PodMov Daily: Thursday, August 18

Episode 704: Your Thursday Podthoughts

The Podcast App Paying 5 Cents Per Stream

The hosting platform Disctopia is promising to pay podcasters $0.05 per stream through its new listening app. This is about 3.8x the rate on Tidal, the highest-paying streaming platform (other than Napster, which still exists). Disctopia launched in 2017 with a focus on indie creators.

Weekly payouts are calculated with ‘True Play,’ a dashboard metric that accounts for streams and downloads based on “all-encompassing participation” of the listener. Listeners can choose between a free or Basic plan at $6.99 per month, which includes content that podcasters mark ‘subscriber-only.’ 

Long before Disctopia, founder Patrick Hill set up a website for a friend that needed help circulating his mixtape. “He made about $500 selling his music to just his family and friends,” Hill said in May. The idea followed. “Why can’t I build something that can help everyone be financially independent from their art[?]”

Five cents per stream is a major step for podcasting, even though the listening app is small. Disctopia hosting doesn’t appear to have weird restrictions or tradeoffs (fingers crossed) and currently supports the Podcast Index namespace with future plans to support “most, if not all” tags.

It’ll be interesting to watch the growth of Disctopia’s hosting business. Being paid by stream has long been a music thing, but it makes sense here to extend the model. Is $0.05 per stream a sustainable amount to pay? Will podcasters give it a shot? We’ll keep an eye on this and report back.

Note: Disctopia’s sponsorship of Podcast Movement (the event) has no bearing whatsoever on newsletter content.

The Ramsey Show: 1 Billion Downloads and Counting

Out of 2 million podcasts, only a handful have reached the 1 billion download mark. Last year, The Ramsey Show became the fourth ever to earn the title. For 29 years on the air, financial expert Dave Ramsey has helped dedicated listeners navigate money and life. 

Each week, his impactful advice is trusted by millions and counting. “We’re teachers at the core,” said Brian Mayfield, Executive VP of Ramsey Network. “We’ve never seen anything grow the way the podcast world has grown, so we see tremendous opportunity there to continue to increase our audience.” 

Since The Ramsey Show began 15 years ago, callers have paid off a calculated $500 million. Ready for practical answers to the questions that matter most? Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.

Here's what else is going on:

• Stay awhile: The industry could help prevent ‘churn’ (listeners leaving podcasts behind) by promoting podcasting as a whole, writes Tom Webster of Sounds Profitable. “Whatever the reason, we can’t assume that when someone ‘finishes’ a podcast that they are automatically headed for another one.”

• Endless scroll: A Swiss startup called Snipd is building a podcast app that uses AI to transcribe and organize content. Co-founder Kevin Smith (no, not that one) spoke with TechCrunch about how the tech generates book-style ‘chapters’ and delivers highlights in a “TikTok-style personalized feed.”

• Law school: “Trademarking 101 for Independent Audio Makers” from SoundPath is coming up on September 14. Attorney Patrick J. Kondas will cover the basics of brand protection and give podcasters the knowledge to register trademarks without hiring counsel. $25 registration for non-AIR members.

• Hard truth: An outstanding producer has to serve as the listeners’ proxy, writes Slate journalist and podcaster June Thomas (Working). “Is there a basic fact or question the hosts haven’t covered that would give listeners a clearer understanding of the topic under discussion?” Be a hero and call it out.