Spotify has more than 100,000 video podcasts

• Spotify now has more than 100,000 video podcasts on its platform, according to TubeFilter. They claim, as we covered on Nov 9, that video is more popular in the evenings, while audio is used more during the day. Spotify faces significant competition for video podcasts as YouTube Music ramps up its podcast aspirations.

• Americans spend over four hours a day with audio, says data from Edison Research. The total time has remained consistent over the past nine years.

• The BBC published its most popular podcasts of 2023, by total plays in BBC Sounds, the corporation’s app. Podcast listening (on BBC Sounds) saw an increase of 34% year-on-year.

• Charl Bassil has been hired as the BBC’s first Chief Brand Officer. He’s been working for Absolut vodka since 2019: and has his own podcast, Bridging the Gap.

• In Spain, El Pais has published its list of the top podcasts of 2023.

• In the UK, the BPI released data on physical music sales in 2023. 5.9mn vinyl records were sold (up 11.7%); nearly 11mn CDs (its smallest annual decline in nearly a decade); and 100,000 cassettes. 4/5ths of all recorded music consumption is done via streaming, though. Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was the best-seller on vinyl.

Podcast News

Red Bull’s Mind Set Win is helping you kick-start your New Year’s resolutions, with sports psychologist York-Peter Klöppel equipping you with the tools to make great resolutions and to stick with them. There are six short episodes for you to binge - they’ll help you identify what your resolution should be and offer tips for putting a plan into place and sustaining it throughout the year.

Ongoing History of New Music has celebrated its 1,000th episode. Since its debut in January 1993, each week the Canadian show looks at things from the alt-rock universe to hip hop, from artist profiles to various thematic explorations. It’s produced and presented by Alan Cross.

The Media Roundtable is a prediction special this week, with HotPod’s Ariel Shapiro, Skye Pillsbury from The Squeeze and Podnews Editor James Cridland looking forward to 2024. Come for the hot take on YouTube; stay for the hot take on Spotify.