PodX Group acquires Lemonada; Spotify launch “plays”

• PodX Group is to acquire Lemonada Media. The Swedish company already owns a number of podcast production houses across the world; it’s their first acquisition in the US. No terms were given.

  • Last month, PodX merged its three UK companies.

• Spotify announced that it is to add a “play” count, visible within the app, for all podcasts. “Plays will capture engagement across audio and video content on Spotify”, the company says, also pointing to a blog post for creators.

  • But, what exactly are plays? “Plays are a new metric that reflects the number of times people have actively watched or listened to any episode in your catalog,” the Spotify for Creators page says - but gives no detail of how this is calculated. Podnews asked Spotify for the definition of a “play”: it’s a measure of “intentional engagement”, we were told, but were sent no further clarification on how it is calculated (even when we asked again). Consumption will now be confusingly displayed to creators in “streams”, “downloads” and “plays”, but without a definition of what a “play” is, it seems an opaque and self-serving number, and is disappointing.
  • Consumption hours and consumption hours by user will also now be available.

• The Canadian Podcast Listener, a survey of podcast consumption in Canada, will contain enhanced video podcast metrics when it is released later this year. The research will break out actual audio and video consumption among genres, top podcasts, and among all podcast consumers.

• Spotify and IAS launched the platform’s first third-party brand safety and suitability tool. For podcast advertisers across the Spotify Audience Network, the joint solution provides classification at the podcast episode level for brand safety and suitability measurement.

• In Germany, Wondery has done its first podcast distribution and monetisation deal. Two podcasts have joined the network - Zum Scheitern Verurteilt, a weekly show with Laura Larsson and Simon Dömer; and the sports show 50+2 - Der Fussballpodcast mit Nico & Niklas.

• In the UK, a surprising announcement - Christiane Amanpour’s first podcast with Global will be co-presented with her former husband, former US diplomat Jamie Rubin.

• Fountain v1.2 has been released, bringing a new design for library and content pages, a rebuilt audio engine, and a way to get summaries for shows.

• PodSummit YYC in Calgary AB, Canada, has announced a featured speaker - our Editor. The event is in mid September, you’ll be able to buy passes soon.

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• How loud is your podcast? Too quiet - too loud - or just right? We’ve an article to help.

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