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PodMov Daily: Tuesday, September 3

Episode 35: Your Newsday Tuesday

Owning the Audio Space: NPR's Foremost Priority

According to NPR news chief Nancy Barnes, the network will prioritize “audio first” moving forward. During a session at the Public Radio Program Directors Association conference on Wednesday, Barnes pointed to commercial radio as primary competition:

” We need to be thinking five years ahead in owning the audio space, because a lot of organizations have seen that there is a big, growing audience here.

Podcasts, on-demand news, and NPR’s radio shows will see increased initiative as well as “making sure NPR is on smart speakers and other emerging audio platforms.”

The network’s chief digital officer, Thomas Hjelm, said that they’ve been “increasingly conscious that companies like Spotify or Luminary or Amazon and Google are essentially building a business based on their access to our free content.” Competition’s fierce out there.

Maker Weekend at London Podcast Fest: Sept. 14-15

The Maker Weekend at the London Podcast Festival is just around the corner. Taking place September 14 and 15, the Maker Weekend’s workshops are designed for new and experienced creators.

Alongside the festival’s stacked roster of live British and international shows, Maker sessions incorporate the art, craft, technology, business and politics of podcasting. Learn the latest in technical tricks, monetization, storytelling and more from “some of the biggest names in audio as well as independent makers and creators.”

Sessions are individually ticketed to keep costs affordable: Even specialist workshops top out at £9.50. Book tickets on the event’s site. “There’s really something for everyone,” says program creator Martin Austwick. “You can mix and match from the different strands until you create a weekend that suits your needs.”

500m Users: Ximalaya FM, China's Podcasting Ruler

As reported by Inkstone News, Ximalaya FM is by far China’s top podcast platform, now with “about 500 million users.” What began as a startup in 2012 has grown along with the popularity of the medium in China. Data from iiMedia Research estimates that the country’s podcast listeners jumped from 348 million in 2017 to 425 million in 2018.

Sun Tian, a vice-president at the company, says that the enormous increase is due to “demand from ambitious go-getters with voracious appetites for knowledge to parents using the audio-sharing platform to read stories or teach their children” [quoted paraphrase]. Founder Yu Jianjun plans to use Ximalaya, “reportedly valued at more than $3 billion,” to orchestrate a major “online audio ecosystem.”

The Latest Data & Industry Insights, Expertly Explained

Treat yourself to some insights this Tuesday with Tom Webster’s PM19 keynote summary. If you’ve ever wondered how feral hogs could charmingly make an appearance in media analogy, this is the piece for you.

Happy reading,

Team PM

Here's what else is going on:

• Timeless, timely: WNYC Studios (Radiolab, Snap Judgment) is launching a month-long podcast series about classical music. The Open Ears Project, “part mixtape, part sonic love-letter,” shares real people’s stories about “the classical track that means the most to them.” Begins Sept. 10.
• Counting stars: RadioPublic has partnered with Podchaser to display community podcast ratings and reviews. The “cross-platform approach” allows listeners to read and write reviews from mobile or desktop. The feature is “beginning to roll out” across RadioPublic’s catalog.
• Be seen: AdsWizz has partnered with engagement firm Big Mobile on “tech that tracks unique visits to retail locations from specific audio ad campaigns.” An experiment with a major Australian brand measured  over “90% lift” in foot traffic. How? Data filtered from a “common device ID.”
• Worth it: Edgy Labs instructs sponsors how to get the most out of podcast ads in 4 steps. Learn the importance of placement (and why the mid-roll slot rules), how to use promo codes as a metric tool, and to trust your host for an unscripted but compelling message.