PodMov Daily: Friday, October 8

Episode 516: Week Download Complete

YouTube’s New Audio Features Will Attract Podcasters

Announced yesterday, new accessibility features on YouTube will certainly appeal to podcasters. According to Aisha Malik of TechCrunch, the site will soon expand auto-translation for captions to iOS and Android, as well as give users the option to search through transcripts using specific keywords.

Podcasters have more reasons than ever to put (at least some of) their content on YouTube. An incoming executive will be “in charge of organizing and managing the millions of podcasts that already exist on the site,” reported by Bloomberg on Tuesday. These new features aren’t explicitly tied to podcasts, but the benefits are clear.

‘Subtitle Editor,’ a previously announced YouTube Studio feature, will be out soon as well. Podcast teams will be able to collaborate on one of the most important aspects of their show. A polished transcript, available in a variety of languages on mobile, is a pretty cool way to reach new “YouTube primary” audiences.

Real Survival Lessons from Awkward Interviews

There’s no getting around it: At some point, awkward interviews will happen to every podcast host brave enough to invite guests. This Flashback Friday, Larell Scardelli dives into the discomfort with six experienced hosts. From embarrassing equipment noises to total flops, there’s always a lesson to be learned.

After three and a half years and over 180 interviews, Dyking Out co-host Carolyn Bergier suggests leaning into the awkwardness: “One great lesson from being a stand-up comedian is that when you feel like you're bombing, calling it out can break the tension, let you take a breath, and then move past the moment.” 

What should be edited out? Is it worth scrapping an entire interview? Scardelli answers these questions and many more. “Thanks to our featured hosts, you’ll be armed with some strategies and confidence to navigate the bumps, as well as the knowledge that sometimes, interviews don’t make it. And that’s okay.”

Dynamic Content: A Powerful New Tool from Buzzsprout

With Buzzsprout, it’s faster than ever to keep your podcast fresh — and your listeners up-to-date. The Dynamic Content tool lets you easily add and remove short pre-roll (intro) and post-roll (outro) content to your episodes. It's the perfect solution for timely messaging.

Whether you’re promoting a virtual event or giving a special shout-out, Dynamic Content makes it simple to swap, automatically add content to new episodes, or apply it to your existing catalog with a click. Old files are removed and replaced, so there’s no clean-up.

For podcasters, this new tool offers more than flexibility. It benefits your audience in more ways than one: Buzzsprout respects your listeners’ privacy. Unlike most Dynamic Ad Insertion, the Dynamic Content tool includes no tracking or targeting. Ready to make the switch?

Here's what else is going on:

• Upward, onward: On Tuesday, Broccoli Productions founder Renay Richardson will lead a Podcast Pay It Forward session. The live Q&A series with expert audio producers is presented by Content is Queen, a London-based indie agency. Free registration. 12:00 pm CT/6:00 pm BST.

• Test drive: Recording and other new features on Clubhouse could “change the game” for brands, says Dominic Girard of Pacific Content. (Individual podcasters will find them just as helpful.) He covers benefits, release dates and tips for each: clips, replay, pinned links, and universal search.

• Bright idea: Daniel Alarcón, host and Executive Producer of NPR's Radio Ambulante, was recently awarded a “Genius Grant” from the MacArthur Foundation. Alarcón spoke to WNYC’s The Takeaway about the evolution of his work since 2012 and the importance of Spanish-language media.

• People's choice: Finalist voting for the 2021 Audio Verse Awards will be open until Sunday, October 17. In its ninth year, the Awards recognizes 207 works of immersive audio fiction. A nominee showcase playlist and detailed ranked-ballot instructions make it easy for fans to participate.