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PodMov Daily: Wednesday, February 16

Episode 591: Your Midweek Update

The Ambies: 2022 Awards Nominees Announced

Nominees have been announced for the second annual Ambies, The Podcast Academy’s Awards for Excellence in Audio. Post Reports (The Washington Post) leads the pack with four nominations, followed by 9/12, Believe Her, Have You Heard George’s Podcast?, and Billie Was a Black Woman, which have three.

“The Podcast Academy is proud to share that it received a 34% increase in submissions compared to its inaugural awards last year,” said TPA Chairperson Donald Albright. Two new categories, Best Indie Podcast and Best Podcast for Kids, are “a testament to our mission of supporting independent creators.”

The ceremony will highlight 178 nominees across 25 categories. Bonus points: 57% of nominees for Best Podcast Host are women. Co-hosted by Ross Mathews and Nikki Boyer, the event will take place on March 22 at 6:00 pm ET from the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles, and will stream exclusively on Twitch.

How to Learn What Your Audience Really Wants

To truly know what your listeners want (and what they’re willing to pay for), it’s essential to learn who they are and what makes them tick. Hard data from your hosting platform and listening apps will only go so far, says Jennifer Tribe, Head of Marketing at Supercast. Here’s how to gather meaningful feedback.

Getting started can be intimidating. Espree Devora (Women In Tech) suggests focusing on an individual level. “You don’t have to think about everybody, just what can you do right now,” she tells podcasters. “What can you do today that will create that closer bond with someone who can symbolize 100 of your listeners?”

Whether you ask for feedback via email like Jesse Brown (Canadaland), on Instagram like Jay Clouse (Creative Elements), or elsewhere, a thoughtful listener survey is your strongest tool. Tribe offers a springboard template, tips for better questions, and a reason to consider not calling your survey ‘a survey’.

Podcastle: Studio-Quality Podcasting, Made Effortless

Podcastle is an AI-powered, collaborative platform that helps podcasters of all levels create, edit, and distribute studio-quality podcasts in seconds. With a suite of powerful features and easy-to-use tools, Podcastle has welcomed over 200,000 audio creators in its first year alone.

Making great-sounding content should not only be accessible – it should be fun. Podcastle offers innovative solutions for every creator: HD recording, an intuitive audio editor, separate tracks for remote interviewing, silence removal, text-to-speech/speech-to-text, and industry-leading AI audio transcription. 

Podcastle is simply the smartest way to bring your audio stories to life. Voted the 2021 Audio & Voice Tool of the Year by the Golden Kitty Awards, it makes smooth sound and advanced production effortless. Ready to experience the magic in action? Get started for free, no credit card required.

Here’s what else is going on:

• Center stage: The latest round of Evolutions speakers is out, featuring experts like Martina Castro (Adonde Media), Talib Jasir of (Afros & Audio), Catherine Saint Louis (Neon Hum), and Bryan Barletta (Sounds Profitable). This week’s PM update reveals 18 sessions across all three event tracks.

• Score card: Today at 2:00 pm ET, the third annual “Super Listeners” study will be presented in a webinar by Edison Research and Ad Results Media. How have attitudes toward podcast advertising changed among the heaviest listeners (5+ hours weekly)? Let’s find out. Free registration.

• Little boxes: An Apple Podcasts beta update lets users filter episodes by played, unplayed, downloaded, or saved. Filipe Espósito of 9to5Mac reports that users can also filter episodes by season “instead of seeing them all together in the same list.” iOS 15.4 is expected to launch this spring.

• Musical chair: Next Wednesday, February 23, Hrishikesh Hirway (Song Exploder) will give a virtual talk about the hit podcast. As host, producer, and editor, he brings iconic songs to life with the artists that made them. 6:00 pm ET. Free registration courtesy of the VPM + ICA Community Media Center.