A big podcast goes on the road - from Ottawa, the latest from podnews.net, with Soundstack, offering hosting companies more value for your podcasters. A popular show has started touring in the UK.
Welcome to The Rest is Politics with me, Alastair Campbell,
Earlier this week, they were in Brighton in the UK. We have an image of what that theatre looked like. The auditorium fits up to 4,500 people. It's a show from Goalhanger. Blubrry published its stats report for August. The share of Apple Podcasts downloads on the platform dropped to a new low from 56% in January to 47%. Buzzsprout also reported a three year low for September, and Libsyn has similarly reported an all time low for Apple podcasts in August's numbers.
Today is World Mental Health Day, and Spotify is launching Take a Beat, a section with field recordings from nature to nature themed albums and guided meditations and inspiring podcasts. The Atlantic has written about why Trump and Harris are turning to podcasts. Writer Helen Lewis says that we need to stop treating these podcasts as the alternative media when they are the mainstream these days. The top ones have audiences as big as, if not bigger than, most legacy outlets.
She continues, We should stop treating the mega podcasts like mum and pop outfits competing with chain stores. They're behemoths, she says. Podcast Gold, an evening of British podcast award winners, is planned in London on Monday, November the 18th. The event is free. It's a chance to hear from some of the winning presenters and producers on how they created podcasts, what makes them a success and what comes next after winning Gold.
Walmart is redefining podcast advertising, according to Ad Age, with some new integrated advertising formats. Acast is to expand into the Chinese speaking market, partnering with Initium Media just in time for Halloween. The wonderly show Morbid has released an exclusive merch collaboration with Spencer's and a podcast link service launched in 2021 available on Dotcom appears to have ceased.
And in podcast news, indie show Sliding Doors, hosted by Jenny Becker, releases its 100th episode today. The guest is legendary UK broadcaster Tony Blackburn, who's celebrating his 60th year on the radio. The Lamorning After has joined Headgum slate of shows. Ad sales for The Lamorning After will be facilitated by Gumball in the inaugural Headgum episode of the podcast.
Lamorne and Kyle chat with Saturday night director Jason Reitman about the film, which releases nationwide on October the 11th. Mics to Millions today has Jeremy Enns as guest from the Podcast Marketing Academy and the Scrappy podcasting newsletter. We're told he shared some incredible insights and takeaways on how podcasters can increase revenue by combining their podcast with an email strategy, specifically looking at how adding a newsletter can boost their income.
Get off our land, Enns. Squid Game, the official podcast, is Netflix's first ever rewatch podcast. Looking at season one, there are full video versions on Spotify, too. It launches today. Season two of Squid Game comes in December. And The Rebel Maker starts season three today, focusing on writing and publishing books and how to make real money from your writing. On the first episode, what to do if you have too many book ideas and don't know where to start?
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