PodMov Daily: Wednesday, August 21

Episode 27: Your Midweek Podspeak

Disney Announces First Foray into Podcasting

Disney Music Group has announced the company’s first foray into podcasting. For Scores, an interview series featuring composers tied to the company’s projects, will debut on Friday.

“People don’t always know what’s behind the curtain, […] what goes into the process of scoring these soundtracks,” says Robbie Snow, SVP of global marketing. “Oftentimes composers don’t get the limelight the big end-title artists get, so this is an opportunity to shine a light on them.” For Scores will “drop a quartet of interviews at a time,” the second batch set for October.

Distribution beyond major providers will be wide, including social platforms, the Disney Hub on Spotify, and Disney Music’s YouTube channel. The podcasts won’t be “blatantly” Disney-branded to leave room for programming across subsidiaries like FX and Freeform.

Branded Podcasts, Investigative Tropes, and Missing Sauce

Patreon recently announced an integration with the professional video platform Vimeo. Pro and Premium users are now able to share secure video with patrons without leaving Patreon.  Vimeo’s “gated and secure” integration ensures that “unreleased, raw, and new content,” unlike YouTube links, cannot be “shared or leaked elsewhere.”

Branded podcasts have evolved well in recent years, with Microsoft, Lyft, and New Balance entering the corporate ring. The Sauce, a three-episode “investigative” parody show modeled after Serial, was released last year by Gizmodo.

It sought an explanation for McDonalds’ shortage of an all-the-rage dipping sauce. Of course, McDonald’s was behind the project. The New York Times’ David Yaffe-Bellany describes the show’s purpose as “a tongue-in-cheek apology” to customers disappointed when the chain ran out of teriyaki-flavored Szechuan Sauce. It’s a long story.

Although it’s “unclear how much branded podcasts have helped companies generate sales or reach new customers,” adequate content is key. “If a brand wants to make a commercial that’s 20 minutes long, it will fail,” says Matt Lieber, managing director of Gimlet. Shrewd listeners will have to make that call.

Lauren Lapkus on Improvisation, Effort, and Peak Podcast

The eponymous host of With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus has cracked the code of successful rule-breaking. The “freewheeling, completely improvised” podcast began in 2014. Comedian guests arrive with the setup, surprising both host and listener with the interview’s “outlandish” premise.

Lapkus “gets to discover whether she’s getting cast as a woman fresh out of detox or as Jesus Christ in real time.” No pressure, right? She says that when starting out, she knew she didn’t want to be herself each week and wanted something sustainable that required “as little work as possible.”

No such luck, since she’s currently on three others: Raised by TV, Threedom, and Wild Horses. “I’m in peak podcast mode,” Lapkus tells Variety. In this case, the summit certainly sounds fun.

Welcome, Newcomer! A Midweek Highlight

This Wednesday we’re highlighting a brand new podcaster. Asma is a Neuroscience PhD candidate at The University of British Columbia. She hosts Her Royal Science, “a revolutionary and accessible podcast created to feature minorities in STEM from around the world.” Best of luck!

Love,

Team PM

Here's what else is going on:

• Podcast playlists: Spotify has reportedly added a podcast playlist feature. Playlists may include episodes from different podcasts. “This feels like it deserves a *finally!*,” says Zach Kahn. Some of the “building/sharing features” are not quite complete, but this tool could certainly improve discovery.
• New collaboration: Ireland’s Lovin Media Group has entered into a new creative partnership with established podcast production studio Tall Tales. “The growth of Irish podcast listeners year on year is phenomenal,” says TT founder Cassie Delaney. Shows include The Creep Dive and Mother of Pod.
• EncuestaPod results: Podcaster@s has released findings from EncuestaPod 2019, a collaborative survey “to get to know podcast audiences in Spanish.” Consumption data from 2,153 respondents in 18 countries and territories aims to show how the industry has evolved over the last 2 years.
• LAist merch: Public media and podcast brands often distribute merch like stickers, magnets, and tote bags. Learn how nonprofit public radio newsroom LAist revitalized after relaunch and developed membership campaign favors like local artwork and avocado-shaped stress balls.