Spotify’s play count concerns creators

• There has been an adverse reaction to Spotify’s announcement that it is to add play counts to podcasts on its app - reaction which appears to have taken the company by surprise. Spotify issued a statement on Threads addressing creator concerns, telling creators it “really appreciates the honest discussion”, and that it’ll “share more” on Friday. (The responses are not great.) We don’t, yet, see any play counts published in the app.

• Spotify has also been a little more open about how the play statistics are worked out. On an updated page, the company says that “plays” are the: “number of times a Spotify user actively watched or listened to your content on the Spotify app. Plays are only counted once per user per session, so if you play an episode, pause, and resume playing, that counts as one play.” Elsewhere, Spotify points out that plays of trailers or clips are not included.

• How different is a “play” on each platform? The Podnews Weekly Review has a total audience size of 185 people on both Spotify and Apple Podcasts over the last 60 days. But, the play count? On Spotify, we’ve had 715 “plays”; but on Apple Podcasts, we’ve had 2,800 “plays” - almost four times as many “plays” from the same audience size. Apple measures any touch of the “play” button - probably explaining Spotify’s example above. (Here’s our overall stats, by the way, for the same time period: 11,817 downloads).

  • One of the highest pain points in the Podnews Report Card earlier this year was that different platforms don’t measure the same thing. We noted at the time that Spotify for Creators, Apple, and YouTube do not use the IAB standards.

• Sport Social’s Jim Salveson writes: Don’t Fear the Numbers: Why Spotify’s new “PLAY” counter may not be a bad thing … Courtney Elmer writes: Why Spotify’s New “Plays” Feature Actually Hurts Independent Podcasters … even our Editor has pitched in about the benefits of open data, but also of respecting creators.

• The Golden Globes are to add a Best Podcast Category to its 2026 Awards show. Variety reports that some podcasters are concerned it’s just about popularity (“just give it to Rogan every year”) - and gives its predictions for the nominees: Rogan, Smartless, Theo Von, Amy Poehler, Alex Cooper, and the team from Up First from NPR.

• We missed this when it happened, but a podcast guest-booking agency called Kitcaster was acquired by Moburst last month. Rockwater suggests it was bought for $700,000.

• The Indian government sent out an order to media platforms to remove all podcasts (and other media) originating from Pakistan, “in the interests of national security”.

• Is there a book hiding in your podcast feed? Tina Dietz and Michelle Fishering suggest that there’s a new way to write a book: use the material you already have.

• YouTube ran a survey over the weekend to “make YouTube podcasts even better”. It was interested in fan membership programs (mentioning Twitch, Patreon, Facebook support, and YouTube Channel memberships by name); was wondering whether you’ve taken part in a paid brand partnership or sponsorship on your YouTube channel; and was particularly interested in short form podcast content.

The Tech Stuff - with RSS.com

• The next version of Pocket Casts, currently in release candidate, has new podcast recommendations - including support for the podcast:podroll format. Marked as “Recommended shows by the creator”, it means creator recommendations go to the top of a new section marked “Similar shows”. “Podroll” is supported by hosts including Buzzsprout, RSS.com, Blubrry, and Transistor.

• If you’re using streaming payments in your podcast, there’s now no need to run a Bitcoin node - banking app CashApp (in the US and UK) has turned on “lnaddress”, so you can use that to get paid. Your lightning address is: (cashappname)<wbr>@cash.app. Strike also uses lnaddress: Podnews’s RSS feed includes an example.

Moves and hires

• Libsyn have made four hires in its Business Development team. Nick Zier joins Libsyn as Senior Manager of Creator Partnerships; Cliff Clinton steps into the role of Senior Manager of Strategy and Podcast Operations, joining from Lemonada Media, Ossa and Ad Results Media; Scott Herd joins as National Account Director, joining from Sonnant, Daily Wire and iHeartMedia; and Brittany Hall comes aboard as Director of Brand Partnerships, with previous experience at Spotify, Triton Digital, Seekr, Chartable, Megaphone and Sony Music Entertainment.

Tips and tricks - with The Podcast Show London

• Buzzsprout’s Buzzcast show covers How To Prepare Podcast Guests for Amazing Interviews in a special episode this week.

• The Podcast Host looks at 3 Ways to Encourage Podcast Audience Engagement.

• Rachel Corbett posts Should you use a lapel microphone to record your podcast? and spends 605 words saying “no”.

Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave: Motley Fool Money is a daily podcast for stock investors, with Foolish advice, every day. Yesterday’s edition looked at how governments shape markets. The podcast has been with Airwave since Nov 2023.

What’s a podcast? The Media Roundtable this week is focused on “Little Masterpieces for Your Ears” - Understanding Podcasting’s Past, Ensuring its Future - with contributions from Edison Research’s Larry Rosin, Nick Giorgio from Simplisafe, Hilary Shafer from Oxford Road, and our Editor.

The BBC’s Diddy On Trial is in New York, with Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty bringing listeners the latest courtroom revelations straight from the heart of Manhattan. After nearly eight months behind bars in one of America’s most notorious prisons, Diddy stands accused of sex trafficking, transportation for prostitution and racketeering with conspiracy - charges he denies.

Do you feel increasingly tormented by ads, algorithms and general AI slop? It’s not just you, says Cory Doctorow, host of Who Broke The Internet from CBC’s Understood. In a new four-part series, the bestselling author and longtime tech watcher makes the case that the internet sucks now — and that it happened on purpose.

Other People’s Problems returns for a new season today. It’s hosted by Dr. Hillary McBride, a registered psychologist in private practice in Vancouver; and explores the transformative power of psychedelics in a therapeutic setting. The show demystifies this often misunderstood practice as a powerful tool in trauma recovery.