Castbox posts listener data; and Google Podcasts link validator

• Podcast app Castbox have posted some interesting data today about how their users listen to podcasts in different parts of the world.

• While your podcast is probably in Google Podcasts, getting correctly listed, including in Google Search, is a bit difficult. We continue to finesse our how to get listed guide, and have now added a Google Podcast link validator to our podcast pages. To get started, search for your podcast and press the 'more info’ button for the technical details. It also checks if you have a secure RSS feed for Apple Podcasts.

• The Chief Product Officer of Pocket Casts, Russell Ivanovic, has publicly welcomed Google Podcasts. In a tweet, he says: “The more platform owners like Google an Apple do the hard work of introducing new people to podcasts, the more the entire podcasting ecosystem will flourish”, and adds that when Apple launched their standalone podcast app, sales of Pocket Casts went up 30%.

• RadioPublic is running an equity crowdfunding campaign. The pitch contains some good data about RadioPublic use. In an email to Podnews, CEO Jake Shapiro says this is “something I’ve been looking for a long while and super excited about. Ever since our first Kickstarter in 2014 for Radiotopia I’ve wanted to find new ways to channel that democratized marketing/engagement/community energy into each level up in our enterprise.”

• The New York Times have announced the results of their student podcast contest. They had 675 entries; the page lists the winning ten.

• TuneIn, the radio and podcast aggregator that is used by Amazon Echo (as the default live radio and podcast provider) and by Google Home (as the default live radio provider) is seeking a buyer.

• RadioPublic post a guide on how to pitch your podcast to journalists.

  
  This link is no longer available, as at Aug 3 2023

• AdWeek says that “podcast metrics are still the wild west”, repeating Wondery’s claim that they’re the first commercial podcast network to adopt IAB v2 standards.

• AdWeek also profiles a new podcast, ZigZag, the new podcast from Manoush Zomorodi and Jen Poyant.

• The Austin Film Festival have announced their partners and judges for their fiction podcast script competition, and added details of a podcasting track at the Austin Film Festival’s Writers Conference.

• Radio conference Conclave 43 is to look at podcasting in a session; it’s in Minneapolis MN, USA in July.

  
  This link is no longer available, as at Aug 3 2023

• Podtrac have published their top (US) podcast publishers for May. Total global downloads are up 88% year-on-year. #1 continues to be NPR.

  
  Aug 3 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• Facebook has launched “subscription groups”, a premium, paid-for Facebook group (which you could imagine podcasters using as a revenue earner). On the same day, Bloomberg says that YouTube, too, is building a subscription product for video publishers.

• MacObserver claims that Anchor - a popular podcast host - owns your podcast according to its terms and conditions.

• Human/Ordinary, the acclaimed audio documentary podcast, is back for its third season.

• We’ve added the Apple Watch’s user-agent to our list of user-agents, and also ordered the list in user-agent order.

Thank you to the 99 new subscribers over the past week, including lovely people from Recode, ESPN, Corus, the BBC, Ad Results Media, Luminary, NDR, United Talent, Simplecast, Radioworks, FBI Radio, Red Bull, the CBC, Whooshkaa, How Stuff Works and AJC. Special thank you to Stargate Pioneer, the host of GonnaGeek, for your kind personal Patreon support.