UK's 'Noiser' signed by talent agency WME

• Is the UK podcast scene increasingly attractive to the US? Talent agency WME has signed UK podcast producer Noiser. The company’s shows include Real Narcos and Real Dictators. They join Rusty Quill, who signed with WME in July, as well as many large US companies. Earlier this year, Deadline reported that WME is increasing its presence in London.

• Spotify’s hosting of Joe Rogan is causing problems within the company because of transphobic content in a number of his shows. Spotify says it reviewed the content and determined it didn’t meet the criteria for removal. Many episodes didn’t make it to Spotify earlier this month, though podcasts with COVID-19 misinformation did; and Rogan has also been accused of homophobia and racism.

• Triton Digital released its US Podcast Ranker ending Aug 30. AdLarge/cabana is new to the ranker: the network debuts at #6; Crime Junkie debuts at #3 for both users and downloads. An incomplete ranker, it measures participating publishers only.

• Spotify added a notification for new podcast episodes in its app. Hit “follow” or “following” to toggle notifications. It’s available to everyone in the US for now. (And, nothing to do with anything much, here’s the rather unromantic history behind the Spotify logo.)

• Podcast host Captivate has become the first podcast host to allow podcasters to directly add their show to The Podcast Index, Adam Curry and Dave Jones’s alternative index for podcast apps. (Disclosures) Meanwhile, The Podcast Index has added a twitter-like discussion system, using Mastodon.

  
  Aug 27 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• It’s (almost) the most wonderful time of the year. Magellan AI has released a free report on the holiday shopping season in 2019 for podcasts, and how podcast advertisers can set themselves up for a successful campaign this year.

  
  This link is no longer available, as at Aug 27 2023

• The Amazon Music podcast launch this week led James Burtt to wonder what might happen to podcast listening figures as a result. 22% of smart-speaker owners use them for podcasts, he discovers from some UK data.

• Paris’s Studio Ochenta is to release a slate of Spanish language podcasts over the next few months, in honour of Latinx Heritage Month.

• Lipstick & Vinyl have signed two new podcasts to its network.

• UK broadcaster Podcast Radio reached its crowdfunder target on Seedrs, and is continuing to raise funds for future growth. More than 80 investors have so far bought into the station. The management team has now opened up direct investment opportunities to both international and US-based investors and venture funds: CEO Gerard Edwards is available on LinkedIn.

• A new podcast festival is coming, this time in Charlotte NC, USA. The Charlotte Podcast Festival kicks off on October 5th with free online sessions all month.

• Here’s a long and illuminating interview with Jack Rhysider, off of Darknet Diaries. “Now it’s getting nearly 3 million downloads a month and pays more than he made in cyber security.”

  
  Aug 27 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• LiveXLive achieved $15m of financing. The company owns PodcastOne.

  
  This link is no longer available, as at Aug 27 2023

• FRQNCY, the Altanta GA USA podcast production company, has celebrated two years of business with a rebrand and a new look.

Tips and tricks

• 10 insider podcast SEO tips to optimise your podcast - Captivate gets tips from an SEO expert. (Disclosures)

This link is no longer available, as at Aug 27 2023
• In People talking to people about people, Pacific Content’s Dan Misener highlights research about “showing humans in your podcast marketing”. It works.

Podcast News

Chameleon: Hollywood Con Queen is the first output from a partnership with Sony Music Entertainment and Campside Media, announced yesterday. It goes live on October 1.

Veteran British broadcaster David Dimbleby is back with a new podcast, The Fault Line, about Bush, Blair and Iraq. Talking to prime ministers, politicians, spies and weapons inspectors he asks how and why we came to invade Iraq. And as we experience an era of lies and mistrust - did the events of 17 years ago set the stage for the world we live in now?

The first decade when trends rapidly spread across the globe was the 1990s, and Vogue has released a new podcast, In Vogue: the 1990s, to remind us of the decade’s fashion and culture. The first episode focuses on the rise of the supermodel.

Rotten Tomatoes, the review website for movies and TV shows, is… sometimes wrong. Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong is a new podcast from the website, will unpack some of the movies and shows that are the most loved, or hated.

The Jordan Harbinger Show's Jordan Harbinger tells us excitedly of an amazing interview he’s doing - releasing early October. We’re not allowed to tell anyone though. Tease.