PodMov Daily: Wednesday, April 28

Episode 417: Your Midweek Update

Spotify Launches Podcast Subscriptions on Anchor

Spotify will soon let podcasters on Anchor offer subscriptions to their shows. Select shows and partners, like NPR, are in business. The waitlist opened yesterday. Compared to Apple’s 30% cut, Spotify’s sticker price will be hard to beat: It won’t charge creators until 2023, after which it’ll take just 5%.

A main tradeoff between the two is the subscription process itself. On Apple Podcasts, listeners can subscribe with the tap of a button. Spotify won’t let them subscribe directly within the app, instead routing them to a separate site. Those who prefer to listen anywhere other than Spotify will be given a private RSS feed.

The creator-subscriber relationship void is currently the same as Apple’s: No names or email addresses will be provided. However, Anchor was prepared to avoid that particular criticism: “We also expect to add functionality in the near future that enables creators to contact their subscriber base directly.”

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PM Update: Virtual PM21 Options and New Events

Interested in Podcast Movement 2021 but unsure if you can make it? Good news: If there’s one thing 2020 taught us, it’s how to put on a top-notch virtual event. A Virtual Ticket allows live stream access to the most popular stages, including Keynote, Creation, Monetization, and Marketing. 

During “Virtual Expo Hour” each day of the event, you’ll have the opportunity to meet with exhibitors and other attendees in virtual booths. Soon after the event wraps, you’ll also have access to on-demand video of all keynotes and 100+ other sessions.  

What if you go Virtual and later decide to join us in Nashville? Attendees will only pay the difference up to the cost of a standard pass at the time they registered. Speaking of Nashville (and Atlanta, Birmingham, and Memphis), check out our Regional Meetup Tour coming your way in June.

Podcastpage: Build Your Website, Grow Your Podcast

Podcastpage.io makes it simple to build a professional-quality podcast website in minutes — without coding. Always in sync with your RSS feed, your site instantly imports episodes, show notes, transcripts, and more. Every page is optimized for search (SEO), speed, and social media sharing.

With unlimited blog posts, custom pages, and a fully customizable audio player, Podcastpage is packed with features that turn listeners into followers. Add subscription buttons to connect on other platforms, or instantly cross-post your episodes automatically to Twitter. 

Podcastpage is perfect for beginners, pros, and even networks with multiple shows. Whether you choose a stunning, ready-made template or custom design, your podcast will make a great first impression. Ready to launch a powerful site at an attractive price? Take a test drive with no payment details required.

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Here's what else is going on:

• Keystone species: Podcasting needs its indie creators, writes Nick Hilton in Pod Culture. The space is getting hostile, and acquisition news means “absolutely nothing” to most. “But the concerns of indie podcasters are not distinct from the concerns of podcasting in general.”

• Gather round: On Friday at 1:00 pm ET, Juleyka Lantigua-Williams will visit PMU to introduce the Podcasting, Seriously Awards Fund. The Fund supports independent BIPOC, Queer and Trans audio producers in submitting work to media/journalism awards. Followed by a Q&A.

• Study skills: Borrowing a brilliant maneuver from another podcast producer is more like flattery than stealing, jokes Rob Rosenthal of HowSound. He dissects an episode of The Experiment by The Atlantic, specifically its “theft worthy” interview questions and clever writing tricks.

• Estate sale: Acast’s new ad format, Sponsored Stories, consists of dynamically inserted spots from 90 seconds to four minutes in length. Meanwhile, voice ad startup Instreamatic has raised funding for podcast campaigns where listeners can talk to, and interact with, the ad.