PodMov Daily: Friday, February 18

Episode 593: Week Download Complete

What Do Spotify’s Latest Buys Mean for Podcasters?

“If podcasters have avoided Spotify’s podcast world up until now, well, they’re probably going to have to start engaging,” wrote Ashley Carman in Hot Pod yesterday. Podsights and Chartable are essential for analytics and ad attribution across the entire space, and many podcasters rely on Chartable’s free data tools.

Once the integration is complete, Chartable will only be available to people who use Megaphone. They don’t need to be “paying customers,” Spotify says, but even a free account ties a podcaster into their system. The loss (to some degree) of Podsights as a neutral third party will complicate ad buys as well.

Tracking the success of one’s podcast is invaluable. Spotify now owns a major piece of that puzzle and will soon know more about your show than you do. Meanwhile, The New York Times reports that Joe Rogan’s exclusive deal was double what we thought: “at least $200 million, with the possibility of more.”

YouTube’s New ‘Misinfo Efforts’ Are Right on Time

YouTube is considering new measures to keep misinformation from going viral on its platform. In a blog post titled “Inside Responsibility,” Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan described potential updates that would effectively “break” sharing features for videos with “borderline content,” a tricky gray area in moderation.

Borderline videos “don’t quite cross the line of our policies for removal but that we don’t necessarily want to recommend to people,” Mohan says. These videos are already being limited in recommendations within YouTube, and this extra step would keep them from being embedded or linked on other platforms.

At a time when Spotify is catching serious heat for its misinformation problem, YouTube has an opportunity to set itself apart, at least in terms of PR effort. Ashley Carman makes the case that Spotify’s podcast strategy is really about ‘beating YouTube.’ The timing of Mohan’s responsibility message certainly checks out.

Podcast Parties: Turn Your Audience Into a Community

When podcast fans spend time together, they become more than just an audience – they form a community. Podcast Parties is a new full-service virtual event production company built just for podcasters. Whether you’re launching a new season or hosting an educational workshop, it’s the easiest way to bring your fans together.

Podcast Parties will help you design your event, promote it, sell sponsorships, and give your fans an experience unlike any other. Podcast Parties go far beyond Zoom meetings by giving your listeners a unique opportunity to mix and mingle at virtual tables.

Virtual events can open new revenue streams through ticketing, sponsorships, subscription perks, and more. Ready to see the platform in action? Schedule a demonstration to get the party started.

Here's what else is going on:

• Turbo mode: Tuesday at 11:00 am CT is “Radio Boot Camp: What You Need to Know to Make a Show.” Veteran showrunner Dan Bobkoff (Axios, Business Insider, NPR) will lead an interactive course on the podcast landscape, audience building, monetization, and IP retention. $100 registration.

• Locals only: iHeartMedia will translate its most popular podcasts into Spanish using Veritone’s synthetic-voice technology. Stuff They Don’t Want You to Know en español is just the beginning of a new partnership deal that includes original multilingual production and voice cloning of “top talent.”

• Future forward: Through her show AfroQueer and podcast company AQ Studios, Selly Thiam has been documenting queer stories from the continent for 15 years. Thiam spoke with OkayAfrica about visibility, AQ’s two training programs for podcasters, a new archive project with Google, and more.

• Study session: Social science podcasters can apply for grants of between $5,000 and $50,000 from The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. They’re seeking story proposals related to “intellectual humility,” or the ability to recognize when we’re wrong. The deadline is March 31.