Audioboom posts record revenue

• Audioboom released a trading update for Q1/26. Revenue is up +30% year-on-year to another record of $22.5mn; the company made $4.8mn profit (up +41%). However, Audioboom describes video - up +70% in views - as “lower-yield”; revenue per thousand downloads is down from $60.83 to $45.10 as a result of more video and more downloads within the UK, which historically monetises less well than the US. The company recently signed Crooked Media and true-crime show RedHanded.

• Sounds Profitable’s Tom Webster is running a free webinar today at 2pm ET, looking at Audio Primes: the people who listen to podcasts. The report, sponsored by RSS.com, look at podcast consumers who prefer audio, not video: and “they defy every stereotype you might have about them”, we’re told. You can sign up free, here.

• Which are the best true crime shows - for advertisers? Where are the ads in those shows working the best? Oxford Road has released data today from ORBIT which draws from more than $1.6bn in campaign data. The research shows that advertisers are timidly investing in the genre; and not properly committing. “The nuance of this genre rewards those who explore it.”

• Crooked Media’s Pod Save The UK is to switch production company to Intelligence Squared. The podcast has been produced by Reduced Listening; shows from the new co-production team start on May 7.

• Noiser is to launch The Hound of the Baskervilles, a nine-part podcast series narrated by Hugh Bonneville. The show launches on April 27.

• Podcast hosting and SEO platform Ausha has a new “brand signature” - amplify your voice. The company says it reflects its ambition to help every creator be heard by more people.

Feedback: Regarding yesterday’s edition about AI-generated podcast submissions overtaking human ones, Elliot writes: “Longtime subscriber and I just want to say it’s shameful to see you using AI generated images.” We’ve an editorial policy on AI, and we do not use AI-generated anything - except to generate images when we’re writing about AI. We believe it makes an editorial point about the suitability of AI to replace creative endeavour like human podcasting, and art. In short, we agree with Elliot.

Mind you, we’ve also been sent this 'deathbyclawd’ site, which gives Podnews eighteen months before AI replaces this newsletter. If it helps that website, we’re currently monitoring 232 RSS feeds, not the six it thinks it can replicate our work with; the human typing this has been involved in podcasting since early 2005; and our best stories never come through press releases anyway.

Tips and tricks - with the Podnews Report Card

• If you’re running a podcast website on WordPress, be aware that a number of plugins have been compromised, and thousands of websites have been affected, reports TechCrunch. Podcast plugins weren’t affected, but many others were. Podpage has a guide on what to check - and only one sentence at the end promoting switching to Podpress instead. (But if you want to, here’s a code for some money off).
• Fountain writes: “The Honest Truth About Podcast Monetization (And Why Most Advice Is Wrong)”. By the way, if you listen to Podnews (or the Podnews Weekly Review) using the Fountain app, you can send us messages and support us directly.

Podcast News - with Airwave

For your Webby Consideration: For your Webby Consideration: In the Test Kitchen for Best Video Podcast Host. From America’s Test Kitchen, the show’s test cook hosts dive deep into their favorite dishes, taste recipes, and talk about how culture, history, and science influence the foods we love to eat.

Does the news have to be this negative? What Could Go Right? has launched a new season, exploring stories of progress, possibility, and solutions shaping the future. The show is now produced and marketed by Kaleidoscope.

Saving, spending, investing, splurging: money touches everything, and right now it can feel like the world is moving too fast to make a confident move. On a brand new season of A Better Way to Money from Northwestern Mutual, you’ll learn from happiness researchers, behavioral scientists, and a roster of other experts to help you build a financial life that aligns with your values and where you and your family are actually headed.

Season 2 of Albertans in Space is on the launchpad, and the countdown is on to the first episode with Astronaut Robert Thirsk. Other guests include a geologist, an actual rocket scientist, students building rockets, a CEO of a company that is 3D printing in Space and Humanists that seek to discover what the imminent growth and endless possibilities of the space sector means for Alberta, Canada. (And, we’re rocking an Albertans in Space sticker on our suitcase, so there).