PodMov Daily: Tuesday, July 5

Episode 674: Testing, One Two-sday

Podcasts and Newsletters Are Like Apples and Oranges

Newsletters and podcasts are having a bonding moment. To start, the paid-newsletter platform Substack is aggressively courting podcasters as a hosting service, and more podcasters are starting companion newsletters. Email and audio are also being compared in terms of efficacy, despite their huge differences.

“The sense of competition is real, industrially, even though it makes little sense,” writes Nick Hilton. The podcast producer has a newsletter on ‘digital media futurology’ and knows both sides well. Engagement metrics (like listening rates vs. click-through rates) don’t really translate, so what’s to compare?

Hilton is firmly on team podcast but weighs them fairly: Email tends to reach higher subscriber numbers, but much of it is low-quality. Audio takes more complex skill to make, but it earns more quality time with each consumer. Read on if you’re newsletter-curious, already in the game, or just in need of a laugh about spam.

Reality Podcasts and the Mess of Reality TV

Also having a moment: Podcasts modeled on the reality TV format. Vulture podcast critic Nick Quah recently took stock of the development on NPR’s Fresh Air. A “huge consumer” of reality TV, Quah discusses three podcasts leading the ‘mini trend,’ all under six months old. 

Shows like This is Dating (Magnificent Noise/PRX) and BEING Trans (Lemonada/BEING Studios) go for realism. (“You’re just hearing people existing,” Lemonada co-founder Stephanie Wittels Wachs told The New York Times.) To Quah, a signature spice of reality TV – messiness – isn’t quite present. 

We tend to talk about the feel rather than the look of reality TV, he says. So far, these well-regarded podcasts feel entirely different from the engineered chaos of “The Bachelor.” As the genre solidifies, listener expectations will make space for reality in ‘reality’ entertainment.

Nomono: Professional Field Recording, Simplified

Field recording can get complicated – no one knows better than podcasters. Nomono simplifies recording, production, and collaboration for creators on the move. Completely wireless from microphone to cloud, Nomono’s self-contained recording kit takes the hassle out of making great content.

The Wi-Fi enabled Nomono Sound Capsule combines four ultra-compact lavalier mics with a 360-degree spatial audio microphone array. With automatic backup, full mobile app controls, and advanced processing capabilities, it’s a broadcast journalist’s dream. Best of all, it weighs less than four pounds.

Nomono’s companion cloud service and web app make team organization effortless. (Explore for free in public beta to see the magic in action.) Ready for projects that move faster and sound better? Designed and manufactured in Norway, hardware will be available soon in the Nordics, US, UK, and EU.

Here's what else is going on:

• Moving pieces: “The Power of Pre-Production” from Podcasting, Seriously is tomorrow at 4:00 pm ET. Vennly CEO Brian Landau (The Drip) will join Twitter Spaces to discuss why a show’s measurement, promotional, and planning processes should be tightly connected. No account needed.

• Fact forward: More than 4 in 10 American podcasters have been listening to podcasts for under a year. (Wait, what?) This and more surprises in The Creators, presented last week by Sounds Profitable. Free to download, the report offers the first credible picture of those making shows.

• Quick tips: “From Podcasting Hobbyist to Podpreneur” from Podthon is this Thursday. At 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET, Lee Uehara (Asian American Podcasters Association) and Danielle Desir Corbett (The Thought Card) will lead a 30-minute training on podcast monetization strategy. Free registration.

• No filter: Spotify plans to let any user record, edit, and publish a podcast directly from the app. No word yet on when the feature will be available outside New Zealand, where it launched last month. In other news, Spotify’s RADAR Podcasters program is highlighting emerging creators in 15 countries.