Sweden is #1 for podcasting

• Research company Statistia has published a map of where podcasts are most popular. Sweden, Ireland and Brazil are the top three countries; with the US on par with the UK, Canada, Australia and others.

• First look: PodcastSOP is being launched tomorrow - a tool to manage the workflow of each new episode release for your podcast, and make it easier to keep on top of shows. “I found that one of the primary reasons that (podcasters) stopped podcasting was due to stress caused from a lack of organization and systems, and that’s precisely what PodcastSOP helps with,” says founder Alex Sanfilippo.

• The New York Times covers a strange tale about Ozy Media, and an impersonation of a YouTube executive in a call with an investment bank. The company produces podcasts with iHeartMedia.

• A company called DDEX, which describes itself as an “international standards-setting organization dedicated to improving the exchange of data and information across the music industry”, will hold an open meeting tomorrow to discuss proposed requirements for description and communication of music metadata in podcasts.

• Hub & Spoke, a non-profit podcast collective, has secured a donation of $100,000. The collective will hire a development manager with the funding.

  
  Sep 7 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.
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• In Australia, the ABC has temporarily removed some episodes of Unravel: Juanita, “in light of new information that casts serious doubt on some of the claims made by interviewee John Innes.”

• Ricky Gervais has released another series of Absolutely Mental. The new season costs $15.

• Listening Dog Media and Podcast Radio have partnered to broadcast shows from the podcast network. From 7pm tonight, the station will broadcast One Decision, from the former head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, and Emmy-winning veteran journalist Michelle Kosinski - formerly CNN’s White House Correspondent.

• MacRumors says there’s a new 1.25x playback speed control in Apple Podcasts in iOS 15; and the iPad version has a set of keyboard shortcuts. The comments are not pretty. Meanwhile, “I think this terrible app is one of the worst things Apple makes” is the verdict of tech website BGR.

The Tech Stuff - with RSS․com

• Twitter has launched crypto tipping using the lightning network: the same tool used by Podcasting 2.0 value4value apps. The tool uses the Strike API. It’s “rolling out” on iOS, but Strike itself - marketed as “money without borders” - is only available in the US and El Salvador.

• Samsung has updated their RSS specifications. The specification, now at v2.0, includes a small list of supported categories: subcategories will not be used.

• Podcast hosting company RSS․com is now supporting the podcast:funding tag. This tag lets podcasters add a link to support the show financially, which appears in apps like Podcast Addict, Podverse, PodcastGuru, PodLP and many more (and our podcast directory too).

• Benjamin Bellamy spoke about the podcast:location tag at the Netherlands Podcast Festival 2021. Here are his slides, containing at least one Photoshop of Podnews’s Editor.

Tips and tricks

• Here, from the UK broadcast regulator Ofcom, is research into swearwords - sorted into “mild”, “moderate”, and “strong” - and whether everyone knows what they mean. Caution: this list contains almost every swearword available. (This might be helpful, at the very least, to work out whether that podcast is deserving of the 'explicit’ tag - though if you’re reading this list to find out, the answer’s probably “yes”.)

Podcast News

Jackie Gillies, a businesswoman and cast member of Real Housewifes of Melbourne launches Shine It Up today - offering inspiration and motivation to live your best life.

New from the Wonder Media Network, As She Rises brings together poems from artists throughout the US and territories that depict the effects of climate change on their home and their people.

Foundation: The Official Podcast is an accompaniment podcast for AppleTV+'s Foundation original show. It was launched on Friday, and is produced by Audacy’s Pineapple Street Studios.

Who, When, Wow! launches today - the first Tinkercast show to launch with Wondery since their partnership was announced last month. Hosted by Rebecca Shier, the show is initially released within the Wondery+ app, and is a peek into the lives of unsung humans.

The Pod Broads, a podcast about women in podcasting, launched its second series last week. Nichole Perkins was the first guest; the season will also include Misha Euceph, Noor Tagouri, and Avery Trufelman. It’s hosted by Alexandra Cohl.