Podcast News Roundup | RedCircle Lands $6 Million In Funding & More!
Welcome back to HeadStuff’s Podcast News Roundup, your go-to place for podcast news and recommendations. This week’s roundup features HeadStuff’s Podcast Of The Week and also looks at the funding given to RedCircle, Spotify’s new podcast role and why Joe Rogan is in hot water.
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
The Irish Pubcast follows hosts Wayne Talbot, Darren Fahey and Kim Brosnan in a different pub around Dublin City to chat about anything and everything geek. Brought to you by Rogue Comics, an independent publishing company for indie comics in Ireland, the Pubcasters talk about whatever is big in pop culture and nerdy news. They even have their own D&D campaign, starting in 2019.
Throughout lockdown, the gang have been recording their episodes over Zoom but haven’t let that rattle them. Now that the hosts have been fully vaccinated, their most recent episode sees them return to the pub to chat about the drop of the new Spiderman trailer, The Suicide Squad and more.
There is something refreshing about hearing the Pubcasters chat in a pub setting, with the background ambience of patrons moving to and fro. Particularly now as restrictions ease, listening back to older episodes transports us back to a pre-pandemic time, and reminds us of those enthusiastic chats with your best friends, offering opinions and having light-hearted arguments about the things that interest you over a pint.
Wayne Talbot may be familiar to anyone who has visited Dublin Comic Con in the last number of years, often seen hosting various panels or interviewing visiting stars, such as Nick Frost (the Cornetto Trilogy) on the main stage. The podcast’s association with the convention have led to some of the show’s most interesting interviews, with the likes of Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series, Rocksteady’s Arkham Series) and Troy Baker (The Last of Us) turning up for a chat.
So, if you’re looking for a podcast where a group of self-proclaimed geeks talk honestly about movies, games and all things nerd, The Irish Pubcast is definitely one to add to your list.
RedCircle Lands $6 Million in Series A Funding as Podcast Industry Soars
This week RedCircle announced that it has raised $6 million in Series A funding to meet growing customer demand.
Founded in 2018 by Mike Kadin and Jeremy Lermitte, RedCircle is a leading podcast platform for independent creators.
According to eMarketer, podcasting will be a $2 billion industry by 2023, and by 2025, there will be over 144 million monthly podcast listeners in the United States alone.
RedCircle’s technology for distribution, cross-promotion, listener payments, dynamic audio insertion and automated advertising gives independent creators the same powerful tools as major publishers, allowing podcasters to compete on a level playing field.
Many podcasters take advantage of the RedCircle Exclusive Content product, a cross-platform paywall that lets creators restrict bonus episodes to paying subscribers only.
Podcasters can therefore build their subscription business and understand its growth in the exact same platform where they view audience analytics.
Using Exclusive Content, RedCircle’s podcasters have amassed tens of thousands of paying subscribers, and many report generating six figures annually as a result.
Spotify Adds Former Paramount+ Executive in New Podcast Role
Further expanding into the medium of podcasting, Spotify said on Thursday that it has created a new executive role overseeing podcasts that will be led by a former Paramount+ executive
Julie McNamara, a former executive vice president and head of programming at Paramount+, will become Spotify’s new head of U.S. studios and video operations.
In her new role, McNamara will be instrumental in the creative vision for Spotify’s podcast companies The Ringer, Gimlet and Parcast, and work on key partnerships.
Podcasts have become an increasingly important part of the music streaming giant’s business, as it seeks to expand its audience and advertising revenue.
Spotify has 365 million monthly active users. The number of podcasts on its platform grew to 2.9 million podcasts at the end of the second quarter, up from 2.6 million in the prior quarter.
Over the last few years, Spotify has acquired several podcast production businesses and made high-profile deals with popular podcasters such as Joe Rogan.
And speaking of Joe Rogan – The Podcasting Goliath Finds Himself in Hot Water over Ivermectin Use
Less than a week ago Joe Rogan posted a video to his instagram account detailing his initial symptoms, positive Covid test and subsequent self medication which included ivermectin.
“We immediately threw the kitchen sink at it. All kinds of meds,” the star explained. “Monoclonal antibodies, ivermectin, Z-pak, prednisone, everything. And I also got an anti-D drip and a vitamin drip.”
Ivermectin has become a hot topic lately, as it is an anti-parasitic drug often used to treat animals. The FDA has advised against humans using the drug to treat coronavirus, warning that it hasn’t been tested, interacts with some medications and could cause an overdose.
Just a few days later Joe Rogan revealed he tested negative for coronavirus in a health update shared Friday to Instagram.
“Tested negative today! Thanks for all the kind wishes!” Rogan captioned a photo of his negative test result.
Rogan came under scrutiny from many when he claimed that young healthy people don’t need to get vaccines on his show; ??“If you’re like 21 years old, and you say to me, ‘Should I get vaccinated?’ I’ll go no,” Rogan, said on his show. “If you’re a healthy person, and you’re exercising all the time, and you’re young, and you’re eating well, I don’t think you need to worry about this.”
Rogan later insisted that he is not “anti-vax” and joked that he is not a “respected source of information” – although with over 13 million followers on Instagram and his podcast reaching an estimated 11 million people per episode, he is definitely someone who has their voice heard.
