Hey podheads, hereâs issue #38. I need to learn how to write cool openings. This shit is dreadful!
Big stories
Spotify watch
Traffic blues
Daily drives for Americans will be a lot more bearable now. Spotify last week announced the launch of Your Daily Drive, a playlist that combines music and podcasts.
Itâs a new Spotify playlist that combines the very best of news talk shows, including the relevancy and personality of the hosts, with the best of audio streaming (on demand, personalized playing and discovery). It combines music you love with relevant, timely world updates from reputable sources â all put together in a seamless and unified listening experience.
The playlist will include short updates from The Wall Street Journal, NPR, and PRI and will be updated throughout the day to keep things fresh.
A couple of weeks ago, Spotify had announced that it was testing a voice-controlled hardware device dubbed âThe Car Thingâ. Looks like Spotify is doing everything it can garner a larger mind share among listners. Speaking of a larger mind share, Iâm for some reason reminded of what Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix had said once:
You get a show or a movie you're really dying to watch, and you end up staying up late at night, so we actually compete with sleep.
Sound Up
Sound Up, the podcast bootcamp for women of color by Spotify will return to New York.
In other Spotify news, the audio giant now supports podcast embeds.
Across the pond
The Daily by NYT, which is heard by over 2 million listeners daily wants to go international. Last week, in a 5 part series, the show covered the biggest issues plaguing the European Union. Hereâs an excerpt from the Digiday piece:
As âThe Dailyâ seeks to develop a global audience, it can draw on its wealth of 200 reporters outside the U.S. According to the New York Times, 20% of the podcastâs 2 million daily listeners are outside the U.S., while the U.K. is its second-biggest international market after Canada. Over half of its U.K. audience is British, as opposed to U.S. expats living in the U.K., which is a common assumption made about U.S. publishersâ international audiences.
Globally, the show will also compete against Today in Focus by The Guardian and The Intelligence by The Economist.
Ultimately, for The New York Times, it is all about growing the subscription pie:
Beyond ad revenue, podcasts can drive more international subscribers. The Times has set itself the goal of reaching 10 million total subscriptions by 2025; currently, it stands at 4.5 million subscriptions. Of digital-only subscriptions, 16% come from outside the U.S.
Publishers focused on growing subscriber revenues have taken a shine to podcasting. We had covered the efforts of The Financial Times, The Economist, and The Guardian in previous issues of Podtalk.
Pay up, folks!
PodEx
The Guardian wants to make it easier for listeners to support podcasts. The publisher last week announced a new project titled âPodExâ aimed at âenhancing the format â and making it easier to support podcast makers.â
Whenever a host in a podcast calls our for listener support, listeners on their podcast apps will be shown a notification or content eliciting support within the app.
What our new system will do is this: when the host is calling out for supporters we can display a notification or content within the podcast app that has a direct link to a financial contribution page. This will reduce the steps listeners are required to take before they can contribute.
If this sounds a little half-baked and if you are thinking, why would anyone look at their screens when listening to a podcast, hereâs The Guardianâs answer:
I listen to podcasts in the car/jogging/hang-gliding and I never look at my phone screen so this is a bit useless, isnât it?
Yes, if you canât look at your phone itâs not really going to be of much use. But if you want to support the people who made the podcast then possibly you can take a breather and click on a link to support them or we could leave you a list of links you can click on afterwards. Weâre still working this out â so please get in touch if you have thoughts.
The project is supported by a Google News Initiative innovation grant.
Glow
Glow, a platform that helps podcasters monetize through premium content launched in public beta last week. Glow helps reduce the friction in setting up a subscription system to deliver bonus episodes, ad-free shows, and other exclusive content and charge for it. The service is similar to Slateâs Supporting Cast, which launched in February this year. The company is the latest spin-out from startup studio Pioneer Square Labs.
Acquired FM, the popular podcast hosted by Ben Gilbert, co-founder of Pioneer Square and Dave Rosenthal, general partner at Wave Capital is already using the platform to run a âlimited partner programâ at $5 a month.
Hereâs the story of Glow:
The other interesting thing here is the model of Pioneer Square Labs. Unlike VCs and Angels who fund existing start-ups, Pioneer Square creates companies, spins them out and finds teams to run the new companies. I found this TechCrunch article helpful in understanding more.
Brand Chimpin
Everybody wants to do branded content. One of the most prolific advertisers on podcasts is getting into original content. Last week Mailchimp announced the launch of Mailchimp Presents, a content studio which will create original documentaries, short-form series, and podcasts.
Hereâs the launch trailer of Mailchimp Presents:
Mailchimp will be working with companies such as Vice, WME, and Pineapple Street Media, among others to create content.
Speaking to The Drum, Mark DiCristina, head of Mailchimp Studios said:
Weâre not just making profiles of businesses, weâre not telling stories about the person who had the $100m exit. Weâre really trying to create stories that speak to the themes of what it feels like to be an entrepreneur and what that journey is really like. Thereâs not really a lot of that kind of content in the world. Thereâs definitely not a home for that content, across different formats, themes and genres. We really thought it would be cool to provide a place where that experience of entrepreneurship could live and where those emotional themes could come together.
All the content will live on the companyâs site.
Also read: Mailchimp Created an In-House Entertainment Studio Thatâs Working With WME, Vice and Others.
Speaking of branded content, Nicholas Quah of Hot Pod penned a deep dive of Netflixâs branded podcasts and like anything Nick writes, itâs a deeply insightful piece. This ties into the what I wrote last week on the big banks jumping on the branded podcasts bandwagon.
Presidential!
After the Obamaâs and the Clintonâs, it's the turn of Julia Gillard. The former Australian prime minister now has a podcast of her own titled A Podcast of One's Own with Julia Gillard.
Bytes
BBCâs Brexitcast podcast will now be a TV Show. The podcasts to TV adaptation (podaptations?) trend continues - BBC
Produced By: 'Homecoming' Creator, 'Dirty John' Showrunner on Mining Podcasts for TV Content - Kirsten Chuba/The Hollywood Reporter
Comedy Podcast Network Forever Dog Launches 11 New Shows - Will Thorne/Variety
Beyond Gimlet And Luminary: A Look Into Podcasting Investment In 2019 - Crunchbase