Wondercraft launches Ad Studio

• Wondercraft has launched Ad Studio, which writes, translates and produces studio-quality audio ads. We gave it a go today to create an ad for Podnews; you can hear it within the press release. It joins tools like ENCO’s SPECai, Futuri’s SpotOn and Adthos.

• The New York Post reports that Spotify’s five-year contract with Bill Simmons ends in early 2025, and that he may leave the company, though that’s “incorrect and idle speculation” according to a Simmons spokesperson. Spotify bought The Ringer in Feb 2020.

• Triton Digital’s Sharon Taylor writes about the integration of brand-suitability tool Sounder, which the company acquired in March. She talks about the perils of being mis-categorised, and the benefits of a brand-safety tool being built-in to a podcast host. (Podcast Movement Booth 504)

• The Audio Production Awards has announced a “Pay What You Can” scheme, supported by Amazon Music and Wondery. The scheme offers free entry to the awards and to the ceremony, for those who otherwise would not be able to do so due to financial constraints.

• Can we expect a new RØDE Wireless GO 3 microphone soon? According to the FCC’s website, the back looks similar to 2021’s Wireless GO II.

• X, Elon Musk’s social network, is to put live streams behind a premium paywall, the company has xitted out. (We’ve got the new names right, yes?)

• Fan of a British Podcast? You can vote for the British Podcast Awards listener’s choice award. Voting is open until Aug 29.

Thank you to The Roost, who return as a Podnews supporter today. The podcast network for creators, they’re a top ten podcast network, and it’s great to have them back. Supporters like The Roost help keep everything we do open: no member-exclusive spaces, no VIP services. You can support us here.

The Tech Stuff - with RSS.com

• Covered by Podnews in February, Metacast has launched v1.0 of its podcast app for Android users, which offers transcripts for every podcast.

  • We spoke to the team: it uses the Apple Podcasts directory for initial listing; and is working on supporting creator-produced transcripts (though doesn’t yet). The website mentions “easy ad-skipping” - it’s only easy because the transcript helps you read the ads and skip forward if you choose.

• PodLP has migrated to use The Podcast Index, rather than its own scrapers and tools. “Four years after launch, maintaining an affordable, up-to-date index without inadvertently dropping podcasts, displaying duplicates, or going out-of-sync has proven challenging.” It means the popular flip-phone podcast app now has more than 4mn shows available.

• Podcasting 2.0 player TrueFans has made the process of “streaming sats” easier, avoiding the hassle of having to buy complex cryptocurrency on other services (which isn’t very easy in some countries). Now, you can just use your regular credit card to top up your balance in TrueFans, to help pay podcasters for the shows you like.

• Article2Audio is this week’s “turn a webpage into a podcast” code - they’re everywhere! This one uses OpenAI.

Tips and tricks - with Ausha 🚀

• Explore Ausha’s 5 innovative ways to use transcription to enhance your podcast’s accessibility and SEO.

• Learn about the leading podcast transcription services of 2024 with Ausha’s comprehensive review.

• Applying for a job in podcasting? Here’s what to know.

• Want to get your podcast into the section below? Read this!

Podcast News - with Airwave

New, from Airwave: True Spies takes you inside the world’s greatest espionage and detective operations. Our hosts Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, Sophia Di Martino and Daisy Ridley talk to the real spies behind the missions. What do they know? What are their skills? And what would you do in their position? We explore and investigate real life thrillers, mysteries and crimes - stories that prove truth is stranger than fiction! These stories cover lies, murder, theft, sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll.

The New York Times has released The Headlines on all podcast platforms, reversing a strategy of keeping it to subscribers-only. It “quickly became the most popular feature in the Times Audio app”, according to the company. It’s hosted by Tracy Mumford, from London. The NYT Audio app was launched for iOS users in April 2023; it’s still not available on Android.

About Place has returned for season four, from furniture design company MillerKnoll. The podcast interviews thought-leaders, designers and researchers about how the places we create can positively impact how we work and live. The first guest is Timothy Ahrensbach, Global Head of Workplace Experience at Lego. Presumably a carpet strewn with sharp pieces of pointy plastic is only something for parents’ living rooms.