Spotify shows off 10% more users in Q1/25 financials

• Spotify released its Q1/25 financial update. Making more than US$1.4bn profit in the quarter, the company saw a year-on-year growth of 10% monthly-active users to 678 million; 12% growth in premium subscribers (268 million), and 15% growth in total revenue (US $4.7bn). In the prepared comments to investors, Daniel Ek raised concerns about increased economic uncertainty in the world; and bragged that the company can now add new features to their apps six times faster.

  • Investor Chris Peterson suggests that the results show “podcasts are leading the creator economy.”
  • Don’t know whether to read anything into this, but the Spotify Earnings Call Replay podcast has yet to be updated.

• Wondery has signed a first-look deal with Lindsay Graham and his company Airship. It’s the first time Wondery has done a first-look deal directly with talent. The two collaborate on American History Tellers and American Scandal.

• Goalhanger is celebrating hitting one billion streams of its content. The company says it’s the biggest independent podcast producer outside the US.

• Players of EA Sports FC will now be able to listen to podcasts and music from Spotify while they play. The pilot is testing in Australia and Saudi Arabia. The complication of music licensing is such that the press release notes “certain music is not currently available in this experience”.

• CNN’s Christiane Amanpour is making her way to podcasting via the UK’s Global, the owner of a number of commercial radio stations in the UK and the popular News Agents podcast.

  • Meanwhile, CNN launches The Account from CNN today, a “new home for powerful, narrative-driven audio storytelling”.

• The Gilded Audio podcast SNAFU with Ed Helms is now a book, as of today. SNAFU: The Definitive Guide is available wherever you get your… books. The team say: “Think of it like a podcast, but without sound. In fact, it’s mostly text, with a few images, and you can hold it in your hands while you settle into the couch.“

• Veritonic has enhanced its creative measurement solution, adding enhancements for collaboration and streamlined setup.

• The last day to enter JAR Audio’s Emerging Women in Podcasting Pilot Competition is May 1.

• iHeartMedia, iHeartRadio and iHeartPodcasts have slightly new logos, with a new typeface. (The way to tell is to look at the “i” of “iHeart” - the old version has a curved top, while the new version is square). The company has updated its “listen to this podcast on iHeartRadio” buttons.

Mushroom news

Back in 2023, Erin Patterson went out to collect mushrooms from the forest, and fed them to relatives in a meal. The only thing was: some of the mushrooms were death cap mushrooms; her lunch guests fell ill, and three died. “A tragedy, and a terrible accident,” said her lawyer in the first day of her trial in Australia today; she faces three murder charges and an attempted murder charge, which she denies. The case continues.

Sounds like a good idea for a podcast? Yes; quite a few people have had that idea.

• From News Corp Australia, the country’s largest newspaper publisher, The Mushroom Cook is covering the trial using the newspaper’s journalists.
• The Mushroom Trial: Say Grace is from Nine Networks, co-hosted by Nine reporter Penelope Liersch and The Age Crime & Justice Reporter Erin Pearson.
• The Trial of Erin Patterson is from the Daily Mail, as part of The Crime Desk. The Mail isn’t published in print in Australia, but has a successful website.
• Mushroom Case Daily is from the public service broadcaster the ABC, presented by Kristian Silva.
• The Mushroom Murder Trial appears to be an independent podcast, from a company called Bolton St.

Tips and tricks - with Memberful

• What are simple tricks you can use to make your podcast even better? The Sound Off Podcast this week has Valerie Geller as guest, the author of Beyond Powerful Radio - and every minute of the podcast contains tips on how to improve your show. Tell the truth, make it matter, and never be boring - as Valerie will tell you, there are no boring stories: only boring storytellers.

• Riverside’s Stephen Robles asked people at Evolutions in Chicago for tips on how to grow your audience. Expect expert podcasting tips from Alban Brooke of Buzzsprout, Nathan gathright from Episodes.fm, Mathew Passy from Libsyn, and our Editor, James Cridland.

Podcast News - with New Podcasts

In In & Around Podcasting this week, Danny Brown is joined by Podnews’s Editor, James Cridland, to talk about the Podnews Report Card and Edison Research’s Infinite Dial. And we get the flattering ram out.

In Unstoppable Ultra Runner, you’ll learn how to train your mind like you train your body. Coach and veteran ultrarunner Susan Donnelly shares real-world mental strategies to help you stay strong when races get tough — so you can outlast fear, silence self-doubt, and finish what you started.

In the new episode of Mics to Millions Sam welcomes back Podnews’s editor, James Cridland, to discuss his efficient, sustainable approach to producing Podnews, with a focus on workflow, automation, creativity, and monetization. Apparently, he “emphasizes building a system that supports long-term consistency without burnout by automating repetitive tasks and aligning work with natural energy patterns.”

In Season Two of her true crime series, The God Hook, journalist Carol Costello investigates the complex case of the Ohio Craigslist Killings — and unearths the untold story of the crimes that preceded the murders, and the victims who’ve never received justice. The show includes previously unknown details of Richard Beasley’s alleged crimes, and how he used The God Hook to lure his victims and bend them to his will.