Listening vs downloads over the past few weeks

• First look: Downloads are down; listening is down more. So says Chartable, which has just published how coronavirus is changing podcast listening. Unlike other download numbers that we’ve linked-to so far, Chartable also has access to Spotify and Apple Podcasts listening data, which it aggregates into its platform. “Listening has dropped off much more than downloads have. This is likely because many podcast apps, like Apple Podcasts, will continue downloading podcast episodes even if they are not actually played.” The number of reviews also dramatically dropped, as have downloads over cellular networks. There is a slow recovery on the way though.

• By way of balance: count yourself lucky you’re not trying to sell out-of-home advertising. OOH spend in China was down by 90% in January, but is now recovering. A drop of 20% or so in podcast consumption is perhaps almost nothing worth worrying about.

• Conversely, Morning Consult claims 18% of US adults are listening to podcasts more than they did before they started social distancing and self-isolating, according to a poll. (Here’s the full data - page 830).

• One way to grow your podcast is to give your audience a voice, says an article on Spotify for Podcasters, with a number of examples.

• Poddr is a free, open-source, podcast player for Windows, Mac or Linux. Steffen contacts us and says “after playing around with it for 10 minutes, it’s by far the best desktop podcast player I’ve recently tried.”

• We reported on Feb 24 that former US presidential candidate Andrew Yang was to launch a podcast. He’s signed with Cadence13: the podcast, Yang Speaks, will be released in May.

• Forbes Street Studios, a Sydney NSW-based podcast studio, has launched a remote podcasting recording service.

• Podcast host Fireside has added bulk episode editing, spam filtering of contact forms, and a new help system.

• The IAB has moved NewFronts, their publisher showcase event, optimistically to June 22nd.

  
  Aug 22 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• For brands, now is the time to say something, argue JAR Audio, saying that there’s never been a better time to podcast as a brand.

• We applaud The Guardian for their dark humour behind their podcast listicle subject this week. Yeah, rub it in.

Podcast News

RADIO·COM has released its ten most-listened-to podcasts, if you’re interested. The number one is Unlocking Us - and either the platform doesn’t carry Joe Rogan or the world’s gone wrong, because he doesn’t appear in the top ten at all.

Joe Biden’s own podcast Here’s The Deal is much loved by the Washington Post, but gets some critique from Marc Guberti - it could do better on SEO, it seems. It’s one of 16 podcasts called Here’s the Deal.

The artwork for Keep Away Corona looks like it’s been designed by a five year-old. It has, it turns out. The host is Albie, who’s five, and the subject of this TV news report.

Das Coronavirus-Update mit Christian Drosten is apparently Germany’s number one podcast, according to NPR, at least. It took three days from conception to production.

All Things Equal starts season three; the new season is about technology and human rights, with the first episode focusing on digital privacy.

Robin Ince (off The Infinite Monkey Cage) is hosting The Novel Game, a comedy quiz show developed with the late Nicholas Parsons. It’ll run for seven weeks.

In The Bubble with Andy Slavitt launches today - Slavitt is a US healthcare expert, and his podcast will interview “important guests and friends” about how they’re handling life in their respective bubbles and how to process the changes happening today and as well as those coming around the corner. Guests announced include Chelsea Clinton, Anthony Scaramucci and Tina Fey.

Listen Rinse Repeat is a collection of podcasts that last twenty seconds: perfect for washing your hands. “With a great variety of story snippets to choose from and a talented roster of voice actors bringing those stories to life, handwashing will become a certain pleasure in this time of uncertainty,” says the press release.

This is Love returns for season four, with six new stories about animals, including the family drama of rival wolfpacks, a dog who guides his owner out of a tragedy, a retired Central Park police horse, and tiny ice fish in Antarctica who save a woman’s life. This Is Love is created and produced by the team behind the podcast Criminal.