Spotify is now #1 for downloads

• For the first time, Spotify is now the most popular podcast platform by downloads, according to Buzzsprout’s global download statistics. Spotify slipped in front of Apple Podcasts for the first time, across Buzzsprout’s 124,000 active shows in April.

  • But isn’t Spotify #1 anyway? Yes, but for listeners, not for downloads: until now, at least. It’s a notable achievement for Spotify, since Apple Podcasts also auto-downloads by default; Spotify doesn’t. (However, unlike Apple TV and Apple Music, Apple Podcasts is not available on Android.)

• We have a date: Google Podcasts is to close, globally, on June 23 (according to an email sent to a UK user). July 29 is the end date for users to export subscriptions.

  • The closure leaves the Android platform without a natural default podcast app (we recommend either Antennapod or Pocket Casts). Apple Podcasts isn’t available on Android.

• Apple Podcasts Connect will be down for scheduled maintenance on May 11, from 6.00am PT for up to two hours.

  • We know what we’d be hoping Apple is doing in that downtime (see above), but the realistic answer is probably nothing more interesting than a man with a beard doing a database migration.

• Libsyn Ads reports a slight drop in average podcast CPM to $21.75 last month, down 0.9% monthly, 4.5% yearly. The company is speaking at the IAB Podcast Upfronts next week.

• The Kast Media bankruptcy hearing will now be heard on May 28.

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• Spreaker is now the #2 podcast hosting company by new episode releases, according to Livewire. (Since Spreaker now supports podping, Livewire can more reliably see all new episodes released on the platform). Spotify for Podcasters is still the most popular; the rest of the top five are Buzzsprout, Omny Studio and Podbean.

• Podtrac is now measuring more than 10% of all new episodes, according to data from Livewire. Spreaker has a Podtrac tracking code on almost a third of shows.

• Matt Medeiros writes “YouTube is not the saviour you’re looking for”, cautioning against YouTube “swallowing up another piece of the open web”.

Moves and hires

• Jon Cohen is starting a new position as Senior Director of Talent at PAVE Studios, Max Cutler’s new company. Cohen had worked with Cutler at Parcast.

Tips and tricks - with Ausha 🚀

• Ausha suggests: Discover strategies to dominate podcast search rankings in Ausha’s feature article

• Ausha suggests: Explore in-depth analysis on how to rank #1 on Apple Podcasts through Ausha’s detailed study

• Below, a story about a podcast getting onto British Airways inflight entertainment. How do these work? And how do you get your show there?

• Pacific Content look at targeting for podcast advertising and how it all works.

Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave Media: CONFLICTED An ex-Al Qaeda jihadi turned MI6 spy and a former monk turned filmmaker, have been embedded at the heart of conflicts in the Middle East. Together Aimen Dean and Thomas Small unpack the realities of war, fundamentalism and their global implications through first-hand experience.

Dumb Gay Podcast with Julie Goldman & Brandy Howard has been signed by PodcastOne. The show has more than 350 episodes, and launched in 2016.

Should podcasters care about the IAB? Recorded before the news about Spotify’s membership, the IAB’s Matt Shapo joins Podcast Perspectives to explain who the IAB is and what the IAB does, and why we all ought to care about what they do.

The Spiritual Mixtape lets you unwind with breathworks and meditations. And, where better to unwind and find calm than on a British Airways flight? Yesterday, the show was added to the inflight entertainment system there, so you can remain as chilled as that glass of white wine from the trolley. The show is from This Is Distorted.

Wild Card with Rachel Martin is brand new from NPR today, which “features surprising and intimate conversations with guests you thought you knew.” Rachel invites notable guests to play a card game that lets them open up about the memories, insights, and beliefs that have shaped their lives.