Spotify launches audiobooks

• Spotify has launched audiobooks (in the US only). Audiobooks are an extra cost; and you’ll be taken to a website to purchase.

  • Spotify’s Nir Zicherman calls it an epic shift in a personal blog post. Former Spotify exec Michael Mignano calls it a big deal for creators in a Twitter thread, comparing it to Audible’s “effective monopoly” and flat-rate pricing model.

• First look: Podcast hosting company Captivate has just announced v2 of their dynamic content and monetisation engine AMIE. The tool includes new slot management, interface upgrades and tagging to allow podcasters to manage dynamic content quickly and at scale.

• Students in a school in Denver CO, USA have taken the school district to court for trademarking their podcast’s name. The school district appears to have applied for Know Justice, Know Peace: The Take as a registered trademark for an educational podcast and a logo for t-shirts, bags and umbrellas. The district is also accused of taking over the podcast’s social media accounts.

• Spotify’s The Ringer has added local sports podcasts, focusing on some of the biggest sports markets in the country: Boston, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia. Off the Pike with Brian Barrett, The Full Go with Jason Goff, New York, New York with John Jastremski and The Ringer’s Philly Special are all now available.

• The Democracy Group has announced a student podcast fellowship, designed to help high school and college students make their voices heard on topics in democracy.

• Podcast hosting company RSS Blue has added support for Alby and Fountain digital wallets for podcasting 2.0's value 4 value.

• Do you want a PhD in podcasting and audio journalism? Do you like rain? You can bring those two joys in your life together at the University of Tasmania in Australia. The highlight that full scholarships are available; applications close Oct 10. (Note: since it’s Australia, rain may be substituted with bushfires)

Moves and hires

• Two promotions at Radiotopia from PRX: Audrey Mardavich has been appointed Executive Producer, and Yooree Losordo appointed Director of Network Operations.

Podcast News - with Lemonada Media

From Lemonada Media: Add to Cart is hosted by Kulap Vilaysack and SuChin Pak. From beauty products and health trends to celebrities and philosophies, they dig into anything we buy into and what it says about who we are.

Serial released a new episode of its podcast, following the release of Adnan Syed from prison. The podcast doesn’t take credit for the release; instead it notes the work of Rabia Chaudry and other campaigners, and puts the case in a wider context of US justice. The episode also replaced The Daily.

Who Wears the Pants is new from Audioboom, featuring 'social media superstars’ Josh and Abbie Herbert. The show looks at what happens when Abbie Herbert, an international fashion model, and Josh Herbert, a touring musician, settle down in the suburbs and experience life after marriage and having a baby.

Demand for skilled workers remains at an all-time high despite a topsy-turvy economy. Hire Learning is new, talking with hiring managers at leading companies, helping listeners better understand what decision makers are thinking when it comes to hiring people. It’s produced for MSH, a global technology and talent solutions provider.

Walks Of Life premiered yesterday from SomeFriend, SALT and Yahoo!'s In The Know. The show is an anonymous audio time capsule where every episode brings you inside the mind of one Gen Zer while they take a walk in their neighborhood. No script, no interviewer, no filter.

This is History: A Dynasty to Die For is new from Sony Music Entertainment. Hosted by bestselling author and historian Dan Jones, it explores the story of the most dysfunctional royal family of the Middle Ages - The Plantagenets – and examines how power, greed, religion and sex fueled their lives with turmoil.

Drinks Adventures is back for a fourteenth season, with none other than Dan Aykroyd, vodka advocate and entertainer. Dan is on the show primarily to talk about vodka, specifically Crystal Head Vodka, the brand he founded in 2008. We also get an update on his business interests in Canadian wine, and the challenges of launching the new Ghostbusters film during the pandemic.

A bite-sized podcast for kids and their adults that explains what’s going on in the world, The Ten News has started season three with a new logo, new format, and new co-hosts. This season started with a back-to-school special and a helpful explainer of the terms used during Hispanic Heritage Month.