Spotify’s new video program “loses publishers money”

• How much can you earn by switching your podcast to Spotify’s new video podcast partner program? One company did - and actually lost nearly $1,000 in January after switching to Spotify video, Amanda McLoughlin posts on LinkedIn. To use video on Spotify, she explains, publishers need to agree for their RSS feed to be replaced by a Spotify-hosted video file (used even if listeners only consume the audio track): so one show lost more than half its revenue because it was unable to sell dynamic audio ads to Spotify listeners (ironically, though Spotify’s Audience Network). The Spotify Partner Program is “an untested program with secretive math”, concludes McLoughlin: “the risk just isn’t worth it”.

• Exclusive: The Podcast Show London has announced its partners for the show (including Podnews), and a first set of speakers. In the release, they also announce an initial set of sessions for the event. We’ll be there - code PODNEWS10 saves money on selected passes, so you can be there too!

• First look: Evergreen has launched EvergreenNOW!, a free ad-supported streaming television channel. The channel includes independent films, award-winning podcasts, and live sports, and is available on platforms including Apple, Android, Roku and more.

• What’s a “podcast” on YouTube? Whatever YouTube wants it to be, it turns out. This page on YouTube says: “Sometimes, YouTube may automatically classify a playlist as a podcast. If this is incorrect or if you don’t want the playlist to be set as a podcast…” One Podnews reader tells us that one way YouTube appears to set a show as a “podcast” is if the creator uses the word “podcast” in the title. (If this has happened to you, hit reply to let us know…)

• Auddia, which launched a podcast app that would strip all the ads out of shows without a publisher’s permission, is to present at SXSW in a session called “Podcast Apps Need to Step It Up”. It earnt no revenue at all in the first nine months of 2024 according to its own accounts, and warned in November that it was running out of money. The presentation will “outline how the company views the podcast industry’s financial landscape”.

• Congratulations to iHeart’s Spreaker, Voxnest and Triton Digital, as well as Audiorella, who all achieved IAB Podcast Measurement Guideline v2.2 compliance today. iHeart’s Omny Studio gained certification at the end of last month. That means that IAB certification is now up to date for all major participating podcast hosts. Spotify for Creators stopped participating in Apr 2024, though Spotify’s enterprise host Megaphone recertified in Aug 2024.

• In New Zealand, Dom Harvey has re-signed with Acast. The award-winning show, launched in 2022, has achieved 4.4mn downloads.

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Tips and tricks - with Pod Predictor by Coleman Insights

• Don’t go to conferences, says Steve Stewart. But he’s not really giving you the right advice there. Read on to find out why he thinks a conference is a good investment.

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This week on Oddly Specific, Meredith Lynch and Blakely Thornton unpack Kim Kardashian’s impact on criminal justice reform. From Keeping Up with the Kardashians to the Trump administration’s new “pardon czar,” this episode explores how celebrity advocacy can reshape perceptions of justice. Listen now for a fresh take on the powerful intersection of fame, privilege, and reform.