Hey podheads, here’s issue #37.
Music to my ears
Billboard had this interesting piece on how music labels are taking podcasts seriously. Last week Sony Entertainment announced a joint venture with Adam Davidson and Laura Mayer to create original content. In April, Universal Music Group (UMG) had announced a partnership with podcast network Wondery to produce podcasts that can be adapted into movies and TV shows.
The piece also talks about the upcoming redesign of the Spotify app. Here’s how the redesign looks like.
Speaking of music labels, Snapchat is in talks with the top music labels to license their catalogs for the app.
We are fu****?!
Depending on whom you speak to, Artificial intelligence (AI) will either turn us into superhumans or cause an apocalypse. The topic most often than not tends to evoke strong views and with good reason. There is no doubt that the rise of AI is one of the defining issues of our time and here’s a preview of why.
Dessa an AI company was able to create an AI voice simulation of Joe Rogan, host of The Joe Rogan Experience. Talking about the societal and ethical considerations at play, the Dessa team wrote:
Right now, technical expertise, ingenuity, computing power and data are required to make models like RealTalk perform well. So not just anyone can go out and do it. But in the next few years (or even sooner), we’ll see the technology advance to the point where only a few seconds of audio are needed to create a life-like replica of anyone’s voice on the planet.
It’s pretty f*cking scary.
Scary it is!
Here's AI Joe:
In response, Joe Tweeted:
Back in August 2018, Lauren Lapkus had a chat with Zo, a chatbot by Microsoft on her show. The day when the first podcast hosted by an AI bot is not far away…perhaps?
Libysn watch
Liberated Syndication (Libsyn), which hosts 62,000 shows across 125 networks announced a good set of Q1 numbers.
Revenue for the first quarter of 2019 was $6,282,979 representing an increase of 24% over the first quarter of 2018 revenue of $5,059,305. Libsyn contributed $3,334,635 of revenue while Pair Networks contributed $2,948,344, an increase of 16% and 35% respectively when compared to the first quarter of 2018 - Seeking Alpha
Here’s how the stock has performed year to date:
A sweeping view
Li Jin, an investment partner at Andreessen Horowitz who focuses on the consumer sector published a massive post on the overview of the podcast ecosystem.
The unbundling
After revamping the Apple Podcasts web, Apple made another small change last week. The main CTA has been changed from “Listen in iTunes” to “Listen on Apple Podcasts”. Prelude to the upcoming standalone Apple Podcasts app?
Bytes
Bangalore mirror profiles the creators in Bangalore who are making the nightmarish traffic bearable.
The Acast app now supports Swedish, French, German, and Spanish languages.
Eric Diehn on podcasts after Game Of Thrones.
Here’s the link to the full Infinite Dial Canada 2019 report.
Samantha Henig, director of audio at The New York Times is leaving the organization.
Podtrac is updating its measurement algorithm to comply with IAB 2.0 guidelines.
Deadline: ‘Crime Junkie’: Team Behind Hit True-Crime Podcast Eye TV Projects Including Police Access Series & Scripted Show.
Here’s Spotify’s podcast advertising pitch to brands.
Gimlet is launching a new scripted LGBTQ+ series called “The Two Princes”