RØDE’s tiny component for microphones of the future

• RØDE made a number of announcements at the NAB Show. Sonaura, a tiny microphone technology component, will be part of upcoming new microphones from RØDE. New products announced (but coming soon) are squarely aimed at the video podcast world: RØDELink II, a new wireless microphone system; LPA1, a new low-profile studio arm (“for precision placement without visual obstruction”); DS3, a desktop studio arm; and PodMic Flag, a bespoke flag for the PodMic to put your podcast logo on. RØDECaster Studio will be an “edit like a Word doc”-type editor, with automatic um/er removal and AI editing. And RØDE Capture, a mobile phone recording app, will finally be available for Android phones.

• Podcast agency Caspian Studios made a number of layoffs - roughly half the workforce has been impacted. It was Caspian’s third layoff in three years.

• Headliner has announced it is to make its video podcasting tools free. The announcement coincides with Headliner’s eighth birthday.

• Bill Burr was named top-performing comedy podcast for advertisers in Oxford Road’s ORBIT rankings, for his host-read ads. So proud are Impressions.fm, which represents the show for advertising, that they’ve put his best ad-reads on a vinyl record, which they’re sending to ad-buyers and making available as a gift for people joining Vinyl Moon, a vinyl club.

• Apple Podcasts suffered some issues with recent shows and episodes not appearing in search results this week. It should now be resolved.

• MillionPodcasts comes out of beta and is open to everyone from today. It’s a searchable database of 2.8mn podcasts built for publicists, marketers and business owners looking for shows to pitch clients or themselves to. There’s a free tier for search; the company is based in Mumbai.

• Ari Shapiro has joined CNN as a contributor, and will co-present what the network calls a “video podcast” alongside Audie Cornish. The video podcast will, in fact, be audio-only on Spotify and Apple Podcasts - only available on video on YouTube and CNN’s streaming service.

• AI tools increasingly cite podcasters (one reason why you might want to ensure you have a decent website, with transcripts, as well as a podcast). The Podglomerate has run some tests to see the most cited “podcast leaders”. Clearly, we’ve got work to do!

The YouTube playbook brands aren't using (but creators are)

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What separates brands that win on YouTube from those that don’t? Creator-style thinking — and the platform knows it.

Join a free webinar on April 23rd with Chris Schremp, Managing Director of YouTube Content Partnerships & Partner Development, as he breaks down how brands can use creator-native content, audience signals, and platform distribution to drive real business results.

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Hosted by Riverside, the platform behind thousands of the world’s top podcasts and video shows.

Tips and tricks - with the Podnews Report Card

• It’s time to give your podcast a late spring-clean to avoid burnout and podfade, says Jason Cercone.
• What tools do we use to make Podnews? Peer into the technology that makes all this happen.

Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave: Those must-read books are great; but come with the drawback that you kind of have to, well, read them. In Zero to Well-Read, hosts Jeff O’Neal and Rebecca Schinsky tell you everything you need to know about a must-read book, including its plot, what it feels like to read, why it’s important, and the key takeaways you can use at your next dinner party.

Prof G Markets has announced a national tour. Kicking off on Wednesday, May 27th in San Francisco, with additional stops in Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, and New York City, Galloway and Elson will bring their sharp market insights–and special guests–to live audiences across the country.

Showing Up With Andy Grammer is new this week, in partnership with Companion. It’s a weekly longform series where Andy has honest conversations about what it means to show up, then writes and performs a bespoke song honoring a listener-nominated person live on set.

Being Human with Leana Deeb launched this week. She’s 24, a TIME 100 Creator, and has eighteen million followers; her new show is built around the questions Leana’s community keeps asking — not about fitness or aesthetics, but about who they are, what they believe, and how to keep showing up when life gets hard. The show is in partnership with Pursuit Network.