Spotify has picked up its experiment with audiobooks. Yesterday the platform released a pilot collection of exclusive recordings narrated by celebrities. All nine books are part of the public domain. According to Natalie Jarvey of The Hollywood Reporter, the initiative could provide Spotify a “roadmap” against Audible.
As described on Twitter by a library in British Columbia, the “currently modest collection of classics” is in the podcast category. Titles include The Awakening by Kate Chopin, read by Hilary Swank; Persuasion by Jane Austen, read by Cynthia Erivo; and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, read by YouTube personality David Dobrik.
“Audible, which calls itself the largest producer of audiobooks in the world, has faced relatively little competition in the U.S.,” Jarvey notes. There’s plenty of cash to tussle over: In 2019 the domestic audiobook market was valued at nearly $2.7 billion. For Spotify, this is a low-risk investment in a high-stakes battle.
The podcast advertising technology company Magellan AI has launched a website to share its ‘best of’ collection. Really Good Podcast Ads “allows people to search hundreds of podcast ads by industry name, podcast genres, podcast titles and brand names.” The new tool is free and open to explore without a login.
Magellan puts it simply: “We combed through our database of ads and advertisers to hand-pick some of the ads we thought were really good.” Picks are to be updated weekly “to be sure you’re listening to the really good ones.” As of today, the ‘History’ podcast genre has eight brands over seven shows. (Spirits makes it a double.)
Creators as well as marketers have a lot to gain. Magellan suggests examples be used “as a source of inspiration or [to] see what your competitors are offering.” Well, Milano Cookies clearly charmed the listeners of Stuff You Missed in History Class. If you have a history show and 44 seconds, why not find out how?
How do podcasters know if their shows are ready for monetization? A new quiz from Stacey Simms is the best way to find out — and get started with confidence. Stacey has been turning a profit from her podcast, Diabetes Connections, for five years.
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