The podcast company burning through $100m of imaginary cash

“What was intended to be a schmoozy haven for creators turned into a perplexing world of cocaine, dog poo, and unpaid bills”

• Breaking: The Podcasting Hype House From Hell has just been published by The Verge - an investigation into Himalaya and Peter Vincer, and the $100 million they told us they’d raised, which turned out to be entirely made-up. It’s quite a read.

• Riverside․fm has announced a media board - a virtual soundboard and videoboard, allowing creators to insert pre-recorded content directly into the live recording session. The clips are added as a separate track, cutting editing time. It’s live to all users now.

• Myth-busting: is Anchor really full of dead shows? And does it matter if it is? We examine the data for the major podcast hosts, to see if Anchor is any different: and whether it makes a difference anyway.

• A new children’s podcast company has launched, producing free narrative podcasts for children. GoKidGo was founded by New York Times bestselling children’s author Patrick Carman, entrepreneur Jennifer Clary, and Los Angeles film executive Maia Glikman (ABC Network, Lucasfilm, Sony).

• Atlanta’s Frqncy Media, a podcast production company since June 2018, is understandably irritated with FRQNCY for using their established brand name. We’ve asked FRQNCY (not Frqncy) for a comment.

• Audacy’s Cadence13 is to exclusively sell APM podcasts. The companies will co-develop new shows and revenue opportunities.

• Spotify UK has added Football Now, a personalised playlist containing football podcasts, music selections and celebrity guests. The delayed UEFA Euro 2020 soccer tournament finally kicks off today.

• Audible in Germany have published a look at what audiobooks each individual German Länder, or state, listens to. Niedersachsen in the North East love stories about dragons and elves; Berliners like practical audio books about health and lifestyle.

• Also from Germany, YouGov has released data on podcast listening in the country. 41% of Germans listen 'at least occasionally’; YouTube and Spotify are the two biggest platforms.

• Verbit, an AI-powered transcription and captioning program, has announced a $157m funding round. The company, which is privately held, now has a valuation of more than $1 billion; it’s used by media companies, universities, corporations and legal agencies.

• Ad Results Media has hired five new team members: Tony Carnevale as Creative Director, DeShá Runnels, Gretchen Smith and Patty Mertes, each as VP of Media, and Jemina MacHarry as Director of Business Development.

  
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• Podcastfinder․io is a new search service for podcast episodes and interviews.

• Radio New Zealand’s podcasts won all five podcast awards last night in the NZ Radio Awards; and, last month, won both podcast categories at the Voyager Media Awards. The winners were The Service, Black Sheep, Nanogirl’s Great Science Adventures, and Getting Better - A Year in the Life of a Māori Medical Student.

• The American Top 40 with Casey Kasem was once one of the biggest shows on US radio, and Kasem was also the voice for Scooby Doo’s Shaggy. But the last few years of his life were nowhere near as fun for anyone. Exclusive on Audible on June 15 - the anniversary of Kasem’s death and Elder Abuse Awareness Day - comes Bitter Blood: Kasem vs. Kasem, the inside story of Casey Kasem’s grim final years.

Hints and tips

• Want to learn how to edit a show? Here’s a two hour video from Jason DeFillippo, editing an entire show of Grumpy Old Geeks. Expect hints, tips, and lots of chat in the side window.

• Buzzsprout post how to get new listeners with your cover art.

• The creators of In The Thick talk about their first 18 months with Acast.

Podcast News - with HubSpot Podcast Network

From the HubSpot Podcast Network: Being Boss is an exploration of what it takes to be boss as a creative business owner, entrepreneur, freelancer, or side-hustler.

Podland, the weekly podcast from Podnews’s Editor James Cridland and Sam Sethi, this week interviews Neil Mody from Headliner, and Sam and James talk Apple, Twitter Blue, and more.

Talk Thirty To Me is new from Aussie media stars Christie Hayes and Justin Coombes-Pearce. It is set to be an honest look at one of life’s big milestones and what comes before, say publishers Acast.

TCM’s The Plot Thickens will focus on The Bonfire of the Vanities, a box-office flop, for their new season coming June 29. Season three, in Q3/21, will focus on Lucille Ball.

Children’s podcast Wow in the World goes daily from Monday during the US summer holidays. “Camp WeWow” will have new weekly topics to fascinate and involve kids with the inside and outside world.

Creating Value Beyond the Deal is a new podcast from Crosslake Technologies, aiming to be a guide to the private equity journey - a crash course in CTO lingo and strategy when it comes to assessing acquisitions, minimizing risk, building value, addressing pain points and preparing for an exit.

Germany’s well known for its automotive industry with Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz: but in an election year, their environmental impact is under the spotlight, as On the Green Fence tells us in a new season.

Comic-Con Begins is new from SiriusXM, covering the genesis of Comic-Con, the iconic annual comic book convention. Episode 1 drops on June 22 with additional episodes weekly; the whole series will be available instantly for SiriusXM subscribers.