A new CEO for Libsyn

A new CEO for Libsyn: find more in our “Moves and hires” section, below.

• Podcast ad monetisation company Audioboom issued a profit warning. “the Company expects the revenue and adjusted EBITDA for the current financial year to be lower than previously anticipated”, it said, adding: “The Company has adjusted the approach taken to calculating its minimum guarantee offers for podcast partners”. Shares fell over 27%.

• The average monthly audience for individual shows in 2023 is half of what it was in 2019 - and downloads are down, says Eric Nuzum, quoting Podtrac data. He suggests that publishers are pulling back on new shows: and it’s new shows that drive more downloads.

• Former head of Spotify’s Parcast, Max Cutler, spoke to Foundr magazine about what’s next in podcasting. He appears to gently criticise Spotify; suggesting that it’s a mistake to go after Hollywood talent, and discussing the slowness of decisions at the company. Shows that are “resourceful” rather than entertaining are what’s next, he suggests.

• Entries open today for the 2023 International Women’s Podcast Awards. You’ve until mid-September to enter; the awards will be held in London on Nov 6.

• PodcastGuide, the community search engine for podcasters, has added an “Amplify” feature - it lets fans show their support for a podcast episode, and help it be promoted more within the service. Here’s our last episode, with a big “Amplify This!” button.

• Blankit Media, a Black-owned multimedia company, is entering podcasting. It promises “unfiltered conversations”.

• PlayPilot, a search engine for TV and film, has added podcasts. Here we are.

• The Earbuds Podcast Collective is all about food review podcasts this week - five episodes, hand-picked by Daniel Zafran.

Thank you to The Optimal Life with Nate Haber for becoming our latest supporter. Nate is an entrepreneur, attorney and self-improvement expert; the podcast contains inspirational conversations with extraordinary people. His support, like our other supporters, helps our independent journalism: you, too, can support us here.

Moves and hires

• John W Gibbons has been appointed interim CEO for podcast hosting and monetisation company Libsyn. He’s been with the company since January 2022, and was previously CEO of Pocket Casts. He takes over from Bradley Tirpak, who will continue to advise the company (and owns an amount of the company’s private stock).

• Oliver Newton has been hired by SCA as Executive Head - LiSTNR Commercial. He joins from Amazon, where he was AdTech Sales Director.

The Tech Stuff

• New statistics for value-for-value seem to show that while the amount of sats being given to podcasters is growing, the number of people using it has fallen over the past three months.

• Similar trend graphs are also available for the podcast namespace, showing significant growth in use of transcripts and chapters.

• Podcast trend data captured by our sister publication the Podcast Business Journal appears to show that the number of podcasts being actively updated are declining, with the total number of updated podcasts falling by over 3% in the last three months.

• In the Podcasting 2.0 podcast, there are discussions on search, and a method of using value4value for conference speeches.

Tips and tricks

• Podcast Marketing Magic explains “how to actually use Chartable for podcast promos”.

Podcast News

The Secret World of Slimming Clubs has signed with Audio Always. It was with Audioboom. The body-positive show is a safe space for people who know the struggles of having to weigh-in every week, but can’t resist a trip to the chippy on the way home.

The Bee’s Knees has just published its tenth episode, which talks about native, wild bees. In the dialogue surrounding the plight of bees, these are the species often left out of the conversation. But their importance as pollinators can’t be underestimated: and we should be concerned about the environment and sustainability, says the host Jacy Meyer. An indie podcast, “recorded in a small room in Prague in Czechia”, we’ll learn more about this quirky insect, how to support them, and the hive of interesting people, programs, and events buzzing around them.

Cat/Person is a brand new sitcom written by Chris Heath. Matthew is sentimental, messy and lonely. Hobson is hungry and is insisting on a treat. We overhear a selection of conversations between human and cat.

How She Does It is new from HerMoney and Airwave today. Hosted by CNBC personality and longtime Wall Street investor Karen Finerman, the show will dive into all things women, money and power with the world’s most talented women leaders.