Diversity and representation in audio romance / 'Love and Noraebang' launches / Acast acquires Podchaser

Plus, 'Mini Marconis' launches, Laci Mosley to keynote Podcast Movement 2022, and Digiday awards best podcast

Inside.com Part of   Network July 19, 2022

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EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Camila Victoriano on representation in romance  On July 19, "Love and Noraebang," a podcast that is a combination of a telenovela and K-drama, was released. The show follows the romance of a Korean chaebol and a Mexican Entrepreneur. The podcast is a production from Sonoro and The Mash Up Americans. I had a chance to chat with Camila Victoriano, co-founder of Sonoro, on representation and inclusivity in the genre of romance.  Shreya Sharma (SS): How do you think podcasting as an industry is doing when it comes to inclusivity in romance?  Camila Victoriano (CV): Across genres, I believe there is much more work to be done so that the characters and stories we listen to are as diverse as the world we live in. That means empowering creators and teams from marginalized communities to tell the stories they want to tell. "Love & Noraebang," for example, was produced by a 100% Latinx and Asian-American team, both in front and behind the mic. This team actually reflected the culture of our characters. You rarely see a production like that, in audio or in media more broadly. And the content really shines because of the people who made it.  SS: Where would you place inclusivity in romance, compared to other genres in audio? CV: It still feels like the podcast industry is just getting started – in popular culture, podcasts are still mainly known for true crime. Even in fiction, many of the shows in the market are darker thrillers. Joyful audio stories can often be overlooked, but that just means there is still so much more potential for growth.  And that's why we're excited to launch "Love & Noraebang" – an unapologetically optimistic love story that embraces different cultures.

INTERVIEW WITH CAMILA (contd.)  Shreya Sharma (SS): What role do you think romance plays in sharing one's culture? Camila Victoriano (CV): In the romance genre, two people inevitably have to open up to each other and share their lives, their friends, and their interests as they start to fall in love. Inherently, those details are tied to your culture. And because the rom-com genre in particular really values happiness and excitement, it's a wonderful opportunity to tell stories from a very positive point of view. When we made "Love & Noraebang," we wanted to be sure that the two different cultures our protagonists came from weren't the hurdle that their relationship had to face. Their differences didn't make their relationship harder – they made it stronger.  SS: Other than fun and entertainment, what do you wish your audience to take away from this show? CV: As we were making the show, we always talked about how a key goal of this project was to portray a world we wished we lived in – one which was incredibly delightful and in which different cultures were celebrated. I really hope that feeling comes through, as it influenced everything – the scriptwriting, casting, music composition, and sound design.  Thank you Camila and team for all that you do. I cannot wait to binge "Love and Noraebang" this weekend.

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Podcast hosting platform Acast announced plans to acquire Podchaser, the podcast database platform. The deal currently values Podchaser at $27.2M.  More: Podchaser has been known as the "IMDB for podcasts" since it was founded in Oklahoma in 2016. The company closed a $4M Series A funding round last year.  Acast was founded in Stockholm in 2014 and is currently a podcast hosting and monetization platform.  Earlier this year, Acast came into the spotlight for allegedly spamming podcasts on competing platforms.   Podcast acquisitions continue: Pushkin Industries will acquire Transmitter Media, a Peabody-nominated podcast production company.  Pushkin is the company behind shows including "Revisionist History" and "The Happiness Lab."  Transmitter Media is the company behind shows including "Rebel Eaters Club" and "Finding Fred."

PODS ON THE BLOCK  "Mini Marconis" is a new podcast from voice actor and podcast producer Newt Schottelkotte that shares how to be a fiction podcaster "while still being a kid." After coming of age in the audio fiction industry, Schottelkotte will share their tips and trials, especially with young creators, to get ready for being a fiction podcaster.  "Expanse: Pink Diamond Heist" is a new podcast following the story of millions of dollars worth of diamonds that were said to be lost in the '80s after a heist but are "back in circulation" now.  "Click Here" is an ongoing investigative show. Formerly of NPR, host Dina Temple-Raston opens the door to understanding cyberattacks targeted at civilians.  "The Ancients" is an ongoing podcast for folks who enjoy ancient history. Combining interviews with historians and stories from archaeologists, the show discusses history and mythology alike.

A message from BOXABL Imagine if houses were built like cars, with one home coming off the assembly line every 60 seconds...wouldn’t that change the world? Cutting-edge housing manufacturer Boxabl plans to do just that, by setting up the world's largest and most advanced housing factory. Why Boxabl? Setting up a 170,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in less than one year  Raising over $100M from over 15,000 investors  Elon Musk shouted out the Las Vegas-based company calling Boxabl a “cool product.”   Achieving LEED certification and hurricane wind ratings on all houses  Strategic partnership and investment from the largest home builder in the USA, D.R. Horton Inc.  Over 50 patent filings due to considerable innovations in building technology  Factory 2 is now under construction  Customer waitlist of over 100,000 pre-orders, indicating potential demand worth billions of dollars  Guided by Volkswagen Group's Porsche Consulting Inc. for the design and implementation of Boxabl’s new factory Shipping houses every day Invest Today

PODCAST EVENT UPDATES On July 20, Podcasting Seriously is hosting a Twitter Spaces on "leveraging the power of video for your podcast."  Laci Mosley of "Scam Goddess" will keynote Podcast Movement, happening Aug. 23-26, in Dallas and virtually. On Oct 6-9 in London, Cheerful Earful, a festival for comedy podcasts, is happening live in couple of locations across the city.

QUICK HITS  Ransomware attacks grew by 485% in 2020. This multi-pronged approach can help organizations respond to and recover from ransomware attacks.* On this month's Good Data series from Sounds Profitable, Caila Litman goes global to dig deep into trends in worldwide podcasting listening and growth.  "More Than This," a branded podcast from StraightTalk Wireless, won Digiday's Best Podcast award. The podcast was created by FRQNCY Media in collaboration with Vox Media. Disclaimer: yours truly is a freelance content writer on the FRQNCY Media team.  U.K.-based independent podcast firm Message Heard signed a partnership with The Kyiv Independent, an independent media outlet in Ukraine.  Pousse, the "first-ever" French podcast growth marketing collective, has launched. The aim is to help independent creators attain their visibility and sustainability goals. More here (in French).  How's your current digital marketing strategy? Make it even stronger with our new interactive worksheet.* *This is sponsored content.

Upcoming events at Inside: July 20 - AMA with Michael Wagner (Star Atlas) (Register Here) July 27 - AMA with Quinn Campbell (Sky Mavis) (Register Here) October 25 - Meet Our Fund 4, an Inside.com Summit (Register Here)

This newsletter was curated by podcast geek and marketer, Shreya. She loves storytelling in all forms but podcasts are her favourite. A resident of Vancouver, her favorite podcast genres are sci-fi, comedy, TTRPG, and a combination thereof. Follow her adventures on Twitter. Do you or anyone you know host an indie podcast? Hit reply to tell me about it. I might feature it on Pods On The Block!     Editor Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford.

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