PodMov Daily: Friday, January 21

Episode 574: Week Download Complete

In Streaming’s Future, All Audio Ads are Interactive

Interactive audio ads are picking up steam, reports Alyssa Meyers in Morning Brew. The author’s summary: “You talk to them, they talk back, thanks to conversational AI.” Between Pandora’s voice-responsive model and Spotify’s new “call-to-action cards,” monetization is starting to dismantle the act of podcast listening.

Instreamatic, which licensed its tech to Pandora, makes ads that respond to silence as well as unenthusiasm. “For those who say a more emphatic no the first time around (maybe they use profanity in their response, for instance), they won’t hear from that campaign again, reducing waste in ad spending,” Meyers writes. Good to know.

Chris Record, a senior executive at SXM Media — this includes SiriusXM, Pandora, and Stitcher — hinted at the future. “You can imagine a world … where every ad on our platform is interactive,” he said. “Much like you can always click on a display banner, why shouldn’t all audio be able to be interacted with?”

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There’s No Such Thing as a Podcast Emergency

A few years ago Kathy Tu, currently Head of Production at Wondery, posted this wisdom on Twitter: “There’s no such thing as a podcast emergency.” For Aggi Ashagre, the message was transformative. Now a Senior Managing Producer at Pineapple Street, she breaks down practical, panic-busting truths.

“With any tech issues that might arise, from recording to mixing and mastering, always give yourself some time to scream at the heavens,” Ashagre advises. There’s a healthy way to ‘scream’ about all of it, it turns out: human error, team dynamics, and even systemic issues of working as a Black woman in audio. 

For each problem, Ashagre offers podcasters a lesson and takeaway “not necessarily to give you direct solutions.” There will always be too many variables to account for. “The purpose of this article is to help shift your relationship to production problems so they feel a little less foreign and a lot more manageable.”

Hot Docs is on virtually from Tuesday to Friday of next week. Headliners like Ira Glass and Back Issue’s first-ever live episode are $10 à la carte, and the Creators Forum will have masterclasses with Dan Taberski (9/12), Eric Eddings and Brittany Luse (For Colored Nerds), and more.

Psst: Use code PODMOVEHD for 20% off festival passes. Enjoy!

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Here's what else is going on:

• Fine print: On Monday at 3:00 pm ET is “What can Podcasters Learn from Book Publishers About Marketing?” on Twitter Spaces. Arielle Nissenblatt, Lauren Passell, and Jenn Hanson-dePaula of Mixtus Media will dig into social media and newsletters for audience growth. No account needed to join.

• Break even: “Anchor podcasts are unplayable in some podcast apps,” Podnews reports. On Twitter, Overcast developer Marco Arment reported the technical issue, noting that it’s been two weeks that Anchor has been “serving malformed files” that are unplayable on his and other podcast apps.

• Sample size: Looking to test out a new podcast idea? Mark Steadman of Podcode recommends a private WhatsApp group with those willing to give feedback. Before investing in a concept, “record on your phone, host your audio for free, and send it just to the people who you want to hear it.”

• Fellow kids: Spotify’s new ‘Listen If You Watch’ page offers a weekly set of podcast recommendations based on “a relevant cultural TV or film moment.” Four ‘shelves’ include podcasts for genre fans, actor fans, and “episodes inspired by the celeb of the moment, curated by our resident Gen Zer.”