Pandora to add podcasts for its 76m US users

• Pandora, a US music service, has announced the launch of its podcast offering, powered by what it calls the Podcast Genome Project. There are screenshots at Engadget (and other publications). You can sign up for early access here.

  
  This link is no longer available, as at Aug 7 2023

  “The Podcast Genome Project recommends the right podcasts to the right listeners at the right time, solving the questions, “is there a podcast that’s right for me?” and “what should I listen to next?” It evaluates content based on more than 1,500 attributes – spanning MPAA ratings, timely and evergreen topics, production style, content type, host profile, etc – and listener signals including thumbs, skips and replays.” … At launch, Pandora has partnered with top-tier publishers including APM, Gimlet, HeadGum, Libsyn, Maximum Fun, NPR, Parcast, PRX+PRI, reVolver, Slate, The New York Times, The Ramsey Network, The Ringer, WNYC Studios, and Wondery.

• Pandora is only available within the US, and has about 76 million users. Spotify, which also offers podcasts, has 56 million users within the US, and 180 million users worldwide.

• Libsyn appear to be the only host available to independent podcasters that is included in Pandora’s launch offering. Libsyn calls this an “exclusive” partnership, and has announced that Libsyn customers should email their VP of Podcast Relations Rob Walch - rob@libsyn.com - if you want your show to be listed on Pandora. Speaking on a special episode of the company’s podcast, Walch said that initially there are 420 shows from Libsyn available in Pandora, and that this “is a really good day for podcasting”.

• Opinion - Pandora’s a big deal for the US, but is not available anywhere else. A geo-locked service which only lists podcasts from a limited list of publishers appears underwhelming at first glance; but this may open many new listeners to podcasting in the US, and act as a gateway to help grow the industry.

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• Remote audio service Cleanfeed has added multitrack recording, allowing you to download individual tracks for each person in your podcast. It’s free to everyone while it’s in beta.

• Spotify Connect smart speaker devices will now work for free users, the company has announced. It’s a popular podcast app.

• iHeartRadio’s podcast awards already have a winner: NPR is to be honoured with the Podcast Pioneer Award. The largest podcast publisher in the world, NPR has been officially podcasting since August 2005. (And talking of podcasting history: no, Adam Curry wasn’t first. Here’s some alternative podcasting history from the RadioSurvivor website).

• Job: Magellan is looking for an Account Executive in New York NY, USA. “A greenfield opportunity to join the 4-person team that’s leading the podcast space in competitive intelligence and verification (airchecks) for brands, publishers and agencies.”

• Advertising in podcasting isn’t working, says branded content producer BE Media Production, pointing to statistics which appear to show that most listeners skip the advertisements.

• Steven Goldstein wonders whether the SNL skit about podcasting actually set the industry back.

  
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