Podnews Weekly Review

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail We dig into how podcast theft actually works, why one-click importing and monetization can turn into an engine for piracy, and what hosting platforms should change right now. We also look at where the creator economy is heading as newsletters, subscriptions, AI tools, and algorithmic discovery reshape how people find and fund audio. • Spreaker’s import and...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail Sam Sethi talks with Steven Goldstein about Liquid Content - and why our biggest threat is measurement that can't keep up with how the podcast world is changing. Plus... • Spotify memberships pricing tiers badges and email access for creators  • why web-based purchasing matters for app store rules and funding links  • ad skipping tools and the knock-o...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail A personal “podcast robot” that knows what you care about, searches the live stream of new episodes, reads transcripts, and drops surprisingly good recommendations straight into your favourite app sounds like science fiction until you hear Adam Curry walk through what he built. We dig into his Podcast Index Robot, why an MCP server is basically a bridge be...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail James is back from Europe; and we chat about why podcast ad spend is rising. Plus... • Libsyn RSS namespace for ad slot availability and why it feels odd in public feeds  • Goalhanger’s newsletter strategy as a membership product and audience data hub  • smart TV growth for podcast consumption and why smart speakers still fail discovery  • Canadian in car...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail Sam and James talk about a new podcast interview with Inception Point AI; and Sam discusses with Dave Jones of Podcast Index about the future of podcasting. • Patreon removing per creation memberships and what that breaks for seasonal creators • Reddit RSS shutdown, public API restrictions, and the economics of selling data to AI companies • Real-world cos...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail Sam and James look at Podcast Week, and the highs (and lows) of the week in NYC. Plus, Sam catches up with SupaPass, to learn more about the membership platform. If your podcast app supports it, we're in video this week. Buzzsprout Start podcasting - keep podcasting! Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail There's a really good reason why this show is just one minute thirty seconds long. Listen to find out! We'll catch you next week. And Happy Birthday, Sam Sethi Support the show Connect With Us:  Email: weekly@podnews.net Fediverse: @james@bne.social and @samsethi@podcastindex.social Support us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/support Get Podnews: podn...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail We talk with the founders of Everywhere about building a sales and monetisation layer for creators whose audiences now span podcasts, YouTube, social, and live. We also scan the week’s podcast industry moves, from AI production tools and shifting download trends to Apple updates, app features, awards, and upcoming events.  • Why Everywhere forms and what i...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail James is in Jakarta - Sam is in the UK. Below, what's in the show (courtesy of Buzzsprout's AI feature); we use chapters to let you skip to wherever you want. We talk with Acast CEO Greg Glenday and Backyard Ventures CEO Matt Cisneros about why the acquisition is about culture and building faster, not just inventory, and how Acast plans to stay f...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail James and Sam look into this week's podcasting news, including the show pulled by YouTube. • YouTube removing a top podcast with no warning, then reinstating it  • The risk of building a show on third-party platforms and automated enforcement  • Why we think a podcast needs an RSS feed to be a podcast  • YouTube reportedly paying creators to avoid Net...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail James is joined this week by Liam Heffernan from Mercury Podcasts, while Sam gets wet walking around Ireland. We weigh how platform decisions around ads, metrics, and video can quietly reshape podcast monetization, especially for smaller independent creators. We also zoom out to what these changes mean for trust in reporting, discoverability, and the futur...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail We speak with Ben and Alberto from RSS.com on their new video podcast plan. Plus, Acast is buying Backyard Ventures: why? • RSS.com MAX plan for Apple HLS video and 70% revenue share  • PAID meaning programmatic ads inserted dynamically  • Interstitial ad markers on Apple versus baked ads for other apps  • Alternate enclosure as a Podcasting 2.0 path to ke...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail We talk with Spotify’s first Equal Podcast Ambassador, Morgan Absher, about building Two Hot Takes into a video-first community and what real industry support for women creators should look like. Then we dig into Spotify’s financials and a controversial “Skip Ahead” test that could change how podcast ads are heard, measured, and trusted; and learn more abo...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail We chat with Andy Maxwell from EarMax Media about the new podcast-first ad agency, and Giles Gear from Cheerful Earful about the funniest podcast festival in the world. Also: we challenge the idea that creators are being “ripped off” and dig into what actually drives revenue in podcasting: sales, relevance, and trust. We also pull apart the AMP Accords, Ap...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail We speak with Dan Granger and Giles Martin from Oxford Road, about the new AMP Accords. Is this a new start for podcast measurement? And, can we get podcast apps into the revenue ecosystem? Plus, Edison Research on their recent reports. Also hear: • why downloads fail as a reliable metric for advertisers and creators • the AMP Accord goal of standard defin...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail This week, James and Sam talk with Bryan Barletta of Podcast Movement, and Martin Bojtos of Podmasters. Plus, we look at the week's podcasting news, including: • Podcast Movement’s New York Audio Week plan, five-day structure and $199 creator ticket strategy • Public session voting balanced by a selection committee to avoid a popularity contest • Soun...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail Sam's back - he talks with Ryan Williams about enhanced metadata for podcasting.  Buzzsprout's AI also tells us that: We dig into the stories behind this week’s podcasting numbers, from Overcast’s sudden rise to the growing sense that Apple Podcasts is no longer the default starting point for new listeners. We also go deep on interactive transcri...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail We're co-hosted by Elsie Escobar today, while Sam is away. Here's more about Elsie: * The E League Mentorship: https://elsie.link/eleague-podnews * Multimodalee https://elsie.link/mm-podnews * The Slight Spiral Dispatch: https://elsie.link/ssd-podnews Today, we cover monetization workflows, the real trade-offs of video, and why captions and human...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail (This uses Buzzsprout's CoHost AI summary. Buzzsprout is our sponsor.) We question whether Netflix can make podcasts work without chasing YouTube’s time-spent game, and we map where premium video fits in a world built on niche audio. We also dig into ad overload, new measurement fights, identity-driven targeting, and why immersive formats like Dolby A...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail Losh Moodaley's article: https://podnews.net/article/beyond-the-cpm-podcast-advertising  We test whether a 30-second threshold actually changes podcast stats, then pull apart why the definition of a “play” gets slippery once streaming, caching, and platform politics enter the mix. We also challenge the idea that better measurement automatically leads...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail We discover how the Locked On Podcast Network got going, and dive into more details about the new YouGov report showing how listeners consume podcast ads. Plus, plenty more. Support the show Connect With Us:  Email: weekly@podnews.net Fediverse: @james@bne.social and @samsethi@podcastindex.social Support us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/support Get Podnews:...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail Sam and James chat with Brian Conlan and Mark Asquith about Captivate and DAX US working together to monetize more podcasts; and to Dino Sofos about this year's Crossed Wires festival in Sheffield. Support the show Connect With Us:  Email: weekly@podnews.net Fediverse: @james@bne.social and @samsethi@podcastindex.social Support us: www.buzzsprout.com/...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail We pick apart Spotify’s investor-day announcements and ask what its AI-first roadmap means for podcast creators, monetisation, and trust. We also talk to the co-founders of BIPOC Podcast Creators about why the community is closing and what the industry loses when creator support dries up.  • Spotify’s “time well spent” metric and what it tries to reframe ...

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail We chat with Rox Codes from Flightcast, talk about the 'cavalcade of crap' from AI, and spill all the tea on a successful show. Support the show Connect With Us:  Email: weekly@podnews.net Fediverse: @james@bne.social and @samsethi@podcastindex.social Support us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/support Get Podnews: podnews.net

Send James and Sam a message or voicemail Amazon Music joins the video podcast race with HLS and RSS alternate enclosure support. Yay! Plus, we speak with PodVision about their successful indie show; and the developer of the UpNext app. • Amazon Music video podcasts rollout in the US and what “open RSS” support really implies  • Apple’s private API versus alternate enclosure and the moderation and...