How Apple Podcasts search works

• In the weekly newsletter with Podsights, Sounds Profitable has announced “the first credible study of the profile of podcast creators in America”. The research will be yearly, to track trends and changes in the creator space. The Creators, by Sounds Profitable and Edison Research, will be unveiled on Jun 28: you can register for the free webinar.

• Breaking: Apple Podcasts has published details of how search in its app works. The post, new today, includes clarification that ratings and reviews aren’t factored into search results; and that the search function searches the show name, channel name, and episode title.

  • In July last year, Podnews published data showing what metadata different podcast apps use: noting that Apple Podcasts does not search podcast (or episode) descriptions.

• 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.”

• During Pride Month, Google Podcasts is blocking and hiding some podcast episodes apparently because they use the word 'lesbian’. RPG: Realms of Peril & Glory's Jun 13 episode - visible everywhere else, like on Apple Podcasts - is not available on Google Podcasts in the US, UK or Australia, even to logged-in over 18 users. “There is nothing adult in this episode”, say the podcast creators. (Using Podnews’s Google Podcast RSS Helper, we were able to confirm that Google is using the podcast’s full RSS feed.)

  • In October last year, we obtained a statement from Google about content blocking, which at the time was region-limited to users who were not logged-in, or who appeared under the age of 18.

• Congratulations to CBC Quebec, for winning the best podcast award at the RTDNA for Telling Our Twisted Histories.

• Transistor’s Justin Jackson has reported Acast to Canadian law enforcement and to Acast’s email service provider, after the company targeted Transistor customers. Acast’s email provider says that Acast’s use is against its terms of service, and Jackson - who has previously worked for an email company - considers the emails are illegal under Canadian law. The company has recently targeted customers from Podbean, Captivate, Blubrry and others, using competitor’s logos, and sending multiple follow-up messages to each podcaster. A spokesperson for Acast tells Podnews that the emails are “part of our continuing marketing strategy, which we don’t currently plan to change”.

  • Podnews coverage forced Acast to make changes to these emails for compliance in April. Yesterday, Podnews highlighted that Acast was also misleading its customers as to the legal status of one of its companies. We privately raised that issue with them three months ago; but only when we went public did the company amend the website to remove the claims.

• The Podcast Awards are open for nominations from July 1. (We were a nomination last year).

• TED has launched the TED Audio Collective+, a new subscription on Apple Podcasts. The new Apple Podcasts channel contains new episodes and ad-free listening.

• Italian podcast publisher OnePodcast has launched a new premium podcast subscription channel exclusively on Apple Podcasts. With more than eighty shows, you can find it here. Other international podcast companies who have recently launched subscriptions on Apple Podcasts include Somethin’ Else in the UK, the CBC in Canada, Podimo in the Nordics, majelan and Le Figaro in France, and Casefile in Australia. Here’s a full list.

• After being purchased by Spotify at the end of last year, podcast host Whooshkaa is to close on Aug 31. Podcast hosting customers are being invited to migrate to Megaphone.

• Triton Digital released the Australian Podcast Ranker for May. Of interest - now exclusive to the LiSTNR app, Hamish & Andy’s Remembering Project saw 310,647 downloads in May; the show’s last season in August, where it was available everywhere, did 572,113 downloads. (The ranker lists participating publishers only, and doesn’t list the ABC, the country’s largest podcaster).

  • ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network Australia claims a record, with a total of 26.6m monthly downloads in May.

• Sports podcaster Blue Wire “wants to challenge ESPN and Barstool Sports”, says an article in Front Office Sports.

• Kids publisher Pinna has launched what it calls “the first voice activated interactive podcast”.

Moves and hires - with The Creators, from Sounds Profitable

• Matty Staudt has left Amaze Media Labs. In an email to staff seen by Podnews, the former iHeartRadio VP says he plans to continue to operate Jam Street Media, and work with more companies.

Tips and tricks - with RedCircle

• Don’t let download numbers distract you. The true measure of podcast success is attention time, says Jonas Woost from Pacific Content.

• Authority Magazine posts Podcasting Dos and Don’ts: Tips from a Live Streaming Expert. Doing a good intro and his use of Restream are both keys to success.

Podcast News - with Post Script Media

From Post Script Media: There are trillions of dollars flowing into climate solutions. The world’s largest energy firms, tech companies, and banks are putting big dollars behind “climate tech.” So where is the smart investment going? Hosted by veteran analyst and investor Shayle Kann, Catalyst digs deep into climate and climate tech solutions with the world’s top experts, and helps us understand the trends that are reshaping the economy – and transforming the way we power our lives.

Starring Jodie Foster, Samira Wiley and Amy Hill, Feminist Files looks at the behind-the-scenes politics of Title IX, and the amazing women who changed the world but who have never been recognised. Hosted by Leigh Fondakowski, it’s supporting Rise Up, an organization that seeks to promote equality for women and girls around the world. It’s from Frequency Media.

Welcome to Provincetown launches today, from Rococo Punch, Room Tome and Stitcher. Recorded last summer, it follows seven local people, each with their own agenda, in Provincetown MA, USA - a two-street beach town known as a gay vacation hotspot. Blending the style of reality TV with storytelling, the show’s available everywhere.

Pride Month meets Black History Music Month with Sound Barrier: Sylvester, which is out next week. Hosted by Jason King, the podcast looks at the career and cultural impact of Sylvester, including interviews, recordings and demos that have never been heard before. Launched today, the show is exclusive on Spotify.