensation is available in both audio and video (much like Joe Rogan). It's hosted by Alex Elmslie, a YouTuber, and launched on Tuesday.
October 11, 2021:
October 6, 2021:
October 4, 2021:
October 1, 2021:
September 30, 2021:
September 28, 2021:
September 27, 2021:
September 21, 2021:
    Mere Mortals this week features a 100+ minute conversation with Podnews's Editor, James Cridland. The podcast features Podcasting 2.0 chapters, and is also available on YouTube; it was recorded on the banks of the Brisbane River.
September 16, 2021:
September 13, 2021:
September 9, 2021:
September 8, 2021:
September 6, 2021:
    Data: in Germany, the Online Audio Monitor 2021 has been released. 25% of Germans are listening to podcasts at least once a month, a figure that's increased by 26% year-on-year. Spotify is the #1 podcast platform (48.5%), YouTube is #2 (44%), Apple Podcasts is #7 (12.5%), and Google Podcasts is #9 (9.5%). (Thanks, Steffen!)
September 3, 2021:
September 1, 2021:
    The mass-market Android phone from Google, the Pixel 5a, launched last week, appears to have Google Podcasts as a suggested preinstalled app, according to this unboxing video - it was also preinstalled in the flagship Pixel 5 when that phone launched last year. The Android 12 setup also appears to suggest the app as standard. Google sold 7.2m Pixel phones in 2019, up more than 50% year-on-year, but Samsung sold 295m: and Apple sold a similar number. Pre-installed apps are mostly chosen by phone manufacturers and cellular operators.
August 30, 2021:
August 27, 2021:
August 26, 2021:
August 24, 2021:
    The implementation adds ?t=(seconds) at the end of the URL. YouTube and Spotify use this too, as does Pocket Casts and Podfriend, and it works on Overcast. Google Podcasts works differently; Apple Podcasts doesn't let you do this at all.
August 19, 2021:
    Double Elvis release Blood On The Tracks: The John Lennon Story today: a deep dive into the story of John Lennon’s post-Beatles years in the turbulent, political, and violent 1970s, told from the perspective of those who knew him best, part true crime, part historical fiction. The first two episodes went live today. Here's a trailer
August 18, 2021:
August 17, 2021:
August 16, 2021:
August 11, 2021:
August 2, 2021:
July 28, 2021:
July 27, 2021:
July 13, 2021:
July 12, 2021:
June 30, 2021:
    Podcast host Captivate has launched Captivate Growth Labs: described as "an actionable and continually expanding library of courses and workshops diving deep into all facets of podcast marketing, audience growth and monetization". The community is free to all Captivate customers. Podnews's Editor is an advisor.
June 29, 2021:
June 23, 2021:
June 22, 2021:
June 21, 2021:
    Squadcast launched v4 on Friday. The remote recording service adds integration with Dolby․io, spatial audio, 1-click audio mastering, up to ten people in a session, screensharing, an updated green room and plenty more.
June 15, 2021:
June 11, 2021:
June 4, 2021:
May 31, 2021:
May 25, 2021:
May 18, 2021:
May 17, 2021:
May 13, 2021:
May 3, 2021:
April 28, 2021:
    First look: Podcast hosting company Sounder has launched Sounder Plus, a tool to enable creators to reach bigger audiences. It gives you automatic distribution to YouTube, adds Videobites (transcription-powered video clips) for social media, analyses episodes for keywords and tagging,
April 16, 2021:
April 14, 2021:
April 7, 2021:
April 6, 2021:
April 2, 2021:
March 17, 2021:
    Noted today: YouTube's uploader scans your videos for copyright violations as you upload.
March 10, 2021:
    Jamie Perkins writes: "Tom Webster is misinformed. As a regular consumer of YouTube, I hear 'hit that subscribe button' at the end of nearly every video. Everyone knows it doesn't mean you have to pay anything. Perhaps the subscribe 'confusion' only arises in an older generation? (Read: boomers)"
March 9, 2021:
March 4, 2021:
March 1, 2021:
February 24, 2021:
February 23, 2021:
    Anchor announced the launch of paid subscriptions later this year. Podcasters will be able to give their supporters additional paid-for features within Spotify. You can sign up for the waitlist. This will be "a limited beta in the US", starting this Spring, we're told. The demo in the announcement shows a podcaster being able to choose from $2.99, $4.99 and $7.99/month subscriptions as price points. Podnews was told that Spotify will take a small cut of the fee.
February 17, 2021:
February 16, 2021:
    Acast UK shared stats and data from their 2020. They now have more than 60m UK monthly listens, and saw a 184% growth in UK brands spending more than £100,000 ($178,000). CEO Ross Adams also reaffirmed the company's commitment to an open podcasting ecosystem.
February 10, 2021:
February 4, 2021:
    Comeback Stories is a new podcast from Darren Waller and Donny Starkins. Waller's comeback story from drug addiction was a big hit on YouTube; and now they're getting others to tell their comeback stories. (The podcast has, unusually, deliberately launched on Apple Podcasts only).
January 29, 2021:
January 25, 2021:
    A far-right publisher The NOQ Report's podcast has been removed from Spotify, and all its podcasts removed from Transistor. Meanwhile, in Niagara NY, the Niagara Arts & Cultural Center has decided to evict Yowawa Media Services, whos podcast studio was being used to produce a YouTube show for a right-wing group, the NY Watchmen.
January 22, 2021:
January 20, 2021:
January 18, 2021:
January 15, 2021:
January 13, 2021:
January 11, 2021:
January 6, 2021:
December 23, 2020:
December 16, 2020:
December 14, 2020:
December 10, 2020:
December 9, 2020:
    castYT is an upcoming service to make a podcast from your YouTube channel automatically.
December 8, 2020:
November 26, 2020:
November 25, 2020:
November 20, 2020:
    On The Widow's Walk was released by Jake Smith, aka The White Buffalo, in April - but the pandemic almost buried it. "I feel like On The Widow’s Walk was almost a lost album. Buried in the pandemic, not being able to tour it," he says. Where The Buffalo Roams is a new podcast where he revisits the album and looks at its making.
November 19, 2020:
    YouTube Music is launching audio ads, says Variety. The product replaced Google Play Music this month; while podcasts now live in Google Podcasts, monetisation for audio could be useful here, too.
November 18, 2020:
November 17, 2020:
    Would podcasting be better without the headphones? Billboard reports on "sound beaming", a way of beaming sounds directly to you without wearing headphones. "The technology uses a 3D sensing module and locates and tracks the ear position sending audio via ultrasonic waves to create sound pockets by the user’s ears." Here's a video.
November 12, 2020:
    Australia's largest podcaster, the ABC, is to put 23 of its most popular podcasts onto Spotify in a six-month trial, after placing Coronacast on the platform earlier this year. The ABC's Cath Dwyer told Podnews: "It's a big opportunity for the ABC, and we're really excited to reach audiences that might not find us on other platforms." On Spotify, some shows will carry advertising, like YouTube and other platforms; revenues will help fund content making, and shows continue to be ad-free in the ABC's own apps. In total, the broadcaster, which is government funded, has more than 175 shows.
November 9, 2020:
    Spotify, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook have all pulled an episode of the Podbean-hosted Steve Bannon's War Room podcast, after Bannon called for the beheading of Dr. Anthony Fauci and FBI director Christopher Wray. Twitter have also permanently suspended Bannon's account. The episode in question is still available via Apple Podcasts and the Podcast Index.
November 5, 2020:
    Yesterday, we noted that YouTube, too, contains pirated podcasts - copied and uploaded without the podcaster's consent. Takedown Torrent LLC contacts us, telling us they find, report and remove pirated podcasts and other content from streaming video sites like YouTube and Vimeo. "Our clients have found that removal of pirated content from streaming video sites has increased their normal podcast downloads," they say. (If only there was some way they could attract more business...!).
November 4, 2020:
    Podcasts are being pirated on YouTube, if this channel is anything to go by. (We've confirmed that this is not an official channel). They're not alone. YouTube appears to have no audio watermarking to stop podcast piracy on their platform.
October 30, 2020:
October 29, 2020:
October 26, 2020:
    It's possible to do the same with YouTube. See "the tech stuff" below.
October 23, 2020:
    The University of Canberra in Australia has released Podcast Trends and Issues in Australia and Beyond: Global Perspectives. It claims that 32% of Australian news consumers have listened to podcasts in the last month; and that 42% of Australian podcast listeners use YouTube to consume podcasts (Spotify at 33%, Apple at 21%, Google at 15%). It asked 692 podcast listeners in the country.
October 21, 2020:
October 20, 2020:
October 19, 2020:
    Who else could do "shows with music"? It strikes us that there are only a few with the right music licensing: Deezer, Amazon, YouTube and... Apple.
October 12, 2020:
September 30, 2020:
September 29, 2020:
September 25, 2020:
September 23, 2020:
September 21, 2020:
September 14, 2020:
    JaackMaate's Happy Hour from Stakhanov has become a Spotify exclusive. "Spotify has offered me a life-changing amount of money. This is a game-changer for us." Jack announces in a YouTube video. "I have never had any communication with YouTube," he adds, saying that the negotiations took over six months. The comments from YouTube viewers are all positive.
September 7, 2020:
    Podbay, "the best podcast player on the web", has had a number of updates including an updated player, position sync (so you'll never forget where you got up to), and YouTube integration (if the podcast is also on YouTube, you can watch it too - like this). Of course, we're there.
September 2, 2020:
September 1, 2020:
    In quarantine, we're listening to podcasts for an extra half-hour a week. That's the findings of Edison Research, which unveiled data from its studies in a short, 13-minute presentation.
August 31, 2020:
August 27, 2020:
August 26, 2020:
August 24, 2020:
August 19, 2020:
    The Kottke Ride Home describes itself as the antidote to depressing headlines. Hosted by author and YouTuber Jackson Bird, it contains new ideas, hopeful news, life-hacks and inventions - and is a partnership between Ride Home Media and Jason Kottke's kottke·org blog.
August 14, 2020:
August 5, 2020:
July 22, 2020:
July 20, 2020:
    Linus Sebastian, a popular YouTube reviewer, has been entirely synthesized for a review video. Youtube hosts are not all out of work yet, though: the final product still required two actors, weeks of work, a lot of technology, and still doesn't quite look, or sound, human.
July 13, 2020:
July 10, 2020:
    Americans are spending less time listening to YouTube, according to new data from Edison Research. 6% fewer Americans used it 'last week' according to the data. Joe Rogan comes off the platform in September. YouTube Music, the company's Spotify competitor, is likely to replace Google Play Music later this year: and hopefully Google Play Music Podcasts will stop being a thing.
July 9, 2020:
    The Passion Economy is "now available outside a paywall", their press release says: it's no longer a Luminary-exclusive show. Adam Davidson, New Yorker writer, longtime contributor to This American Life and co-creator of NPR's Planet Money, unearths stories from people who have cracked the code to success in our new economic reality. Here's a video trailer.
July 1, 2020:
June 30, 2020:
June 25, 2020:
June 24, 2020:
June 23, 2020:
June 15, 2020:
    Ximalaya FM, doesn't use RSS and operates closer to a YouTube model. It also operates a separate product for overseas markets, called Himalaya, which is unaffected.
June 11, 2020:
    The RØDECaster Pro has released firmware 2.1 which offers a set of new features. They've added a master bus compressor, broadcast-style level metering (in dBFS, not PPM nor short-term LUFS), and multitrack recording can now be achieved "post-fader". The companion app has also been improved, including direct uploads to podcast platforms and firmware updating straight from the app itself.
June 9, 2020:
    All Ears, a clippings service for spoken content, has raised US $760,000 in funding. The company claims it's operating close to break-even, and allows companies to monitor what's being said about them on TV, radio, podcasts and YouTube. One of their new customers is Walmart, a large US retailer.
June 8, 2020:
    Writing in his personal newsletter, Tom Webster says the #2 isn't anywhere near the popularity of Rogan's show - and highlights the discoverability benefits of YouTube, one of the reasons he says Rogan is so large. "It’s easy to get hung up on definitions about what is and isn’t a podcast, but my interest here is on your show, and I’m here to tell you that the most straightforward way to grow your show is to get it on YouTube."
June 4, 2020:
June 3, 2020:
    An estimated 8% of all Canadians listened to Joe Rogan in the past month: that's an audience the size of Vancouver. But will they follow him to Spotify? New data from The Canadian Podcast Listener suggests that not all will - 18% say they will listen or watch less often, and 23% will stop altogether. His viewers on YouTube are even less likely to carry on, with 50% saying they'll watch less often or stop. Spotify users, however, say they'll listen more. The full data is at The Canadian Podcast Listener website.
June 1, 2020:
    The RØDECaster Pro is a fine mixer, but Quentin Howard, a broadcast engineer, reckons it's missing a PPM meter. So he's built one.
May 28, 2020:
May 27, 2020:
May 20, 2020:
    His full show won't be on YouTube any more, though he will post clips. Possibly not that coincidentally, YouTube is readying a full launch of YouTube Music, a Spotify competitor.
May 15, 2020:
May 14, 2020:
May 13, 2020:
May 7, 2020:
April 29, 2020:
April 27, 2020:
    Got a beefy Nvidia RTX video card? Why not use it to remove background noise from your recordings? Nvidia RTX Voice uses artificial intelligence to work out which is your voice, and which is the clack-clack of your keyboard. This review seems glowing.
April 23, 2020:
    This video from Pulse Conference 2020 comes highly recommended: one of the panelists, Lauren Jarvis, is Spotify's Head of Content Partnerships for North America. "She's the best Podder inside the Spotify business: I love her vision, grounded in practical realities", says our informant.
April 22, 2020:
April 6, 2020:
April 3, 2020:
    We're not aware of any such policy from Apple Podcasts. YouTube demonetises all related videos by default; Medium adds a note linking to official information.
March 20, 2020:
March 17, 2020:
March 11, 2020:
    Pivot has launched its own YouTube channel, with an in-video version of the podcast. We're told that the hosts "see the channel as another way of engaging with the show’s devoted fanbase". (Vox Media)
March 9, 2020:
February 27, 2020:
    Got an idea for a new TV show or movie? Because You Watched explores new ideas based on obscure Netflix categories like "Deep Sea Creature Features" or "Gory Mad Scientist Horror Movies". It's new from Warner Bros. UK, and is also filmed for YouTube. (knit)
February 13, 2020:
February 7, 2020:
January 21, 2020:
    In an email to customers, podcast host Transistor says that it now hosts 4,481 podcasts. They've just announced a method of sharing links to private podcasts, too.
January 9, 2020:
December 13, 2019:
December 9, 2019:
    Podcast advertising company Midroll is "bullying" podcaster David Pakman to switch his podcast host from Libsyn to Omny Studio, he says in a YouTube video. Pakman is unhappy at leaving Libsyn, and claims Omny Studio "tracks listeners using a tracking pixel". He is, he says, ending his relationship with Midroll as a result. We've approached Midroll for comment, and will carry that tomorrow; however, Sharon Taylor, CEO of Omny Studio, has clarified to Podnews (our bold):
December 4, 2019:
    There are more than 700,000 podcasts, but only 15% are making money - according to Podcorn, a new self-service advertising platform which has launched today. Podcorn promises to "streamline podcaster discovery and provide the tools to run native podcast ads at scale". The product has a good ancestor - it has been built by the founders of FameBit, a service which allowed YouTubers to connect with brands: Google thought it was so good, they bought it.
November 20, 2019:
November 12, 2019:
November 8, 2019:
November 6, 2019:
    Uncommon, a long-form interview podcast "helping you build your knowledge, skills and mindset through interviews with unique individuals", interviews James Cridland, Podnews's Editor. Here's the episode on YouTube. (Neuralle Media / Simplecast)
November 4, 2019:
November 1, 2019:
October 25, 2019:
October 24, 2019:
October 14, 2019:
October 10, 2019:
October 9, 2019:
October 3, 2019:
September 30, 2019:
September 27, 2019:
September 17, 2019:
September 16, 2019:
September 13, 2019:
September 10, 2019:
    YouTube is "a podcast network", says The Verge. The article highlights some podcasters who post full shows, and clipped highlights, onto the video sharing platform.
August 28, 2019:
August 23, 2019:
August 22, 2019:
    If you missed our Editor talking about Google Podcasts at Podcast Movement this year, here's the talk, painstakingly recreated on YouTube.
August 21, 2019:
August 16, 2019:
    A detailed study into Spanish-speaking podcast listeners has been released by Podcaster@s. Based from a self-selecting sample, it shows that Spotify is most popular, and that Apple is just as popular as YouTube for podcast listening. It also touches on ideal podcast length, attitude to advertisers, and more. (Go to the end for a summary).
August 13, 2019:
    Is YouTube really the #1 destination for podcasts? Here's a sneak preview from the Canadian Podcast Listener with more information from the hundreds of people they surveyed who said just that. "What we’re learning about podcast listening on YouTube could create some strategic opportunities for podcast networks and content creators."
August 7, 2019:
    Breaking: Veritone One has announced Influencer Bridge, a pay-per-performance advertising platform for podcasters, YouTubers and Instagrammers. Podcasters earn money once a transaction takes place – for instance, when a listener uses a podcast's unique promo code to purchase an advertised product. You can sign up today.
June 26, 2019:
June 24, 2019:
June 20, 2019:
    The CBC have launched Chosen Family: it's their first long-form interview podcast. The first episode is an interview with Special star Ryan O'Connell.
June 18, 2019:
June 17, 2019:
May 20, 2019:
May 1, 2019:
    Producing almost religious veneration in their preparation and consumption, Cult Foods generate queues, make restaurants and crash Instagram. Food Busker's Cult Food Stories is a journey to discover the history of these dishes, hosted by John Quilter, aka YouTuber "Food Busker". (DAX)
April 29, 2019:
April 18, 2019:
    Happy Birthday This Week In Tech, which is 14 years old. Leo Laporte and the team have posted their very first episode, then called Revenge of the Screensavers, on YouTube - oddly, acted out by puppets.
April 11, 2019:
    33% of listeners use Spotify to listen; 32% use Apple Podcasts; and surprisingly 70% claim to use YouTube.
April 5, 2019:
    On Mar 29 we reported on YouTube seemingly allowing someone to upload other peoples' podcasts and put advertising on them. YouTube tells us that if the copyright owners of any podcasts find that their works are posted without permission, they can make a copyright removal request; copyright removals result in strikes for the uploading channel; and if a channel has three strikes, it will be terminated.
April 4, 2019:
March 29, 2019:
    YouTube's latest misstep: allowing unscrupulous people like this to upload other peoples' podcasts and fill them with advertising. (We tried to report these, but couldn't work out how to do it.) Podcaster Helen Zaltzman successfully removed one, but now YouTube has shared her name with the copyright infringer, who's now hassling her.
March 28, 2019:
    YouTuber Savannah Brown is the guest on the new episode of 17 Questions today.
March 25, 2019:
    17 Questions is a new weekly podcast that asks celebrities, authors and YouTubers 17 of the most weird and wonderful questions. It's from a London-based youth-focused content marketing agency called The Big Shot. (The Big Shot / Acast)
March 18, 2019:
March 13, 2019:
March 11, 2019:
March 7, 2019:
    Over half of US adults have listened to a podcast. Edison Research and Triton Digital have published Infinite Dial 2019, a set of research on US media consumption. One third of US adults (90 million people) listened to a podcast over the last month, the survey also reports. You can view the webinar here; or grab the slides. There is lots of data in the release, but - happily for us - the media have focused on podcasting's growth.
March 1, 2019:
    The company behind the RØDECaster Pro has released v1.1.0 of their firmware, which adds mix-minus on USB, enhanced UX, as well as multitrack recordings. It's available for download now.
February 27, 2019:
    Edison Research has given a sneak preview of one slide of their Infinite Dial data release next week. "This year, for the first time ever, half of the population uses YouTube as a music service every week," they say. You can register for the free webinar.
February 18, 2019:
February 13, 2019:
    New app: Curiohh, launching shortly, which lets you capture and save clips from podcasts. The founder, Monica Wulff, explains the app's benefits on video, and wants to talk to more podcasters.
February 7, 2019:
    The case against Adnan Syed has a trailer up - it's a TV show on HBO, premiering on March 10th, focusing on the original Serial case.
January 21, 2019:
    Apple have released a set of online video adverts for the new iPad, including how to make a podcast on one. The ad highlights the Anchor app.
January 15, 2019:
January 7, 2019:
    How much of the internet is fake? Quite a lot, actually - according to the New York Magazine. "For a period of time in 2013 a full half of YouTube traffic was “bots masquerading as people,” a portion so high that employees feared an inflection point after which YouTube’s systems for detecting fraudulent traffic would begin to regard bot traffic as real and human traffic as fake." Are there questions about podcast dowloads?
December 27, 2018:
    Philip DeFranco, a YouTuber, has announced that he's bringing back a monthly "Conversations With" podcast for 2019.
December 24, 2018:
December 18, 2018:
December 17, 2018:
    Something strange is happening in the Apple Podcasts app: podcast ratings in some cases are being recalculated and can even entirely disappear. Reader Josh sends us this example. Meanwhile, many others are seeing their number of ratings being significantly reduced in the app - "trying to figure out why it said I had 33 reviews when I could only see 25 to read", says one Facebook commenter, "I went from 60 to 30" says another. Are you seeing this too? Hit reply and tell us.
December 13, 2018:
    NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me is to become a TV show. The broadcaster is working with Wilshire Studios, a part of NBCUniversal. This is the second time a TV version of the show has been attempted. In the UK, BBC Radio 4's The News Quiz (available as part of the Friday Night Comedy podcast) was made as a successful TV show in 1990, called Have I Got News For You, which still airs today. It's regularly pirated on YouTube - here's last Friday's edition.
November 30, 2018:
    Acast have launched personalised podcast ads, working with AMillionAds, a UK company that produces over 20,000 versions of ads using external data like location, time of day, and device details. The first ad, for iD Mobile, calls out different cities based on where the listener is, different deals depending on what they’ve heard before, different messaging depending on when they’re listening and different podcast names based on what show the listener is hearing. (Watch - from Next Radio in 2016, Sam Crowther from AMillionAds gave an overview of how the technology works.)
November 29, 2018:
    Omny Studio has also announced an upgrade to their automated transcription service; transcripts can now be published to the web. This video has more information; and this episode from Monocle24 is an example of a transcript within a playback page.
November 20, 2018:
November 15, 2018:
November 12, 2018:
November 9, 2018:
November 1, 2018:
    Logan Paul, a former YouTuber who was kicked off the platform earlier in the year, is pivoting to podcasting report Vulture.
October 22, 2018:
October 18, 2018:
October 12, 2018:
    Google Podcasts "will be launching a feature to help podcasters monetize their work", according to a report of Google's Luis Collado's talk at JPOD18 in Spain recently (audio). There's an interview with him in the NotiPod Hoy podcast. (Does this relate to the "donate" button? Or something else? Spanish speakers welcome!)
October 2, 2018:
    Also of note: "Among the most commonly used [sources to listen] were the BBC website and app (used by 36% of podcast listeners), YouTube (26%) and iTunes (25%)."
October 1, 2018:
September 25, 2018:
    Acast's Susie Warhurst spoke at Next Radio about how to make a great branded podcast. Among other things she advises to keep branding low and to have a promotional strategy.
September 24, 2018:
September 13, 2018:
September 12, 2018:
September 7, 2018:
September 6, 2018:
    In an astonishing video, Twitter user Lime Link posts a video that shows the extent of Apple Podcasts Chart manipulation: it shows a clever way of how to spot the podcasts gaming the system, and how to do it yourself (don't).
September 5, 2018:
August 13, 2018:
    In the middle of this YouTube video, Australia's Hamish and Andy let slip their current weekly download figure for their podcast is 970,000.
August 8, 2018:
August 7, 2018:
    Buzzfeed News reports that Apple has now removed Alex Jones's podcasts from its platform, saying "Apple does not tolerate hate speech". Previously, Spotify had removed specific episodes. Infowars content has additionally been removed from Stitcher, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest. Spreaker, who describe themselves as the "secondary host" of the podcast, have also removed the podcast from their listings: "it violates our Terms and Service Conditions because of Hate Speech," said a spokesperson for the company. Spreaker's action will effectively pull it off most third-party podcast apps. In a response, the radio host claims "this is the modern day electronic equivalent of book burning"; as of press time, his self-hosted RSS feed is still available.
August 3, 2018:
August 1, 2018:
July 30, 2018:
July 16, 2018:
June 29, 2018:
    Last week, we reported on Ramble, a YouTube talent-led podcast network. Today, YouTube network Studio71 has formed a podcast division producing shows with YouTube stars; the deal is with Castbox, who jointly sell ads for the network.
June 22, 2018:
June 21, 2018:
    Here's a video demonstration of how Google Podcasts works. If you only have an iPhone, it's worth a watch to understand the benefit of adding a Google Podcasts link to your website. Slightly strangely, we start the demo by uninstalling it.
June 14, 2018:
    Gossip is a new scripted podcast from Allison Raskin (comedian, author and YouTuber), launching today. The Guardian say it "is devised as a soap opera and promises Desperate Housewives-style intrigue that you can dip in and out of". Elle had an exclusive on the trailer. Raskin has 750,000 YouTube subscribers and her videos have been viewed more than 120m times.
June 8, 2018:
May 25, 2018:
May 24, 2018:
May 7, 2018:
April 27, 2018:
April 17, 2018:
April 3, 2018:
March 16, 2018:
March 9, 2018:
March 8, 2018:
    YouTube is giving all creators a new dashboard, including new metrics. One new metric includes "how many people saw my video's thumbnail?" This may inform the debate about podcasting's lack of centralisation.
February 15, 2018:
January 23, 2018:
    The BBC announce they're making all their podcasts -18 LUFS - LKFS if you speak American. (If you're keeping tabs: Google wants -16 LUFS, Amazon want -14 LUFS (as do Spotify), YouTube normalise to -13 LUFS, and the AES want anywhere between -16 and -20 LUFS. I try hard to keep personal opinion out of podnews, so won't pass comment as to how crazy this situation is.
January 18, 2018:
    YouTube makes significant changes to their monetisation platform: they now require creators to have, at a mimimum, 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watchtime within the past twelve months: otherwise they will no longer share revenue. In a discussion on Reddit, one Redditor makes the point that this probably ensures quality content for advertisers. (Of interest: 4,000 hours of watchtime will reward creators who make longer videos).
January 11, 2018:
    In case you missed it - here's Podnews's Managing Editor James Cridland, talking at Ozpod 2017 in Sydney wth lots of data about podcasting. He would like you to know that he is a very good conference speaker and is available for your event. He is also massively handsome, excellent value, and a really very, very nice man who would never hijack an edition of Podnews to promote himself.
January 10, 2018:
    2018 must be the year of the podcast, as it goes primetime on US television. ABC premieres Alex, Inc on March 28, based on Alex Blumberg's Startup. As the trailer will show you, it focuses on a man who quits his job and launches a podcast company. Hilarity ensues.
January 8, 2018:
January 5, 2018:
January 1, 2018:
December 22, 2017:
December 14, 2017:
    Yesterday, we noted that Google recommends -16 LUFS for audio intended for Google Home. Amazon recommend -14 LUFS. YouTube will alter audio to meet -13 LUFS. The AES recommend -16 to -20 LUFS. Standards? We don't need no stinkin' standards!
December 8, 2017:
December 7, 2017:
December 5, 2017:
    Podcasting on Amazon Web Services - a presentation from Amazon and Australian podcast company Whooshkaa, at the recent Amazon re:Invent conference in Las Vegas NV USA.
November 28, 2017:
November 27, 2017:
November 24, 2017:
November 21, 2017:
    A Libsyn webinar on YouTube, including explanation of the change in stats with LibSyn (describing some of their previous stats as 'buggy'). Some podcasters are seeing over 50% smaller stats, it transpires. From 31 minutes in, some actual stats (using the new methodology): 50% of podcast episodes in September got less than 162 downloads; 80% mobile; 5.3 iOS downloads to every one Android download. Lots more in here. From 49 minutes in, how to talk to advertisers about the falling stats. From 54 minutes, their dashboard. You could criticise Libsyn for previously wildly inaccurate stats with no filtering at all; or commend them for trying to put it right even if it meant them losing customers; both are probably valid viewpoints.
November 16, 2017:
    Data (in dutch) from dutch broadcaster BNR Nieuwsradio about their podcast numbers, split between "iTunes and Spotify" and "BNR web and app". Excepting a spike when a podcast was featured by iTunes, their own web/app delivers twice as much audience. 600,000 downloads in September. The population of the Netherlands is 17m; all programming is in Dutch. Also - watch Sjors Fröhlich at Next Radio talk about how they use data to help their programming.
November 8, 2017:
    ComScore claim 37.1m British adults used YouTube in July. 79% of views on a mobile device. Average is 311 videos per person; 3.7minutes per video. (That's 19 hours a month, or 4.75 hours a week. Rajar's MIDAS research says podcast listeners do so for 6 hours a week, radio listeners about 21 hours).
November 2, 2017:
October 23, 2017:
October 3, 2017:
September 25, 2017:
September 21, 2017:
September 20, 2017:
September 14, 2017:
    The Humble Mechanic, a car mechanic podcast and YouTube channel, gets a writeup fro GoDaddy. "He knew nothing about podcasting when he started six years ago. Five hundred episodes later, he quit his day job. Here’s his story."
September 11, 2017:
September 7, 2017:
    Spotify swiftly replaces their head of video and podcasts. The new guy is Courtney Holt. He was previously CEO of Maker Studios, a YouTube channel company acquired by Disney, and EVP of media and strategy at Disney. It would appear he is a) a video guy, not a podcast guy, and b) owns a very impressive beard.
September 1, 2017:
    A new platform to listen to podcasts - Feedcast. Being developed open-source, with a crowd-funding plan for infrastructure costs; using machine learning for recommendations. "If you can imagine netflix's recommendation with youtube's content, that is close to what we think."
August 17, 2017:
August 8, 2017:
    Another tech discovery: Repurpose, a service that can connect to your RSS feed to automatically republish your podcast as a video for Facebook and YouTube. Nicely done.
July 28, 2017:
    In what they claim is a world first, Leela Labs launches a kids podcast app, Leela Kids. Nice idea to produce curated content for younger ears (in this case, 3-15 year-olds). Demo on YouTube. Their FAQ includes an email address for content submission.
July 18, 2017:
July 13, 2017:
July 10, 2017:
July 4, 2017:
    A talk from Adam Gamwell, a Design Anthropologist. "Reflecting on four years of podcasting at This Anthro Life and challenging academic tradition, Adam will share some key lessons learned about storytelling and data and speculate on where podcasting may be taking us."
June 20, 2017:
June 13, 2017:

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