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• Spotify has launched the Spotify Partner Program, a way to monetise your shows on the platform. “More than 65% of eligible shows and networks have already enrolled,” says the press release. You have to be hosted with Spotify (or Spotify’s Megaphone) in order to get access, and be based in the US, UK, Canada or Australia.
  • Creators get a 50% revenue share for ads sold. For any video episodes that “Spotify Premium subscribers in select markets stream uninterrupted”, creators earn “based on how much your content is streamed”, but there is no further detail. If you have baked-in host reads, you retain all revenue from those.
  • The hard-to-hit eligibility figures (30 day targets of 10,000 streamed hours on Spotify, and 2,000 unique Spotify users) are Spotify-exclusive numbers - which suggests that some podcasters might withdraw their shows from open RSS altogether if it helps them hit the eligibility figure.
  • How does YouTube compare? YouTube pays out more - giving creators 55% of ad revenues (though overall revenues might be lower), and shares a portion of YouTube Premium revenue with creators, based on watch time. YouTube’s also significantly easier to become eligible, needing 4,000 streamed hours in the last year, and 1,000 subscribers).
• Anchor co-founder Michael Mignano has explained how Anchor managed to add shows to Apple Podcasts without forcing users to do it themselves - always a bone of contention with other podcast hosts. No, it wasn’t a secret API (which Apple always denied): it was... hiring college students to do it all manually.
• How do you turn a true crime podcast into a video show suitable for YouTube? True Crime Reports from Al Jazeera, which launches this Sunday, combines AI-generated visuals to re-enact aspects of the cases, motion graphics, and interviews with individuals at the heart of these stories. It's a first for a large broadcaster; the show is a co-production between Al Jazeera and Message Heard.

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• Looking for a good pair of wired in-ear monitors, so you can appear on-camera without massive over-ear headphones? Today, in-ear monitor company Noble Audio launches The Knight, which the company says are triple-driver wired in-ear monitors “designed to introduce listeners to the world of high-end audio“.
• Irish YouTuber Bobby Fingers got kind of a shout-out on the Joe Rogan podcast. If you like weird, dark humour and some proper swears, you’ll enjoy the YouTube video Bobby Fingers made, showing him constructing a diorama of Rogan’s studio for some reason. Follow the eBay listing in the YouTube description to learn how much it sold for.
• Podnews publishes a calendar of podcasting events - and now, you can add that calendar to your mobile phone or desktop. Particularly, it’s useful to see what virtual events you can join, in your own timezone.
• Growth-orientated podcast host Captivate are running a January sale.

Thank you to Ralph Estep of the Ask Ralph finance podcast for generously becoming our latest silver supporter. True to his word, his podcast covers everything from creating a rock-solid budget and ditching debt to building ethical businesses and exploring the transformative power of generous giving. His latest episode asks: “If my social security number has already been compromised – how do I stay safe?” You can give generously too, and pay for everyone to get access to Podnews.

Tips and tricks

• There are lots of places to add your podcast - you know about Apple and Spotify (and YouTube) but how about Hayti, Fydd, or Radioline? We’ve a list of them all.

Podcast News

• New on Airwave: How do you raise kind, confident kids without losing your cool? How do you manage kids’ behavior, help them regulate their big emotions, AND stay grounded? Mindful Parenting is here to help - with practical, compassionate parenting strategies to regulate emotions as well as mindfulness to bring peace to the chaos at home.
• From the podcast Money For Couples with Ramit Sethi comes a brand new book, launched this week. It tackles what it calls the hottest money issue of all: money in relationships - and promises a ten-step plan towards a Rich Life.
• Murder on Songbird Road is new from iHeart today - a look into a true crime from 2020 in Southern Illinois. The show uncovers issues with the investigation and trial, exposes unexplored leads and seeks answers in a story that continues to haunt the Southern Illinois region. It's hosted by Lauren Bright Pacheco and Bob Motta.
• From the Imperial War Museum, Conflict of Interest returns today for a new season. The podcast will start the new year by exploring what art, film and photography can tell us about the nature of conflict and the human condition more broadly. It brings together IWM curators, conflict experts and celebrity guests, this time to journey through the new Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography galleries at IWM London.

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