PodMov Daily: Tuesday, July 28

Episode 251: Testing, One Two-sday

Why are Spotify Users Disguising Bootleg Audio as Podcasts?

Can’t find your favorite song on Spotify? Benji Geisler of Document Journal suggests we check the podcast section. “Spotify is filled with user-uploaded, bootleg music and audio masquerading as podcasts,” Geisler writes. Why are so many account holders taking the risk of these workarounds, especially for entire albums?

“Adding a podcast to the service is as simple as linking an RSS feed […] Unlike uploading music, there’s a remarkable lack of oversight and virtually no cost to get a podcast on Spotify,” Geisler explains. “The company doesn’t pay out for podcast streams, so there’s no financial theft at play; but long-standing issues regarding copyright persist.”

The company has promised to crack down on pirated music, but some users say that backdoor uploads are a natural extension of the free internet: “Hacking Spotify’s podcast library appears largely motivated by a desire to reintroduce co-operative systems of music sharing, not unlike Napster, for the streaming age.”

Resettled: A Podcast's Holistic Approach to Refugee Experiences

“Coverage of refugee communities, inside or outside of public media, has a predictable feel to it,” says writer and podcaster Jenna Spinelle in Current. What happens after the formal resettlement period ends? Spinelle speaks with the creators of Resettled, a podcast consciously changing this unjust pattern.

Resettled, which began as an NPR Story Lab project, “aims to bring listeners inside the daily lives of refugees in central Virginia through interviews and audio diaries.” Angela Massino, Virginia Public Media’s director of digital content, invited Iraqi-American podcaster and author Ahmed Badr to develop and host the expansive six-part series.

Spinelle explains how producers “built trust and created excitement for the show as it was released” by engaging with refugee communities. Badr says that in his key role, he had to “know that we would be treating these stories with justice and presenting them in the most honest and effective way possible.”

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Here's what else is going on:

• Plugged in: Podcasters can now use their Podchaser creator profiles to apply for membership to The Podcast Academy. Podchaser explains how prospective members can link to their profiles in order to verify podcast credits, required by the Academy.

• Lesson plan: Podcasts have become a standout savior of distance education. Podcast.co explains how they prioritize active learning outside the classroom, reduce “catch-up” stress, and how auditory learning evens the playing field for different retention styles.

• Slowly, surely: The French music streaming service Deezer has launched a global “Black Culture” channel with a large podcast component. The company says of recent changes to its categories, “Our first step was to get rid of the term ‘Urban' in June 2020.”

• Real goals: Michael Leonard, the creator of Inspire Your Success, outlines 10 lessons from his first 100 podcast episodes. Big-name guests aren't everything. For listeners in the business category, “guests that are just a few steps ahead of them feel more attainable.”