Apple Podcasts: big in Japan

• Apple Podcasts is growing fast in Japan, according to new stats shared by the company alongside the launch of Creators We Love in the country. The launch includes a free event next Friday, with two of the country’s biggest shows. The data shared by Apple Podcasts shows significant expansion:

  • Apple Podcasts listener growth in Japan is growing nine times faster than the global average, with double-digit growth in both audience and plays.
  • There has been a 70% year-on-year increase in new Japanese show launches on Apple Podcasts, and more than four in five new shows on the platform are coming from independent and non-traditional creators

• Breaking Points, a “a fearless anti-establishment multi-week Youtube and Podcast”, hit two million views on their YouTube election night stream, according to Supercast CEO Jason Sew Hoy, who highlights how the podcast made the most of their new viewers.

• In Brazil, there’s a new “narrative podcast map” highlighting more than 200 podcasts across the country. The work, from the Rio de Janeiro State University, lets you search through “the narrated territory” (where the podcast is about), as well as the “production territory” (where the podcast is made).

  • Seen this before? It’s a manual version of the type of thing made possible by the podcast:location tag in open RSS. The “podcast radar” shows the open data available in that way - currently listing 17,632 podcasts across the world.

• Nomono has added an API and an MCP Server to allow anyone to use the speech-processing technology behind Nomono Studio. The tool will allow full isolation and audio cleaning for voices to broadcast standards, and follow people when they move. It’ll support a number of alternative pieces of hardware apart from the Nomono Sound Capsule.

• RØDE are about to launch a set of professional wireless on-ear headphones, according to an FCC application. The NTH-50 Wireless will be a Bluetooth version of the company’s existing NTH-50 cans. According to the QuickStart guide, the headphones will come with an app, and will also allow you to take telephone calls using them. You’ll also be able to use them with a cable - both a 3.5mm cable, or direct via USB-C, which is nice.

• Shure are about to launch a spatial audio microphone, the MV360P. The FCC filing for this one reveals that it’ll be a rechargeable microphone with an inbuilt SD card, and will support “360 degree sound”. It also has an app, to let you tune the sound after recording.

Stop losing listeners for your podcast

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Stop losing listeners for your podcast: ShareMyShow launches podcast smartlink

Share a Spotify link in your communication and campaigns, and everyone who uses Apple Podcasts, Overcast or no podcast app at all is likely to give up before pressing play. New listeners often haven’t settled on an app yet, so they are the first to drop off. And there are many of them: a third of US podcast consumers only started in the past year, according to Sounds Profitable.

ShareMyShow fixes this with one link for listeners, creators and publishers. Listeners pick their favourite app once, and from then on ShareMyShow opens it straight away. For creators and publishers nothing is fixed: you decide which apps and platforms appear and in which order, and you can add your own apps and extra links.

That flexibility matters, because the landscape keeps fragmenting. Independent podcast apps still have a large and loyal audience that differs per territory, and other streaming services are joining in too, from Netflix in the US to Videoland in the Netherlands. 

You can claim your show’s smartlink for free and see where your listeners click through. The Pro feature is now open for a free trial. 

Search for your show at ShareMyShow

People news - with podnews.net/jobs

• Emily Rasekh, who was SVP of global podcasts at Sony Music Entertainment, has joined CAA’s creator division. She’ll be working on podcast and digital media strategies for clients.

Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave and TWiT.tv: Security Now features Leo Laporte and cybersecurity guru Steve Gibson, who break down the latest cybercrime and hacking stories, offering a deep understanding of what’s happening and how to protect yourself and your business. The latest edition looks at the largest financial heist in history - $6.3 billion, disappeared from Binance to, apparently, North Korea.

In “World War I’s Bloodiest Siege,” on Dan Snow’s History Hit this week, Dan explores the brutal story of Przemyśl, where starvation, disease and relentless bombardment turned a Polish fortress into the site of one of the First World War’s longest and bloodiest sieges.

Disability Deep Dive returns for a fourth season this week. Hosts Keith and Jodi talk to the stars of “Patrice: The Movie,” Patrice Jetter and Garry Wickham. They discuss the behind-the-scenes experience of making the film, what life has been like since its release, and the barriers that can limit the choices people with disabilities are able to make. And debuting is “The Reef,” a short segment featuring additional disability community voices on one topic or idea, the first of which showcases Kelly Berger and Avery Roberts, hosts of the “Wheel Talk with Kelly + Avery” podcast.

Santa’s sleigh has landed at Caloroga Media’s headquarters. As the leading producer of innovative, entertaining short-form podcasts, the company is unwrapping its limited-time Christmas Pop-Up Channel, bringing together some of its coziest, jolliest, and most delightfully festive podcasts in one place. Whether you like your holidays merry and bright or a little bit naughty, the lineup has something wrapped up for everyone including 5 Good News Stories: Christmas Edition, Hitmaker Chronicles, Romance Weekly, and more.