Hey podheads, sorry for the delay, life has been a b****. Here’s a short issue #47
Podcasts to books
Similar to the podcast to TV and movies trend, there has been a growing trend of publishers looking at podcasters for the next big title. I had covered this is an older issue. Anyway, The Ringer, the sports and pop culture website and podcast network, founded by Bill Simmons, has partnered with Grand Central Publishing to publish a series of books by staff writers.
“We believe books are a natural extension of everything we’re doing with the rest of our company,” Simmons said in his own statement. “We gravitate toward quality ideas, unique storytelling and talented voices, and we know from experience that we can use The Ringer’s various resources to raise awareness for any project that matters to us. Once we clicked with the wonderful folks at Grand Central, this became a no-brainer.”
Burying the ghost of “Peak Podcasting”
I hope you don’t remember, but we had a few pieces, albeit idiotic ones this year on whether this is peak podcasting. It’s a moronic premise, but nonetheless, we had to put up with it. Tom Webster of Edison Research published a piece with some fantastic insights on how podcast listeners have changed which hopefully buries this question forever.
And so I return to the question I begin this piece with: Are we at “peak podcasting?” If you haven’t guessed, I find the question ludicrous. There are, what, about 700,000 podcasts out there? Last year alone, there were more than one million SELF-PUBLISHED books out there. I’m not even counting books from publishers. If we are at “peak podcast,” then we hit “peak book” back in 1898. I think we’re good. But we have some work to do to survive and thrive in the next era of podcasting.
Get them young
CBC, the Canadian public broadcaster is launching a pilot project to bring podcasts to classrooms.
The pilot, among the first of its kind from a public broadcaster, involved Nevins and several teachers in different school boards across Canada. Over the summer, they designed teaching guides around select episodes of the podcasts Tai Asks Why and The Secret Life of Canada. These guides include slideshows, videos, activities, and even homework —and are available free of charge without restrictions.
The initiative builds on something many teachers were already doing on their own.
Familiarizing a whole new generation of students with podcasts, now that’s quite cool. To me, it feels like someone might just copy this and turn it into a venture sooner or later.
Weaponizing star ratings
Ashley Carman wrote a really nice piece on how Apple ratings are being used by angry fans to try and take down shows.
These negative reviews can turn away new listeners, but hosts on the receiving end say the even bigger impact is on themselves. An attack makes them feel deflated and disheartened, and sometimes, they want to give up making their show entirely. “The initial impact of it is crushing,” Drown says. “You work so hard to build up your show and then to see that star number shoot way down. It’s a lot to deal with.”
And there’s fallout from the piece:
Mike Boudet, host of the true crime podcast Sword and Scale, is threatening legal action against another true crime podcast host who claimed Boudet bombarded him with one-star reviews on Apple Podcasts.
Justin Drown, the host of Obscura, made the allegations in comments to The Verge that were published last week. Boudet didn’t respond to a request for comment at the time, and Boudet and his lawyers didn’t respond to a request for comment on this article.
Spotify Watch
We finally have a glimpse into how Spotify might integrate Anchor. Jane Wong spotted a “Create Podcast” button within the Spotify app.
What’s particularly interesting about this test is that Spotify also owns a company called Soundtrap that recently launched a podcast creation tool. The difference is that Anchor is designed to be more casual, whereas Soundtrap is seen as more serious editing software that’s designed to be used in a studio setup, even if it’s at home. I’ve been waiting to see Anchor and Spotify’s relationship become more prominent, and this might finally be an indication of that happening.
Delta Airlines is partnering with Spotify to make podcasts available as part of its entertainment offerings on over 700 flights.
Moolah watch
Let’s start with some Himalayan sized 👇
Remember Himalaya Media, the startup that hit the headlines because it said that it had raised $100 million? Well, turns out it was pure 👇
Sara Fisher and Dan Primack wrote a brutal take-down piece of the Himalaya’s fundraise claims.
From the Axios piece:
What the press release said:
The San Francisco-based startup has raised $100M from General Atlantic, SIG and Ximalaya FM and will use this to support the tech innovation, marketing, and content production and acquisition that are driving this launch.
What actually happened: General Atlantic never invested in Himalaya Media, according to a firm spokeswoman. Instead, it had previously invested an undisclosed amount in Ximalaya FM, the established Chinese podcasting platform that Himalaya also lists as an investor. (Neither SIG nor Ximalaya FM responded to requests for comment, even to confirm that they had invested.) There is no SEC filing or other official public record of an investment into Himalaya.
Himalaya Media has ties to Chinese audio powerhouse Ximalaya, which claims to have 500 million users.
Again from the Axios piece:
Be smart: There is a history of Chinese startups overstating fundraises, but it is highly unusual for a U.S.-based company to do so.
The tendency of Chinese entities, both government and private to make shit up is nothing new, although, Himalaya Media isn’t directly a Chinese entity. Chinese economic data is usually seen with widespread scepticism and has given rise to a variety of alternate indicators and private companies running independent checks.
Also check out The China Hustle on Netflix.
Acast watch
Acast has signed a €25 million quasi-equity financing agreement with The European Investment Bank (EIB). The weird part about this mode of financing:
The peculiarity of the ‘quasi equity’ financing, which the EIB is only able to support with the backing of the Juncker Plan, is that it has the characteristics of an equity stake in the company, yet does not translate into the EIB owning shares in Acast. This type of financing addresses a market failure for non-dilutive growth capital for European businesses: providing equity without affecting the ownership of the company.
EIB typically lends to projects and companies which struggle to raise financing from banks. It also lends to projects that make a difference, to put it succinctly. It is one of the biggest financiers of climate change related projects. Which makes this investment all the more surprising.
Acast, so far has raised a total of $97.9M in funding over 8 rounds.
Ximalaya
Speaking of Ximalaya, The South China Morning Post published a profile of Yu Jianjun, the co-founder and chief executive of podcast start-up Ximalaya FM. Here are some highlights from the piece:
Ximalaya FM claims to have 500 million users
China had 425 million podcast listeners according to data from iiMedia Research
An average user spends 150 minutes a day
Over 5 million users create and upload content on the app
It’s reportedly valued at $3 billion and is considering an IPO. Xiaomi is an investor in the company.
Ximalaya has 70 per cent of the audiobook rights to the bestselling titles in China and 85 per cent of adaptation rights for online literature, according to iiMedia
4 million paying users on the platform
It recently launched a smart speaker called Xiaoya
The Xiaomi investment bit is interesting to me. Potentially, Ximalaya can work with Xiaomi to have Himalaya, the podcasting app it has invested in to be pre-loaded on Xiaomi Devices. A stock widget powered by Webull, an online trading platform developed by Fumi Technology in which Xiaomi invested is now pre-loaded on Xiaomi Devices.
Smart speaker wars
Baidu has overtaken Google and is now second only to Amazon in terms of smart speaker market share according to a report by Canalys.
Voices from India
Here’s issue #6 of Voices by Saif Omar.
Bytes
NPR appoints John Lansing as its new CEO. John will succeed Jarl Mohn.
Lansing, who is 62, is currently the chief executive of the government agency that oversees Voice of America, Radio and Television Martí and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, among others. He made his mark in his current job with stirring defenses of journalism, free from government interference.
Lansing will start in his new position in mid-October. He will be the 11th permanent president or chief executive in the radio network's nearly 50-year history.
Glow, the startup which makes it easier for creators to monetize their podcasts add more features - Lila Shroff/Glow
A Podcast From Adam McKay Examines Jeffrey Epstein and His World - Ben Sisario/NYT
For Barstool Sports, Podcasts Are Now Around One-Third of Revenue - Todd Spangler/Variety
Comment: Should podcasters welcome Spotify with open arms or fear their motives? - 9to5mac
‘Modern Family’ Star Ed O’Neill & Co-Creator Christopher Lloyd Launch Spy Podcast Series ‘The Undercovers’ - Peter White/Deadline
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