Help score the podcast platforms

• The Podnews Report Card would like to capture your thoughts on the big podcast platforms. It’s our third year of compiling this data, which we anonymise and feed back to Apple, YouTube, Spotify and Amazon - and we’re keen to know what’s changed. Please take part today; we’ll reveal the results at Evolutions by Podcast Movement in March.

  • The full speaker schedule is live for Evolutions, too. (Tickets here).

• Podcastle, an AI content creation platform, has closed a $13.5mn funding round. Earlier this week, AI tool Wondercraft raised $3mn - co-founder Oskar Serrander is interviewed today in the Podnews Weekly Review.

• Dehumanizing, cruel, and wrong - The Pineapple Street Union has responded to the announcement of layoffs at Audacy-owned Pineapple Street Studios.

• Megaphone is rolling out new reporting tools, tabs and filters; and more charts are planned. They’re rolling out now.

• Spanish-language podcast producer Prisa Audio has published its report for 2023. Revenues grew 61% year-on-year; it saw an increase in downloads of 9.7% to reach 616mn downloads in the year.

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• 98% of global marketers for direct-to-consumer brands say that podcast advertising is effective, says new research from Acast which was released yesterday. The data also says that almost half of all podcast listeners say they rarely will buy a new product without an endorsement from someone they trust.

• Libsyn’s Advertisecast released January’s podcast advertising market rates. The average CPM rate was $21.69 for a 60-second ad spot - that’s down from December’s $22.91, and from January 2023’s $22.21.

• Podcasters got 45% more pitches from PR firms in 2023 than a year ago, according to new research. We’re responding less, though, according to The Propel Media Barometer, which also says that journalists only bother responding to 3.15% of the pitches they receive. We feel a bit better now.

• iOS 17’s changes to Apple Podcasts are analysed by Livewire, with January data. A drop in apparent downloads between 9-11% for “Apple-heavy” shows appears to now be a relatively constant number. Buzzsprout reports a slight drop in apparent Apple Podcasts downloads in January.

Sorry. Yesterday we mentioned a new podcast from Manifest Media. The launch episode featured a high-profile guest who has, we now discover, been the subject of multiple accusations of sexual assault in the last few weeks. To have launched with this guest seems surprisingly dumb; and we’re disappointed at Manifest Media and their PR agency The Right Now for knowingly getting us to promote it. We’ve removed the show.

Tips and tricks - with Podpage

• Everything You Need as a New Podcaster (RedCircle) is a good index page of articles from the podcast host

• Buzzsprout has updated its guide on how to upload a podcast to YouTube.

Moves and hires

• Andrew Goldsmith has been promoted to CEO at Adelicious. The company has grown more than 300% over the past year.
  • He was interviewed by the Podcast Business Journal in December.

Podcast News

MoneyWise is a new podcast series from Sam Parr and branded podcast company Lower Street, with a twist - it isn’t a new podcast series. They’ve only made one episode, and they’re asking their audience whether to produce more. Each week, Sam would be joined by high-net-worth guests to explore exclusive insights into personal finance and lifestyle tailored for other high-net-worth people.

HEMOPHOBIA is an independent horror fiction podcast, featuring voices from across the spectrum of audio fiction, from Broadway actors like Graham Rowat, to horror podcast veterans like Kayla Temshiv. Each season tells a separate long-form horror tale, a story that doesn’t just chill your bones and give you a sleepless night - we’re told it will shake the very foundations of your soul.

All Facts No Brakes is new this week at FOX Sports - featuring the former NFL star Keyshawn Johnson. He delivers an unfiltered and engaging perspective on the latest in sports, entertainment and culture - it’s a spinoff from the hit daily show UNDISPUTED.

FONDS launches tomorrow - the stories of Govanhill, Scotland’s most multi-cultural neighbourhood, told through the lens of the most cherished objects of some of the residents. A glass fish, a box of spells, a wooden boat, a sticking plaster, and a teddy bear - from Pakistan to Syria, Turkey to Hong Kong the objects featured represent stories of migration, transformation, love, and resilience.