PodMov Daily: Wednesday, July 28

Episode 471: Your Midweek Update

Spotify Brings Outside Paid Podcasts Onto the App

Spotify has announced a list of partners for Open Access, a system that lets users “unlock and listen to content they paid for via third-party services.” Ashley Carman of The Verge sums up the bigger picture: “Spotify wants to be the place you listen to all your podcasts, even the ones you pay for outside the app.”

Spotify doesn’t support private RSS feeds, which allow paying subscribers to listen on the podcast app of their choice. The company calls Open Access a “first-of-its-kind offering,” but it’s more of a workaround. Partnerships include Acast, Memberful, and Supercast, as well as networks like Vox and Slate.

Carman points out that Patreon is “a glaring omission.” It certainly is. (Spotify emphasizes that participants “can retain full control over their subscriber or customer bases,” a foundational benefit of using Patreon.) These new integrations will activate in the coming months, with more to be announced this fall.

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PM21: Event Platform and Mobile App Are Live

This week’s PM21 announcements begin with the final keynote: “How We Talk About Race in Podcasting” will be led by Alicia Montgomery, Executive Producer of Podcasts at Slate; Frank Shyong, LA Times columnist and co-creator of Asian Enough; and Leah Donnella, an editor of NPR's Code Switch.

Today’s the day to start on your profile and custom schedule — the Swapcard event platform and mobile app are ready to roll. Swapcard is where all live-streamed sessions will take place, and will be home to on-demand content before and after the event. Presentations will be added throughout the week.

For six events, including the She Podcasts Shindig, pre-registration is either requested or required. Read on for details and links to kindly let our hosts know you’ll be joining. One last thing: Please check out the event safety update sent out last week. Our color-coded button system is pretty neat.

Deepsync: Create Audio in Your Voice in Minutes 

Your unique voice is what makes your podcast special. With the power of AI, Deepsync syncs your voice to create realistic short-form audio with no manual recording or editing required. Simply enter a script and Deepsync automatically takes care of the rest, cutting up to 90% of production time and cost.

Deepsync learns from your voice’s complexity, capturing hundreds of details that define the way you speak. Add intros, sounds, and music inside the editor and that’s it — from audio recipes to daily news, your voice is ready to share. 10+ integrations make it easy to engage on Spotify, Instagram, Twitter, and beyond with a single click.

With Deepsync’s AI, you can focus on content instead of re-takes. It’s a time-saving, ethically sound solution for growing podcasters frequently creating short-form content. Ready to hear the possibilities? 

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Here's what else is going on:

• Promo code: What does a podcast’s brand identity actually entail? For The Podcast Host, Tae Haahr explains that logos are just a start. “It encompasses how both current listeners and future ones perceive and feel about your brand. And you have way more control over it than you think.”

• Made it: True-crime podcasting is at the center of an upcoming Hulu comedy series. “Only Murders in the Building” stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez as podcast-obsessed neighbors who attempt to document an amateur investigation with a true-crime show of their own.

• Toast proposed: Lantigua Williams & Co. has been awarded a MacArthur Foundation grant to produce a narrative podcast that will explore modern-day reparations for Black and other Americans. The Peabody-nominated studio is home to Podcasting, Seriously and the associated Awards Fund.

• Sweet talk: According to Book Riot, podcasts and radio have seen “a lot of ‘air time’ lately in romance novels.” Amanda Diehl previews 10 titles. Here’s a sample: “When small business owner Elle grabs a spot on Ahmed’s show to promote her dating service, he’s immediately smitten.” Aw yeah.