New podcast network aims to sell out

• A new podcast network, The Fable and Folly Network is aiming to sell out - of inventory. The new network launches with fifteen shows, including three shows nominated for awards; and it is actively pursuing sponsorship and growth opportunities for its members. In a press release, co-founder Sean Howard points to specific opportunities with serialised fiction podcasts.

• Podcast ad revenue for the New York Times rose by 30% in Q1 2020, COO Meredith Kopit Levien said during an earnings call. CEO Mark Thompson also noted that the number of subscribers is now at an all-time high of over six million. However, total advertising declined 15% for the company, and they’re expecting it to get worse before it gets better.

• Spotify has removed a COVID-19 podcast featuring an interview with conspiracy theorist and idiot David Icke, after he tried to claim that 5G was to blame for the coronavirus, which it isn’t, and then says he doubts the virus exists anyway, which it does. CNBC reports that Apple Podcasts has yet to remove the episode, however. Icke also believes that we’re ruled by shape-shifting reptilians, and that the universe is made from vibrational energy.

  • Spotify is testing video podcasts, says The Verge. The company says they test things all the time.

• Triton Digital have released their Latin America Podcast Report for the four weeks ending April 12. There’s a new #1, Radios Grupo Global’s O Assunto (“The Subject”), which has 694,720 average weekly downloads. The highest English-language podcast is Freakonomics Radio at #35. The service only measures podcasts from participating publishers.

• Media lawyer David Oxenford looked at music licensing for podcasts in a discussion for World Audio Day, from a US point of view. We’ve added it to our how to use commercial music in podcasts article.

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• Is the sun shining where you are? AdsWizz would like to make sure you hear the “sunny day” version of an ad, rather than the “rainy” version. The company has added dynamic creative optimisation capabilities to its audio advertising platform, allowing audio ad variations for listeners, based on their location, the time of day, weather, device type, gender, age and other data points.

• Audio saleshouse DAX has hired Les Hollander (Spotify, Pandora, CBS Radio) as Chief Growth Officer for the US and Canada.

• David Hooper’s marketing book for podcasters, Big Podcast, is currently free on Amazon for Kindle. Grab your copy for free today or tomorrow.

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Tips and tricks

• Tips for narrative podcasts by Cherie Turner (Podcast Movement)

• Fresh Air Production, a London podcast production studio, writes about producing audio in lockdown - and what to do with microphones.

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