Hey Podheads, it was a pretty slow week, hereās issue #43
Apple vs. Spotify
Voxnest published the Spotify vs. Apple data for the month of June and Spotifyās march across Europe continues. Since the May report, Spotify has emerged as the dominant podcast listening app in Germany, Netherlands, and Bulgaria.
Hereās another snippet from the Voxnest post:
In fact, Germany (and Central Europe) is showing so much promise in the industry that Acast, a podcast marketplace,Ā launched an office in BerlinĀ and The Infinite Dial, a top podcast and audio insights study, plans toĀ debut in Berlin in September.
Spotify watch
Apart from its quest for world domination, Spotify also continued its acquisition spree. Last week it acquired the music podcast The 500 With Josh Adam Meyers. The podcast will continue to be available on all platforms but will now be branded as a Spotify Original.
Parcast, the true-crime focused podcast network that was recently acquired by Spotify launched a new show titled āSummer of '69.ā Hereās the Fast Company piece with more details.
Stranger Tides
Podcast networks want to go international. Wondery, the home of hit shows such as Dr. Death and Dirty John working on launching shows in local dialects across seven markets. Sandra, the dramedy by Gimlet is set to launch in German in the first quarter of 2020. This should be interesting.
My garden, my rules
Tripp Mickle of The WSJ wrote an interesting piece on how Apple App Store search results favor Appleās own apps. Hereās an interesting excerpt concerning Apple Podcasts:
In a few cases, Apple apps were previously rated poorly. Apple Books previously enabled reviews and had a 2.7-star rating before Apple eliminated the reviews, according to Sensor Tower, an app-industry research and marketing firm.
Another Apple app, Podcasts, previously averaged a 1.7-star rating before reviews were eliminated, according to Sensor Tower. It appears No. 1 in a search for āpodcasts.ā
But some searches for the app titles of competitors served up Appleās apps first. A search for āthe podcast appā in the Journalās tests surfaced Appleās Podcasts, Find My Friends and Apple Books rather than a popular alternative called The Podcast App. That app appeared at No. 4 with over 88,000 reviews and a 4.8 rating.
Apple says its search for āthe podcast appā ranked its own Podcasts No. 1 due to āuser behavior dataā in the U.S. In the U.K., The Podcast App ranks No. 1, a spokesman said.
Developers and major companies routinely voice their displeasure over the rules the app stores expect them to play by. In March of this year, Spotify filed a complaint with the European Commission over Appleās cut of all in-app purchases. Tinder is also testing a payment flow bypass paying 30% to Google.
Moolah watch
Blue Wire, the sports podcast network, was selected in the 25th batch of 500 Startups. The company will receive a $150,000 investment.
Voices from India
Hereās issue #4 of Voices from India by Saif.
Bytes
Whatās Behind Appleās Podcast Strategy? - Nicholas Quah/Vulture
iHeartMedia, Pride Media to Co-Produce Slate of LGBTQ+ Podcasts - Todd Spangler/Variety
Why News UK halved the number of podcasts it produces - Lucinda Southern/Digiday
ESPN planning new daily morning podcast as its audio push continues - Ben Strauss/WaPo
āHomecomingā: Janelle MonĆ”e To Star In Season 2 Of Amazon Drama Series, Plot Elements Revealed - Nellie Andreeva/Deadline
Star Trek Is Getting an Official Podcast Called Prime Directive - Jamie Lovett/Comicbook.com
The Audio App Thatās Transforming Erotica - Sarah Larson/The New Yorker
Publishers are pissed about Amazonās upcoming Audible Captions feature - Andrew Liptak/The Verge
If you loved reading The Weekly Roundup as much as we love writing, please do give us a share, here and there :)