PodMov Daily: Thursday, October 28

Episode 530: Your Thursday Podthoughts

Spotify Claims Largest Share of US Podcast Listeners

Right on time, Spotify has announced that it “recently became” the podcast platform U.S. listeners use the most. CEO Daniel Ek made the claim during the company’s Q3 earnings call, reports Sarah Perez of TechCrunch. This is based on data from Edison Research’s Podcast Consumer Tracker and Spotify’s own internal sources.

“Without hard numbers from Spotify or Apple, it’s hard to specifically confirm how close the race still is at this time,” Perez says. Streams vs. downloads matter little at this point; Podcast Consumer Report respondents were asked, “What platform or service do you use most to listen to podcasts?” and 24% soundly beats 21%.

Ek credits “literally hundreds” of factors, including content investments and the speedy release of new features. Revenue was $2.9 billion in the quarter, up 27% year-over-year, with ad sales rising 75% to reach $374 million. Thanks to “a ton of first-party data,” the company hasn’t felt much impact from iOS privacy changes.

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Survey: The Average Podcaster Has “5 Different Jobs”

The average podcaster covers five different roles at once, according to the first State of Podcasting survey conducted by Muck Rack. Respondents were “masters of multitasking,” with routines that include hosting (76%), writing/editing (63%), producing (62%), promotions/marketing (60%) and booking guests (58%).

The goal was to learn how podcasters measure success, source content, and prefer to be pitched by PR companies. 42% want the person reaching out “to get familiar with their show by listening to multiple episodes before they pitch.” Lack of personalization (47%) and bad timing (42%) are the primary reasons for rejection.

“Only 22% said that driving revenue was a goal,” according to the announcement. Other options listed were ‘awareness and education’ and ‘enjoyment and passion.’ The survey results are downloadable through Muck Rack (not directly, registration is required) and a live discussion panel will take place on Wednesday. 

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Here's what else is going on:

• Camera obscura: It’s time audio production is appreciated visually, writes Erik Jones for Timber.fm. “My goal was to collect the most unique and interesting podcast photos I could find as a counterweight to the mountains of microphone stock photos.” The resulting action shots are terrific.

• Block party: Are local podcasts the next great opportunity? According to Gordon Borrell, CEO of Borrell Associates, they may be: Advertisers have most likely not been pitched local shows. Borrell offers 20 years of perspective on local media dollars to Amplifi Media CEO Steven Goldstein.

• Monster mash: Ads in audio drama are part of the art form for Creepy creator Jon Grilz. For Acast’s Audio Fiction Week, he describes his approach to out-of-the-box ad reads that fit perfectly within the horror-fiction niche. Most spots have a blend of horror satire as “a little nod to the listeners.”

• Double scoop: “Co-hosted shows, done well, have a certain magic to them,” writes Pacific Content producer Pippa Johnstone. Charisma comes from valuing the exchange and supporting your partner, which multi-co-host Sarah Marshall (You’re Wrong About, You Are Good) has finely tuned.