Apple still #1: podcast listening via mobile apps

• Libsyn report that Apple continues to be the #1 podcast app, accounting for 68.2% of mobile downloads. According to the podcast host, which is the largest paid podcast host in the world, Spotify is at 8.3% and Google Podcasts at just 1.3%. Sharing these figures on The Feed, Rob Walch adds: “The death of Apple Podcasts has been greatly over-stated”.

• Another stat from Libsyn is that only 0.25% of podcasts are listened-to on a smart speaker. Tom Webster has some thoughts about this - involving bathrooms.

• For advertising, how well do podcasts convert? Podsights has posted their Conversion Benchmark Report, based on 1.2 billion ad impressions from $28m of advertising. Podcasting converts significantly better than social media, says the data. Embedded ads work twice as well as dynamically-inserted ones, the company also reports.

• Dylan Pugh, Spotify’s former Head of Podcast Monetisation for EMEA, has launched his own sports and lifestyle podcast company. Pomodo launched at the end of July. Their first podcast is about themselves - Pomodo - the startup journey - while Couples Quarantine launches on Wednesday. (They’re both hosted on Spreaker.)

• Podchaser has added the ability to connect your Twitter account to discover new podcasts and friends. (Psst - you should follow us: we’re @podnews).

  
  Aug 26 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• Listen, an audio production company in London, is looking for podcast producers. (More podjobs)

  
  This link is no longer available, as at Aug 26 2023

• AdsWizz has added additional targeting for podcast advertisers who use their programmatic advertising platform.

  
  Aug 26 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• Podcast Garden, a company that promised “free, unlimited web hosting”, appears to suddenly be offline. The company last posted on Twitter or Facebook in December; it hosted at least 200 podcasts.

• Artwork changes should now be reflected in Overcast within a day or less, instead of roughly a week, says developer Marco Arment.

• Podcastle AI makes podcasts out of news websites, according to this writeup.

  
  Aug 26 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• Podcast Brunch Club, like book club but for podcasts, is focusing on apologies for this month’s listening list.

• Talking of apologies, the Kuratorium für Journalistenausbildung podcast workshop, which we mentioned on Friday, is in Austria, not Germany. Entschuldigung: Ich bin ein fauler britischer Dummkopf.

Thank you to Resonate Recordings, who increased the level of their support last week. Trusted by names like Citibank and the Associated Press, they now offer hosting as well as production and marketing.

Tips and tricks

• John Delfau posts What you should know before investing in the podcast industry: A guide to the audio ecosystem. What drew our eye was a useful list of investments and exits, which John’s kindly allowed us to host as well for readability.

• Take a peek at How I make … Podnews. Think you can write one of these for your own podcast? editor@podnews.net will find us.

Podcast News - with The John Bartolo Show

In The John Bartolo Show Nick Santonastasso. Nick stops in to talk about the world today. Listen now

IPR Radio is “a new musical podcast station” from Sweden, playing indie artists from across the world. It launches today.

Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend was supposed to come back in September, but surprise! His first guest for the new season is comedian and writer W. Kamau Bell. “I think feeling like an outsider in every room you’re in is a really great way to develop comedy.”

Podcast Junkies interviews Dave Zohrob from Chartable. “We’re really trying to do good work here. We’re not trying to do anything weird. We’re not trying to scam people. We’re not trying to collect data that we shouldn’t be or anything like that. We’re trying to help podcasters.”

In Slate’s Working, writer and producer John Scott Dryden talks about audio drama, and the secrets to his productivity.

We Fix Space Junk, a comedy fiction podcast, returns for its third season today. Recorded entirely in lockdown (involving sending recording kit across the country), it’s part of the Fable and Folly Network.