From South Australia, the latest from our daily newsletter at podnews.net with Magellan AI. We start with a quote today. No clear audience gain, unvetted, untested and unproven proprietary metrics. That's from a piece about video on Spotify from Sounds Profitable's Brian Barletta, who goes on to urge the podcast industry not to take part in Spotify video and streaming audio as it stands because of long-term negative revenue and reputational impact for those involved.
Well, pointing us to a recent blog post from Megaphone, for whom Barletta briefly worked, Spotify said many claims were untrue and sent podnews a long set of specific corrections when we asked for comment. The company tells us that they're keen to help. Well, we last spoke with Maya Prohovnik in October and we'd be keen to speak with Spotify again to get any specific questions answered. If you'd like to do that, updates at podnews.net will find us.
Ashley Carman covers Spotify music takedowns for podcasters in her Soundbite newsletter this week. Now, it's long been the case that Spotify has removed any use of commercial music in podcasts, regardless of any license that podcasters have acquired. Ashley reports, though, a recent change in Spotify's tools. Podnews understands that creators now get eight days to provide more information. Episodes can now remain on the platform if the content is correctly licensed.
And there is now an appeals process. Oh, and by the way, podnews readers get 25% off Soundbite for the first year. If you follow the link, you'll find in our show notes and our newsletter at podnews.net. A new service called Podcast Prepper claims to reduce podcast preparation effort by 95%. The tool delivers AI-driven questions to ask your next guest. Great for podcast hosts who don't really care about the guests they have on. The tool is just $4 while in beta.
Podgagement has completed an import of six years of chart rankings to make it the most detailed charts and rankings provider for podcasting. The fully international chart data includes nearly 34,000 charts from Apple Podcasts and Spotify. One of the UK's biggest names in radio, Greg James, has been named as creative director of the Crossed Wires podcast festival. Greg is also a podcaster and presents the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show.
We're linked to a fancy recap video from Evolutions in Chicago today. The good news is I'm not in it, but there are plenty of podnews supporters in the video. Video or audio? Podcasts are not one thing or the other, suggests Amplify Media's Stephen Goldstein. And speakers have been announced for an event in the UK run by Audio UK. The Power of Podcasting is an invite-only event on April the 23rd for agencies and brands.
In People News, Chris O'Keefe has been named as media manager, podcast and content for the global transit technology company Modaxo. O'Keefe has produced a number of branded podcasts for a wide variety of companies.
And in podcast news, if you're missing the old This American Life from the days before it got into international affairs and politics, then take a ride from coast to coast without leaving your couch with All Across America, a sonic road trip across the United States from iconic to the hidden corners of the country. It's an independent podcast, as epic and entertaining as the country it covers.
I Formed a Band reflects the untold stories of famous musicians from before they made it big. It's hosted by Eddie Argos and Joe Sparrow. And the latest episode focuses on Dunstan Bruce, who's singer from Chumbawamba, about the band's anarchic roots, the band's political activism, and the unexpected journey to their global hit, Tub Thumping. Hopefully we'll hear why he got knocked down and then got up again, and why you're never going to keep him down.
Insiders, the TV podcast, is new today from two of the biggest names in UK television, Jimmy Mulville and Peter Fincham. The show promises personal stories, insider anecdotes, and expert analysis on the trends, triumphs, and controversies that have shaped television over the decades and today. And award-winning podcast Ex-Wives Undercover has returned for a sixth season of love-gone-wrong stories that will leave you speechless.
This season dives even deeper into the dark side of modern romance, the lies, the betrayal, and the strength it takes to rise above it all. And this podcast is sponsored by Magellan AI. If you missed their presentation at Evolutions by Podcast Movement last week, good news, there's a link for you to find it in our show notes and our newsletter at podnews.net. And that's the latest from our newsletter. To read all the stories and subscribe for free, we're at podnews.net.