Google Podcasts hits new installation milestone

• Google Podcasts has hit 100m installations on Android. Since November it has doubled installations, added support for subscribing by RSS feed, and is the #3 podcast app according to Libsyn and Buzzsprout. It’s due to launch personalised episode recommendations at some stage this week. Surprisingly, it is not a standard install on new Android phones.

  • Podcast Addict and Castbox are the platform’s other big apps, according to our analysis, above.

• Amazon Podcasts has just launched to more than 1.5bn potential listeners in France, Italy, Spain and India. Here’s how to get listed.

• RØDE has released RØDE Connect, recording software that allows you to connect up to four NT-USB Mini microphones to the same computer.

• Poductivity, a privacy-friendly method of offering interaction and engagement for podcasts, has launched an early alpha with The Gerry Anderson Podcast, which includes interactive elements. Mark Asquith, CEO of Rebel Base Media, tweets about Poductivity’s journey so far. (Podnews’s Editor, James Cridland, is an advisor).

• In Canada, broadcaster and audio producer Stingray has signed with Triton Digital’s Omny Studio.

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• The Infinite Dial® 2021 Australia will be announced on April 28 (Apr 27 in the US).

• AudioUK, the trade body for podcast, radio and audiobook production companies in the UK, has launched a support service for legal and business affairs for its members.

• Racket is a new service in pre-launch that promises “easy short-form podcasting”. You can reserve your username now.

• Conan O’Brien Needs A Fan, a new show from Earwolf and Team Coco, launches tomorrow according to Deadline. Interestingly, perhaps, the show is not, yet, in Apple Podcasts.

• In Australia, Audiocraft are running a workshop series designed to strengthen your podcast idea, give you the skills you need to make it, and help you find your audience. The events are online, or in-person in Sydney NSW.

• Interesting thing about the Spotlight feature in Apple Podcasts, launched in January: part of the support for selected shows includes Apple negotiating promo swaps.

Thank you to Germany’s Julep for joining us as a supporter. The company connects podcasters with advertisers - simplifying the process for advertisers and increasing reach and monetisation for podcasters. They’re the latest to help us and our independent journalism by supporting us on Patreon.

• A programming note: on social media, we’ve promised a deep-dive into Buzzsprout’s data about Spotify beating Apple for downloads in March. Our article is in for comment with Libsyn, who publicly say the figures are very different; we’re looking forward to hearing from them.

Tips and tricks - with Podcast Day 24

• How to set up a great podcast studio includes that picture of Ira Glass in bare feet and a suit, in his closet.

• How much should you charge for sponsorship? - Gilon Marts from Buzzsprout talks about how pricing works, how to set your pricing and Alban Brooke interviews Agnes Kozera from Audacy’s Podcorn.

Podcast News

Queens of the Drone Age, a weekly tech news show, has signed with ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network Australia.

Mija, a multilingual podcast celebrating Egyptian Muslim culture, is launching season 3 today during Ramadan. The podcast is available in three versions, in English, Spanish and Arabic.

Business Wars is now a book. The Art of Business Wars, written by host David Brown, examines why some companies triumph while others crumble. (Affiliate link). Its newest season is called Vaccine Wars, following the drug industry’s unprecedented race to deliver a vaccine for the pandemic.
This link is no longer available, as at Sep 2 2023

Wonkybot Insider is a bi-monthly look behind the scenes of a kids and family production company, California’s Wonkybot.

The first Arabic daily tech news podcast has been launched. Akhbar el Tech, from Kerning Cultures Network and Digital Digest, will publish daily Sunday to Thursday. It’ll be hosted by Digital Digest’s Farah Nakouzi.

Real, and not at all spoof, true crime podcast Cold Case Crime Cuts asks who killed the radio star. Should we put the blame on the VTR?