Podcast News Roundup | New Game Of Thrones Podcast Launches & More!
Welcome back to HeadStuff’s Podcast News Roundup, your go-to place for podcast news and recommendations. This week’s roundup looks at the new Game of Thrones podcast, changes to Spotify’s homepage and Apple’s new podcasting deal.
New Game of Thrones podcast premieres ahead of new prequel, House of the Dragon
In a collaboration between HBO Max and iHeart Radio, in association with Crooked Media, a new Game of Thrones podcast has launched focusing on the new HBO Original series, House of the Dragon.
Jason Concepcion (X-Ray Vision) and Greta Johnsen (WBEZ’s Nerdette podcast) hosts the new series, The Official Game of Thrones. Every week, Jason and Greta recap the show and share their thoughts, insights and explore fan questions along with exclusive interviews with the cast and crew.
The podcast kicked off on August 3rd, but with the Game of Thrones prequel series premiering this weekend, the podcast is sure to delve deep into House of the Dragon to help you keep on top of everything happening in Westeros.
Changes to the Spotify homepage makes it easier for podcast fans to use the app
Spotify has begun reorganising its home feed on its app in an effort to help users find better recommendations. More conveniently, this new homepage will separate music and podcasts, making it easier to source one or the other on the app.
The homepage will now be divided between a “Podcasts & Shows” feed and a “Music” feed, making it easier for users to keep track of their podcasts and music. In the “Podcast & Shows” feed, new episodes of their favourite shows alongside personalised podcast recommendations will all appear in the same space, while the music feed gives users “quick access to suggestions based on their music taste” as well as album and playlist recommendations.
This will make a massive difference, in particular for podcast listeners as previously Spotify has been more optimised for music listeners. This follows Spotify’s ongoing bid to promote podcasting on the platform, having previously invested $1 billion in podcasting in recent years.
The updated home page feature is in the process of being rolled out to Android users, while Spotify says iOS users will have to wait a little longer to benefit and should “stay tuned for updates coming in the near future.”
Apple reportedly funding TV-worthy podcasts
According to Bloomberg, Apple Inc. has recently signed an agreement with Pulitzer Prize-winning studio, Futuro Studios, and “is holding talks with other companies about additional deals.” Apple will create original shows for their podcasting platform, Apple Podcasts, with the potential of later turning these audio shows into TV series that they could then stream on their Apple TV+ service.
According to the report, Futuro Studios will fund the development and production of these podcasts while Apple will be given the first opportunity to turn the podcasts into a film or television series. It has already produced two TV shows based on podcasts, WeCrashed and The Shrink Next Door.
Apple has also announced podcasts with At Will Media, Campside Media, Jigsaw Productions and Pineapple Street Studios.
Find more podcast related content on the HeadStuff Podcast Section – News, Reviews, Interviews and How-To Guides for all you podcasters out there.
