Another app promises to cut out the ads

• In January, we reported on PodcastAdBlock, a podcast tool that removed ads from podcasts, selling ad-free copies of shows. It was written by developer, “adventurer and entrepreneur” Ben Bowler, who, by May, had pulled the tool down. Today, we discover, he’s back - with Podtastic, a podcast app that skips the ads for $2.99 a month (none of which goes back to the creators, but up to 30% of that money will go to Apple or Google in app store fees).

  • This app works a little differently. In our tests, the app downloads the MP3 files directly to the phone each time, and looks in our logs like a web browser (specifically, Safari v604.1), so it’s going to be hard to block without blocking every web browser out there. It correctly skipped past our sponsor’s ad-read in our daily podcast: but in the description, it’s very careful not to suggest that it skips ads at all - just that it can “automatically skip past the interruptions other listeners skip”, and it carefully doesn’t mention any podcasts by name. We’re curious whether this app is within Apple’s App Store terms. It’s produced by Freewheel Group Ltd.
  • What does it mean for your podcast? It won’t change your download numbers (they’ll appear under “web browser”): it just means that the advertising will be less effective, and that advertisers will be less likely to rebook.

• First look: PAVE Studios has signed a further roster of creators who are joining the studio, including true crime creators, journalists and podcast hosts. "Creators join PAVE because we invest in them the way studios once invested in stars, with development resources, cross-format opportunities, and a team obsessed with growing their audience alongside them,” said PAVE Studios Founder and Chief Executive Max Cutler.

• Only a couple of weeks ago, Mike Pesca announced he was to stop hosting his popular podcast The Gist (which had just hit 3,000 episodes). Today, Bari Weiss has announced that he has signed with CBS News as Editorial Director of Podcasts.

• The Festival del Podcasting is to return to Milan, Italy, for its tenth year. The event is made up by two separate days: one for the industry, then one for the creators, including the Pod24 Award.

• Why should you be using podcast chapters? There are lots of good reasons for you to be authoring podcast chapters for your shows, says Daniel J Lewis - and shows us how to do it.

• CastScribe is a new AI-powered tool that produces everything from captions, transcripts, articles, show notes and more. The tool has a free trial, and has integration with WordPress.

• Triton Digital released the Australian Podcast Ranker for June. No change with the top three shows; with the latest series of the ABC’s Unravel driving a jump of 39 places to #7. News podcasts are the most-listened to shows.

• Publish your podcast on WordPress? Is your audio really loud enough? Are there any big gaps you’ve forgotten to edit out? AudioLinter is a WordPress plugin that can check and repair your audio right within WordPress before you publish.

People news

• Matthew Nelson has joined Signal Co. N°1 as Head of Production. The award-winning producer has worked for Gimlet Media, Wondery, The Boston Globe and the US Soccer Federation.

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IAB Podcast Measurement Guidelines v2.3

Released yesterday for public comment, the IAB Podcast Measurement Guidelines v2.3 document is keen to point out that delivery via HLS (as used by Apple Podcasts when you have video enabled) is still a form of progressive download, and is therefore covered by the guidelines.

The new document has an expanded section, 5.2, which highlights detail about prefix measurements, noting that there are a number of steps in prefix measurement and “each step holds the potential for recording slightly different details”.

It also highlights (in a new section 5.3) that when you change the audio URL, that can prompt a re-download on some platforms. (That’s most notable with Spotify, which will always redownload a show, even if it’s been listened-to already and is just in the user’s temporary cache).

An expanded section, 5.5.1, clarifies the options for measurement windows, acknowledging that the previous v2.2-and-earlier documentation was open to interpretation.

Section 5.6 suggests that, typically, different certified companies can produce numbers that are around 5% different, because of different access points and methodology.

Tomorrow, the AMP task force release their document, which aims to measure consumption, rather than downloads. We’ll have all the details on Friday.

Tips and tricks - with Podcast Movement NYC

• The votes are in for the Podcast Movement NYC sessions; now it’s the turn of the committee to choose the rest of the speakers.
• Tomorrow, the release of the AMP Accords, which will highlight what a podcast is, and a focus for what advertisers really want to know from listeners to help propel this business forward. Speaking last year at Podcast Movement Dallas, Oxford Road’s Dan Granger discussed the latest findings in their landmark study: What Brands Want.
• Want to take a break from podcasting? It’s just fine to do that; Headliner shares best practice of what to do to take a break and come back stronger.

Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave: Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history; in 2018, host Liz Covart became a personal supporter of Podnews and she’s still one today. Thank you, Liz!

Tilibou is a bedtime-stories podcast for ages 2-5 that runs the exact same show, natively, in 6 languages (French, English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian), same characters, same “no music at the end, so the falling-asleep child isn’t woken” format, made for bilingual families. We link to the English version here; it’s free, ad-free and GDPR-clean.

The Bald and the Beautiful with Trixie and Katya has signed with SiriusXM. Hosted by two of the world’s most recognizable drag entertainers, the show has earned nearly 100 million lifetime downloads on RSS. It was previously with Confetti Cannon.

Birth of a Parent is new today from the Van Leer Foundation, exploring one of the least studied stages of human development: parenthood itself. The series brings together internationally renowned scientists, writers and public intellectuals to examine how caring for a child fundamentally reshapes the adult brain, body, identity and relationships.

The BBC’s Intrigue podcast is back for a new season, this time looking at one of the world’s longest-running conspiracies: the bombing of a plane over Lockerbie, Scotland. Almost four decades on, there’s fresh evidence and a new trial.

The Oprah Podcast returns for a new season today, featuring bestselling author Allen Levi, with special appearances from country singer-songwriter Walker Hayes, record producer Claude Kelly, and designer and TV host Tamara Day.

A young woman is starving to death. Some doctors say she needs life-saving surgery; others say the diagnosis doesn’t exist. All In Her Head is a seven-part investigative podcast from RNZ’s award-winning journalist Anusha Bradley about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), and explores the grey area where medicine, belief and evidence collide.

Framed by Fables explores the surprising gap between the creatures we imagine and their reality. Hosted by comedian and actor Helen Hong, Framed by Fables pairs a noted animal expert with a special guest to unpack how animal reputations emerged, what science reveals, and what happens when we dare to imagine animals differently. In Framed by Fables this week, you’ll hear Melissa Ponzio, star of Teen Wolf, share her own real-life wolf encounter. This is where comedy meets zoology.