Weekly round-up: Battle of the biggies
Issue #43
Hey Podheads, it was a pretty slow week, here’s issue #43
Apple vs. Spotify
Voxnest published the Spotify vs. Apple data for the month of June and Spotify’s march across Europe continues. Since the May report, Spotify has emerged as the dominant podcast listening app in Germany, Netherlands, and Bulgaria.
Here’s 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, launched an office in Berlin and The Infinite Dial, a top podcast and audio insights study, plans to 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 “Summer of '69.” Here’s 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 Apple’s own apps. Here’s 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 “podcasts.”
But some searches for the app titles of competitors served up Apple’s apps first. A search for “the podcast app” in the Journal’s tests surfaced Apple’s 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 “the podcast app” ranked its own Podcasts No. 1 due to “user behavior data” 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 Apple’s 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
Here’s issue #4 of Voices from India by Saif.
Bytes
What’s Behind Apple’s 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
‘Homecoming’: Janelle Monáe 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 That’s Transforming Erotica - Sarah Larson/The New Yorker
Publishers are pissed about Amazon’s upcoming Audible Captions feature - Andrew Liptak/The Verge
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