PodMov Daily: Monday, January 20

Episode 124: Your Monday Mix

Tune In to Dropout: The 2020 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards

On Friday evening in Los Angeles, the 2020 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards celebrated a flourishing industry. “With numerous well known actors and comedians jumping to join the podcast world, many might think the sheer star power of their name drives popularity and accolades,” writes Breanna Bell for Variety. “But this year’s Podcast awards kept the stars in check in a couple categories.”

The Dropout from ABC News earned the title of Podcast of the Year, besting candidates including iHeartRadio’s The Ron Burgundy Podcast. The Ron Burgundy comedian himself, Will Ferrell, opened the ceremony. We congratulate PM19 featured speakers Aaron Mahnke and Guy Raz  — Mahnke was named ‘Best Overall [Male] Host’ for Lore and Raz’s How I Built This won ‘Best Business & Finance Podcast.’

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Chinese Podcasting and Audio App Lizhi is Open for Trading

The major Chinese podcasting and audio content app Lizhi has made its Nasdaq debut. “It is the first of its major competitors, Ximalaya and Dragonfly, to go public,” reports Catherine Shu for TechCrunch.

“Though Lizhi, Ximalaya and Dragonfly each host podcasts, audiobooks and livestreams. Lizhi […] has differentiated itself by focusing on user-generated content created with the app’s recording tools.”

CEO Marco Lai said in an interview that AI technology, used to distribute podcasts, is a top-priority investment. Evolving offerings give the company an edge in China’s ’emerging’ yet competitive audio market.

Shu explains, “AI is also used to monitor content, give creators instant user engagement data and provide features that allow them to fine-tune recordings, reduce noise and create 3D audio.”

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Prospective Podcast Converts: They Don't Listen? Don't Be Dismissin'

“I don’t really listen to podcasts.” Chances are, you hear this comment regularly. Dan Misener at Pacific Content urges the podcast orbit to pay close attention — non-listener perspective is deceptively valuable.

“Those of us in podcast-land forget that […] the vast majority of people (68% according to The Infinite Dial) are not regular podcast listeners,” Misener points out. The 2018 video presentation “What’s a Podcast?” by Edison Research, embedded in the article, supports the argument that podcasts must be made with non-listeners in mind.

Misener explains why it’s worth it to seek out the uninitiated and take the time to learn their impressions. “As a podcaster, your job is to make a show so good that non-podcast listeners are incentivized to check it out,” he insists. “So good that the trip up the podcast learning curve is worth it.”

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Might you be interested in speaking at PM2020 in Dallas this August? The submission period has begun — this is your opportunity to lead a session or panel at our largest event yet.

Full details, including information on session and track types, are available on the Speaker Submission Form.

Cheers,

Team PM

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Here's what else is going on:

• For sport: The Wall Street Journal reports that Spotify is “in talks” to buy The Ringer. If the early discussion results in a deal, Spotify could be set to “break into broader digital media and bring a network of more than 30 podcasts under its roof.”

• Open door: Celebrity and niche podcasting in India has amplified into the “next big thing” following the recent launch of Audible Suno, a free audio-streaming service in English and Hindi, and Spotify’s launch of original podcasts in the country.

• Frequent flier: Inside Radio reports that Podtrac’s ranker of the most listened-to podcasts now includes those that publish multiple times a day. As a result, NPR’s hourly five-minute show News Now joined the top five in December, coming in third.

• Sample size: Procter & Gamble and StubHub are “among the first companies to test Pandora’s new audience measurement tools,” according to Mobile Marketer. Test & Tune “lets brands ask audiences direct questions to gain more consumer insights.”