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| 1 | | Spotify announced that it was laying off 200 employees on Monday, amounting to 2% of its workforce. The layoffs take place in the podcasting unit for the streaming audio giant as a pivot in the strategy of podcasting looms. More: - The podcasting unit will now become a more tailored partnership approach, as the company wants to handle partnerships with "leading podcasters from across the globe."
- Spotify is combining Parcast and Gimlet into an expanded Spotify Studios operation.
- The employees that were laid off earned generous severance packages, according to the memo put out by Spotify vice president Sahar Elhabashi.
- Since 2020, Spotify has greatly expanded its podcasting presence, spending $526M on four different acquisitions in the podcast space.
- Elhabashi emphasized that the "fundamental pivot from a more uniform proposition will allow us to support the creator community better."
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What the numbers say: May downloads of Apple Podcasts on Buzzsprout hit an all-time high. Following a high mark in January, the numbers dipped a bit as the numbers for rivals rose. But May saw a larger increase in Apple Podcasts downloads, hitting 41.3% of all downloads on Buzzsprout. Relevance: Buzzsprout released its May platform stats, and Apple Podcasts came out on top once again, continuing its rein atop the platform's rankings. It has been in the No. 1 spot since November 2021. This month saw the highest percentage of Apple Podcast downloads after the past three months had been around 37%. Buzzsprout is a platform that makes podcast hosting easy, as it provides tools and data for podcasters to create and publish their shows. More data: Spotify has been either in the top or second spot every month since October 2020. This month, Spotify downloads took up 30.2% of Buzzsprout downloads, meaning that the top two options took up nearly 3/4 of all downloads. The 30.2% is a high for Spotify in recent months, as web browsers came in third with just 4% of downloads. | | | |
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| 3 | | During Apple's WWDC 23 event yesterday, changes to Apple Podcasts were discussed as a part of the rollout of iOS 17. The updates will affect the aesthetic look on an iPhone and bring a more streamlined way to interact with the Apple Podcasts app. More: - There is a new Now Playing experience with a dynamic background that shows the art for the podcast. You will also be able to control the queue more easily from this.
- You can tap "Playing Next" to see what the next episode to play is. You also can add episodes to your queue by pressing and holding onto it and tapping "Add to Queue."
- Apple Podcasts now supports episode art for all podcasts, which creators can publish via RSS.
- There are new search filters that make it easier for users to find podcasts easily. Search will also show you information about a show, such as time remaining on a current one and whether you have an episode saved to your Library.
- In the fall, listeners can connect eligible subscriptions to top apps from the App Store with Apple Podcasts, so you'll get updates on new shows from your subscriptions to apps for news, health, family, and more.
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| 4 | | In anticipation of the FIFA Women's World Cup later this summer, Telemundo and NBC Sports are creating a bilingual season of the series My New Favorite Futbolista. The Spanish-speaking episodes will fall under the show title Mi Mundialista Favorita. More: - The series was initially started in 2021 in a lead-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. This 10-episode season will highlight the most inspiring FIFA Women's World Cup stars.
- It is an audio and video series that is produced by Telemundo Deportes, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the Women's World Cup.
- Co-hosted by soccer stars Janelly Farías and Meghan Klingenberg, with Farías hosting in Spanish and Klingenberg hosting in English, each episode will feature local reporters from NBC and Telemundo-owned stations connected to the athletes being highlighted.
- Video versions of each episode will be presented on NBC and Telemundo-owned stations' digital platforms and TV channels, such as Peacock.
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| A message from our sponsor, Wing VC. |  | | Meet the Best Companies in Enterprise Tech: Presenting the 5th Annual ET30 The Enterprise Tech 30, now in its 5th year, identifies the best companies in enterprise tech as chosen by an exclusive group of 96 venture capitalists across 74 firms. It serves as a platform for the tech industry to identify, learn about, and build relationships with today’s most promising private companies. This year’s cohort is unlike any of the previous four. In this report you can expect: - Over two-thirds are new to the ET30.
- Nearly 30 percent of the companies on the list are in the generative AI category.
- Half are in the developer platform and tools category, an increase from years past.
- Many span multiple categories, including security, fintech, and productivity tools.
And, some of the previous year’s winners are seeing tremendous success: Of last year’s ET30 companies, one has been acquired (pending), and 20 have raised follow-on capital of $9.3 billion in total. Of the initial ET30 companies in 2019, the total valuation has increased by $264 billion since the 2019 report publication date. See The List | |
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| 5 | | Vox Media has hired Lillian Xu as the executive director of its audio business. Xu, who previously worked at New York Public Radio, will partner with SVP and general manager for audio, Ray Chao, to further expand the Vox Media Podcast Network. More: - The new role will involve strategic initiatives, franchise expansion, partnerships, and business operations.
- At New York Public Radio, Xu led the strategy and business development teams and oversaw general strategic planning.
- She also oversaw the growth initiatives for podcasts like Radiolab and The New York Radio Hour.
- Xu worked with Vox Media while at New York Public Radio to distribute the daily podcast Today, Explained.
Zoom Out: | | | |
| 6 | | One of the founding fathers of podcast fiction has found a new home as Scott Sigler joins Realm. The New York Times best-selling author joins the world's largest scripted podcast network. More: - Realm has over 1,520 shows and 3,500 hours of audio entertainment.
- Sigler brings his unabridged titles with him, including Nocturnal, which is already live on the site.
- Titles that will soon be added to Realm include the Infected Trilogy, the Generations Trilogy, Ancestor, Earthcore, and the entire Galactic Football League series.
- "Realm is a perfect fit for my work," Sigler said. "Realm has cultivated a large audience of listeners eager to consume horror and sci-fi audio fiction. I'm excited to put my stories in front of new listeners."
- "Scott is a pioneer in audio entertainment — he distributed his audio series as podcasts very early on and built an incredible audience base before expanding into traditional book publishing," said Realm's Head of Network, Nicole Kreutter.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Want to invest in one of the Top 5 Fastest Growing Industries in the U.S.? Join R3 Printing as they take on the $18B 3D printing industry.*
- Jemele Hill is leaving Spotify and is shutting down her podcast network.
- Free from Desire, a podcast hosted by Aline Laurent-Mayard about what it means to be asexual, debuts tomorrow at the Tribeca Festival.
- The 13th Step, a show from New Hampshire Public Radio about the culture of sexual misconduct in the world of addiction treatment and recovery, debuted today, and all seven episodes are available now.
- The Louis Theroux Podcast launched on Spotify today with his first guest, Shania Twain.
- Automate tedious project management work with Notion Projects.*
*This is a sponsored post. | | | |
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 | Freelance Editor | | Christopher Hachey is a freelance writer and editor based in the New York City area. He has spent most of the past 15 years in newsrooms covering all kinds of topics like sports, tech, business, finance, and commerce. He's now returning to his broadcast journalism roots by diving into podcasting news. Reach out to him at chris@inside.com | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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