Apple to make audio content

• Apple is getting into the audio business - but not in the way you think. The company plans to add audio versions of publisher articles in Apple News+, report Digiday. They won’t be available in podcast format.

• Spotify is going local - and has produced a regularly-updated local music and podcast playlist for New York NY, USA, called Listen Local: New York.

• Google’s on the move - in an email to podcasters using the old Google Play Music Podcasts platform, Google have said that this service will no longer be accepting new podcasts from early July. (Use Google Podcasts Manager instead.)

• Buzzsprout have unveiled new features including transcripts, additional directories, embeds and a premium service, Magic Mastering, that the company describes as “like an Instagram filter for your audio”.

  
  Aug 24 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• Podcast host Captivate have added unique listeners to their analytics. Calculated to the IAB v2 standard, they highlight it as “part one of an analytics upgrade”. (Disclosures)

  
  Aug 24 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• The Outlier Podcast Festival Virtual Summit is today. It’s a pay-what-you-can online festival, from as little as $5: our Editor, James Cridland, is speaking in a panel later today.

Tips and tricks

• How to get the best audio possible from your guests (Podcast Fast Track)

• Paul Colligan looks at video podcasting in the time of the corovavirus - without looking like you’re video podcasting in the time of the coronavirus. The article includes some technical discussion, but also some discussion of planning and focus.

• The podcast ecosystem is made of distinct neighbourhoods, says Pacific Content’s Dan Misener - clusters of shows with common audiences. He suggests, as one example, to use this data to identify shows to collaborate with (and buy advertising on).