PodMov Daily: Wednesday, April 6

Episode 619: Your Midweek Update

Headlines vs. The Royal Podcast Trademark

The royal bubble of podcast shenanigans has little to do with podcasting, but humor me. Meghan and Harry’s company Archewell Audio has applied to trademark ‘archetypes,’ the title of Meghan’s first Spotify-exclusive series. It only seems ridiculous (guilty) until you see the US Patent and Trademark filing.

This is not like the time LeBron James tried to claim ‘Taco Tuesday.’ In a nutshell, Archewell would own the word ‘archetypes’ as a title or branding for audio and video podcasts, web series, and TV. However, only in the fields of “cultural treatment of women and stereotypes facing women.”

Would this serve the best interest of creatives in those fields? Maybe not. Would it conflict with existing shows? Likely. But this is a cover-your-bases step of building a podcast brand, £18m contract or not. As Podnews explains, it’s simply the best way to protect your name and should be done early.

A claim in The Daily Mail is what originally got my attention: “Duchess bids to stop anyone else using the word,” right there in my RSS reader. (So obviously wrong, but how wrong?) Hours later, news.com.au lazily recycled the story into this: “If approved, it would ban anyone else from using the word.”

Though podcasters aren’t getting advice from tabloids, bad information about podcasting practice is everywhere. All this to say that trademarking a name for your show – even if it’s a common term – may be worth a shot. Podnews’ quick guide covers what’s realistic and how the process works.

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Here's what else is going on:

• Come hither: Substack is “re-upping its attempt to woo podcasters into using its service,” writes Amanda Silberling of TechCrunch. The platform offers essentially the same thing as Patreon (the ability to paywall premium content) but includes only one membership tier and takes a higher cut.

• Good question: Tomorrow evening at 6:00 ET, Death, Sex & Money host and creator Anna Sale will give a masterclass in the art of interviewing. Her award-winning WNYC podcast was named Best Interview Show at the 2021 Ambies. Free registration courtesy of the VPM + ICA Community Media Center.

• Numbers game: “Info to Insights: Using Data to Build Your Podcast Brand” is coming up on April 20. The SoundPath webinar with Nicole Walker (WinHers United) will cover essential analytics and how to tell a story about your show from numbers and details. $10 registration for non-AIR members.

• Group chat: The latest PM update has speaker submission details for PM22 and an Evolutions recap roundup. Thanks to Ami Thakkar: “It is only at conferences like Podcast Movement that storytellers, networks, producers, advertisers, and those fancy tech people can unite in a truly genuine way.”