Podcast News Round-Up | Spotify Boasts New Highs in q3, Afros & Audio Festival and More
Welcome back to the HeadStuff Podcast News Round-Up were we take a look at what’s happening in the world of podcasting and give you a recommendation or two along the way. This week we’ve got a spooky Podcast of the Week for the season that’s in it plus news from the latest Spotify investor call and a Podcast Festival run by and for Black creatives.
As always if you host a podcast and want it featured as our podcast of the week, email us at [email protected] and we’ll be sure to check it out!
Podcast of the Week
For the latest podcast of the week I wanted to pick something spooky for you all to enjoy this Halloween and then I remembered I saw the great news that Petrified from our friends over at The Warren is coming back for Season 2 & 3 in 2022. So, if you haven’t yet listened to the horror anthology podcast’s first season there’s no time like the present.
The writing from Peter Dunne is superb; the humour sets up the spine-tingling chills brilliantly and his scripts are excellently brought to life by the talented cast. The production from Dunne and Liam Geraghty brings the whole thing together. The sound production throughout Petrified is fantastic. You are cast straight into the world that they lay before you – even if you soon wished you were in the safety of your own home (which of course you may be, thankfully).
As an anthology of stories, you can jump in anywhere you like but I think episode one ‘Dead Air’ is the perfect place to start. Or maybe it’s just got something to do with me spending too much time in The Podcast Studios!
Spotify’s Q3/21 results are out and are looking good!
Spotify released their numbers from this year’s Q3 and are boasting more podcasts, more listeners, and more revenue.
Spotify has 3.2m podcasts on its platform – beating Apple Podcasts’s 2.4m. And this isn’t that surprising as over 80% of new podcasters on Spotify are using the Anchor platform; a platform that automatically uploads to Spotify and not Apple Podcasts.
Podcasts are significantly helping Spotify’s ad revenue, which was up 75% year-on-year to €323 million ($374m). “That looks good”, says Podnews Editor James Cridland, “though a) total revenue is €2,501 million ($2.9 billion), so ad revenue accounts for just 13%; and b) Q3 last year was still significantly affected by the pandemic, so a decent increase should be expected. This time last year, Spotify wasn’t selling Joe Rogan, either.”
The podcast share of overall consumption hours on Spotify has reached an all-time high; but on the investor call Daniel Ek, Spotify’s Founder and CEO noted “one of the big things that we’re still trying to learn and improve upon is just providing an even better discovery experience on podcasting”.
Podcasts on Facebook get rolled out Internationally?
The new Podcasts tool on Facebook was only available in the US and on mobile, but now it seems as if they are rolling out the tool internationally with it being spotted in Australia and the UK.
The tool allows you to “add your podcast on Facebook to seamlessly distribute your episodes to listeners, and then turn them into fans through direct connections. With podcasts on Facebook, you can easily reach, develop and retain an audience with your podcast content – all within one app.”
Comments and reactions allow you to engage directly with your listeners and foster connections. You can use these features to get feedback on your content or share experiences for more authentic, meaningful conversations.
Facebook’s algorithm hasn’t been too kind to us creators in the past few years, but I would be interested to see how the new tool could be used for new listeners.
More info here.
Afros And Audio Festival Schedule Announced
The 3rd annual Afros & Audio Virtual Podcast Festival, a two-day inclusive and accessible experience for and by Black Podcast Creatives and Audio Professionals, returns on Nov 13th & 14th.
The mission of Afros & Audio’s Podcast Festival is to sustain and increase active podcasts by Black creatives and professionals in the podcast market. We expect an immersive and enjoyable virtual experience with one goal in mind; attendees feel like they’ve been somewhere exciting while remaining safe at home.
Featured sessions include, “Connecting the Diaspora” an Interactive Lunch Live Show with Yorm Ackuaku, host of Item 13: An African Food podcast, the return of Naima “Queen” Muhammad and Janicia “J.” Francis, hosts of Tea with Queen & J. who will share their timely message that “The Market is Not Flooded”.
Attendees will also learn about the podcasting landscape in Africa from those on the ground during the “Africa X Podcasting” session. On Sunday, Audio Dramas will take center stage with “Producing Black Audio Dramas” a workshop from award winning director/producer, donnie betts, and three new podcast fiction creatives will screen their audio dramas at our first ever Lunch & Listen audio screening.
You can find the full schedule for the weekend here and get your tickets here.
Find more podcast related content on the HeadStuff Podcast Section – News, Reviews, Interviews and How-To Guides for all you podcasters out there.
