The company behind the hit true-crime podcast Serial is exploring a sale, according to a person familiar with the matter, putting one of digital audios biggest brands on the market as the medium becomes increasingly popular.

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Advantage: Convenience

With podcasting, you do not have to worry that your audience is busy offline when you make your sales pitch. A listener can download the file and replay it at whatever time is convenient for him, even while jogging or driving to work. If someone chooses to subscribe to your podcast feed, he can get any podcasts of interest downloaded automatically. If you want all your employees to hear what you have to say, podcasting is often easier than trying to get everyone together for one meeting.

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New Sony venture. Sony Music Entertainment announced another podcasting venture today, this time in the shape of a partnership with U.K. audio company Somethin Else. This continues a recent run of Sony investments in audio — previous examples include Jonathan Hirschs Neon Hum Media, Adam Davidson and Laura Mayers Three Uncanny Four and Renay Richardsons Broccoli Content.

Podcasting is one of the best ways to find and connect with your customers. Do it right and you’ll engage a growing community of loyal fans who hang on your every word and buy all your products and services. Do it wrong and you’ll end up broke. Most podcasters – some 85% – miss the opportunity to profit from podcasting while wasting precious dollars on fancy equipment. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

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Before the emergence of television and more recently smartphones as the primary medium for communicating sports news, radio was the main conduit for receiving the latest information. Those analog days have been converted into zeros and ones in our current digital age. However, the advantages gained by apps and channels have their drawbacks. The largest problem is that these digital mediums cant recreate the local community cultivated by radio anymore. Kevin Jones, a seasoned sports reporter, understood the gap between younger audiences and sports discussion and built Blue Wire to bridge the chasm. Blue Wire is a sports podcasting startup bringing together local creators to build a wider audience of fans. They have raised $1.2 million from a variety of investors.

Blubrry has released its new Private Internal Podcasting service for businesses looking to lock down their podcasts to protect them from public distribution.

The hosting service is offering three levels of security based on three hosting plans, simple (limiting private podcasts to 50 user-seats), standard (additional security and 200 user-seats), and enterprise (500 user-seats, most secure).

Put simply, a podcast is a web series in an audio format. It can be downloaded by the listener or it can be streamed. The joy of the podcast is that you can listen to them wherever you are. Whether you’re in the car, in the house, on the train, or doing the ironing.

Many people find podcast series that they love and will avidly listen to every episode. Some podcasts have such great followings that they spawn live tours, books, and other merchandise.

Although podcasts have seen a meteoric rise in popularity in recent years, the root of podcasts actually goes all the way back to the 1980s when they were called audio blogs.

But it wasn’t high-speed broadband and the invention of Apple iPods and smartphones came along that the world was ready for the podcast. The rise in internet speeds that made downloading or streaming podcasts possible timed itself well with the perfect devices to listen to them on.

Determine your topic, audience and format

Everyone has something they could talk about for hours on end. When deciding which of these things should be the focus of a podcast, you need to consider topics that you will never get tired of talking about. Brainstorm 52 show topic ideas, one for each week of the year. This will let you know if you have enough ideas to have a regular podcast of your own, or if you would be better off finding guesting opportunities on existing programs. Of course, a show does not have to be weekly, but it is a starting point.

Defining your audience will help to hone the direction of the show, as well. A show geared toward young mothers will sound much different than a podcast for mid-career professionals. Your audience is rarely everyone. Figure out who they are and talk specifically to them, their needs and interests. As you plan your show, consider what type of format will be most effective, as well. Will you host guests, have a co-host or fly solo?

Choose memorable, straightforward branding

When coming up with a title for your podcast, it’s best not to be too clever or obscure. Make it easy to remember and spell and also give some idea of what the show is about. Search potential names in Google and on iTunes to be sure your idea is not already an established podcast. You will also want to claim a custom URL and related social media handles. Again, searching for these items will indicate if the title is already taken.

Cover art for your podcast needs to be an exact square, sized at least 1,400 pixels by 1,400 pixels and 3,000 pixels by 3,000 pixels at the most. Remember that people will be viewing it on a small screen, so use large text for your show name and relevant artwork.

Assemble a digital audio workstation

1. Thou shall not do it for the money
2. Thou shall be a consumer
3. Thou shall reflect well on your brand
4. Thou shall be useful
5. Thou shall not be a salesperson
6. Thou shall note get personal
7. Thou shall create a consistent format
8. Thou shall release episodes regularly
9. Thou shall be professional
10. Thou shall be sociable

Spotify on Wednesday said its monthly active user count reached 299 million in the most recent quarter ending June 30. That is an increase of 29 percent year-over-year and brings the streaming giant just shy of that 300 million MAU milestone.

Taking a closer look, we see that Spotify finished the second quarter with 138 million premium (paying) subscribers, up 27 percent compared to the same period a year earlier. The company said its Family Plan continues to be a big driver of performance and further plugged the expansion of its new Premium Duo subscription offering for couples.

Building out a physical space associated with a podcast business used to be a really good idea. For one thing, it offers an alternative revenue stream — through studio rentals and in-person events, among other things — that could check against the growing but volatile advertising revenue pool. It is also a really good fit for any podcast operation built on a sense of community. Having a physical space for listeners to routinely gather can really strengthen that relationship between publisher and fan, expanding the notion of how that community can be served.

COVID-19 has threatened the key communication channels corporations need to survive. Workers are displaced. National meetings have been cancelled. Town halls and offsites are viable only through online platforms. In the face of the storm, companies are turning to new channels to keep the lines of communication open. For many organizations, podcasting is a timely and effective way to unite a fractured workforce.

Even before COVID shuttered offices, and work-from-home directives became commonplace, large organizations were discovering podcasting was a worthwhile addition to their communication mix. According to Forbes, the majority of Fortune 500 companies in the US already use podcasting as part of their internal communications. Ideal for a geographically-distanced and mobile audience, podcasting seems purpose built for the modern lifestyle, bringing content where the audience is. Add to the mix a pandemic that has scattered workers across the country, and podcasting makes more sense than ever.

JD: Podcasting — then and now; what do you make of its evolution?

DC: It has gone from being passive to a very personal on-demand commercial work. We have the ability to totally integrate content and commercials - it’s a good mindset. It went from a Howard Stern read to a re-envisioned, re-engaged conversation. It is the new native, a really positive, advertorial. We have the ability to weave in the right message at the right time and see more organic growth for both the listener and the advertiser. If you can think of a subject, there's a podcast for it and more coming on daily.

Media publicity has traditionally been a challenge for small businesses. However, the emergence of podcasts has made it easier now more than ever. Being featured on a podcast has numerous benefits, including an increase in credibility when being featured by a third party, the opportunity for listeners (potential clients) to create a personal connection with the business and show preparations force the business to clarify its pitch and value proposition. Finally, it can even catch the ear of an investor.

1. Relationship Building
2. Infinitely Recurring Revenue
3. Securing Media

The COVID-19 restrictions that many countries had to endure forced many people to seek alternative forms of entertainment. One such form is podcasting which has grown in popularity over recent years. According to the most recent financial reports, Spotify reported that 21% of the monthly active users (MUA) have engaged in at least one podcast in the past month.  Data presented by Stockapps.com breaks down the rise of podcasting.

Spotify Records 5% Increase in Podcast Engagement between Q4 of 2019 and Q2 of 2020

The Joe Rogan Experience – the title of Rogans podcast, was the highest-earning podcast of 2019 with revenue of $30M. In September 2020, Joe Rogan officially began his podcasting contract with media giants Spotify, which will eventually see his entire library of content migrate to the platform. The deal is reported to be over $100M.

Spotify has been expanding its podcasts catalogue as they continue to see strong growth in that particular segment. The rate of consumption of podcasts has been growing by triple-digit percentage numbers for the last few years. In Q4 of 2019 16% of Spotifys monthly active users engage in podcast content, by Q2 2020 that number had jumped to 21%.

With global revenues set to surpass a billion dollars and the tech giants investing in the space at eye-watering price points, no one asks what podcasting is any more. In part one of our series on the sports podcast ecosystem, SportsPro surveys the scene in 2020 to discover the different ways of doing business.

When Spotify acquired digital sports and culture outlet The Ringer back in February, it marked the fourth podcast company acquisition made by the audio streaming giant in the space of 12 months. That US$400 million spending splurge saw Gimlet Media, Anchor FM and Parcast all come under the control of the Swedish company. And it is not just networks being snapped up, either. In May, the Joe Rogan Podcast, a chart leader in most English-language markets and previously withheld from Spotify by the host, was acquired by the firm on an exclusive licence for a reported US$100 million.

Spotifys $100 million-plus Anchor acquisition is seemingly paying off. In data released today as part of its annual Wrapped look-back on the year, the company says Anchor, which makes podcast creation software, powered 80 percent of new podcasts on Spotify this year, meaning the software contributed more than 1 million shows to Spotify’s catalog in 2020 alone. Overall, Anchor powers 70 percent of Spotifys total podcast catalog, or around 1.3 million out of over 1.9 million shows.

2020 has been a transformational year for many industries. For media and content creators, pivoting strategies is nothing new. With the emergence of OTT and other cord-cutting methods, television networks, movie theaters, and even traditional radio have been shifting for at least a decade.

With consumers demanding more content quicker, podcasting is taking over earbuds and smart speakers everywhere. Not surprisingly, podcast listening rose during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Seventy-five percent of Americans know about podcasts, according to Edison Research. Digging deeper into the numbers, about 104 million Americans listen to podcasts monthly -- with the average listener streaming at least five hours of podcast content a week.  

While there may be close to 1.5 million podcasts out there, not all of them are in production. Do not let that discourage you from joining the podcasting revolution. Podcasting is one of the best ways to get your business message out there, no matter your niche.  

Spotifys $100 million-plus Anchor acquisition is seemingly paying off. In data released today as part of its annual Wrapped look-back on the year, the company says Anchor, which makes podcast creation software, powered 80 percent of new podcasts on Spotify this year, meaning the software contributed more than 1 million shows to Spotifys catalog in 2020 alone. Overall, Anchor powers 70 percent of Spotifys total podcast catalog, or around 1.3 million out of over 1.9 million shows.

Anchor-hosted shows account for more consumption of third-party podcast content on Spotify than any other podcast hosting or distribution provider
Spotify says Anchor’s top five markets in 2020, by total number of shows, were the US, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, and Great Britain. In Indonesia, Spotify signed nine shows to become exclusives. Meanwhile, the fastest-growing markets, looking at the average monthly increase in new shows, are India, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Indonesia. India accounts for nearly 40,000 Anchor-made shows and has been growing at an average of 22 percent month-over-month increase in 2020.

1. Thou shall not do it for the money
2. Thou shall be a consumer
3. Thou shall reflect well on your brand
4. Thou shall be useful
5. Thou shall not be a salesperson
6. Thou shall get personal
7. Thou shall create a consistent format
8. Thou shall release episodes regularly
9. Thou shall be professional
10. Thou shall be sociable

The role of podcasts in the information ecosystem has gone largely unexamined. While alt-right figures have been increasingly chased off Facebook and Twitter, podcasting is shaping up as the next arena where the fight over questionable or dangerous content will play out. However, the problem of how to moderate audio content is proving thorny.

As podcasting grows in stature and revenue, its disinformation problem can’t be ignored.

Podcasting Will Boost Your Network Like You Never Thought Possible

As you grow your audience, you’ll find that podcasting can become an incredible resource for expanding your network. I have had the opportunity to invite guests onto my own show, as well as appear as a guest speaker on several business-oriented podcasts.

These have given me the opportunity to meet and interact with several incredible entrepreneurs working in a wide range of business categories.

Having a podcast gives me a valid reason to reach out to other entrepreneurs who I admire. These are people I might not have been able to meet otherwise, and they have given me valuable insights that I have been able to apply to my own business endeavors.

From PDAs to cell phones to tablets, there's no denying the ever-increasing presence of technology in our world. It’s so pervasive that it's pretty much standard practice for employees to receive company-issued computers and phones on their first day.  But what about the growing tablet market?

Compared to smart phones, tablets have infiltrated the population at a much quicker rate. A recent study found that in just under two years, more than 40 million Americans became owners of some form of tablet—be it an iPad, Kindle, etc. With more and more people acquiring the new gadgets, it's only natural that companies jump on board as well—and many have. From law firms to elementary schools, more employers are recognizing the device's pull and are therefore changing policies and procedures to incorporate increased use of the technology. So what does this mean for the workplace?

You may already provide your new hires with some sort of technical training to help them perform their specific jobs according to your standards. You may not, however, provide them with any sort of training that will enhance their general performance as staff members. There are numerous e-learning courses and online training options available to employers that help employees gain the essential professional skills they sometimes lack. If you're deciding or re-evaluating which e-learning courses you invest in for your new hires, you may want to consider these useful types of courses:

1. Scitable:

   Scitable, created by NatureEducation, is an online collaborative space for science learning. Visitors to the site can browse or search through science articles and ebooks, ask experts science-related questions, build an online classroom, or even share their own content. Materials on the site are focused on the life sciences, but there are also numerous resources that can help learners start or accelerate a career in science.
   

2. TVO:

   Similar to PBS, the Ontario-based television station offers many of the same educational resources and opportunities for learning. Even if you can’t tune in live, you can take advantage of dozens of videos on topics like science, nature, business, tech, education, and culture. Connected to TVO is Big Ideas, a site that offers videos that touch on important and engaging topics like mathematics, economics, and even urban design. Other resources include educational tools for parents and kids, civics education on Canadian government, and access to loads of compelling documentaries.
   

3. Saylor:

   While sites like Coursera and Udacity have been drawing the most attention on the free education front these days, Saylor has largely flown under the radar. Created in 2008, the site offers nearly 250 free courses online, with topics centered on the 10 highest enrollment majors in the U.S. In addition to taking classes, learners can participate in discussion forums (organized by topic), track courses and print transcripts, and may soon even be able to access free textbooks.

4. GCF LearnFree.org:

   This North Carolina-based site is produced by Goodwill Industries and focuses on helping people from all walks of life build skills in technology, literacy, and math that will help them find work. All classes offered by the site are entirely free, and even come complete with mobile apps that make it possible to learn on-the-go. Currently, there are over 750 free lessons that teach everything from how to use Microsoft Office to basic addition and subtraction.
   

5. University of the People:

   The brainchild of educational entrepreneur Shai Reshef, University of the People is a tuition-fee, nonprofit, online academic institution that offers access to undergraduate degree programs in business administration and computer science. It maintains relationships with Yale, NYU, Hewlett-Packard, and the Catalyst Initiative to supply students with opportunities for research, future study, and internships. While the site focuses on helping learners in developing nations, students from nearly 130 different nations have been accepted (tuition is free, but you still have to apply).
   

6. Engineering for Change:

   Engineering for Change isn’t a traditional learning site with videos, courses, and lessons. Instead, it’s a live, interactive webcast that allows participants to learn and interact with others in engineering. It’s also a chance to play an active role in helping to solve humanitarian engineering issues. A new topic is addressed every month, and anyone interested in becoming more involved or learning more about engineering is encouraged to sign up.
   

7. The Faculty Project:

   Through The Faculty Project, learners can get access to professors from prestigious schools like Dartmouth, Vassar, Duke, and Northwestern, to name just a few. There are dozens of courses and lectures to choose from, covering a broad spectrum of topics. Launched just this year, the site is slowly building up a great collection of resources that can help students learn through video, PDF, PowerPoint, discussion boards, and educational articles.
   

8. Textbook Revolution:

   There are a growing number of sites out there that are dedicated to providing users with access to free textbooks. Textbook Revolution is among them, and while it hasn’t received as much attention as some others, it’s still a solid place to look for free educational resources. Currently, the site offers up access to dozens of textbooks, ranging in topic from accounting to chemistry.
   

9. Learnthat:

   Learnthat is an excellent place to explore tutorials that cover business, technology, and finance. Visitors to the site can learn how to improve their skills in Excel, digital marketing, or even management, through hundreds of helpful articles, videos, and photos.
   

10. University of Reddit:

    Most web-savvy individuals have heard of Reddit, but many may not be familiar with the University of Reddit. The site offers anyone the chance to share their expertise through class lectures and videos with others in the web. Currently, the site is home to educational materials in art, computer science, general studies, language, math, music, philosophy, science, and social studies, which means most things are covered. If they’re not, learners are always welcome to add their own educational content.
    

11. MentorMob:

    MentorMob doesn’t supply any educational content of its own, but is an excellent tool for bringing together resources from other sites, organizing them, and sharing them with others. Users can create their own “playlists” of educational material or browse through existing collections compiled by other users. While it has been featured in a number of major publications, the site doesn’t have the widespread attention that others generate, but that could change as the Pinterest-like functionality helps users to create incredibly useful lists for learning.
    

12. Memrise:

    Memrise promises to help users learn through a combination of brain science, fun, and community. Much of the content is game-based and highly visual, offering visitors to the site the chance to boost their skills in a variety of languages, or even to learn more about topics like cheese, herbs, and fish.
    

13. LearnersTV:

    LearnersTV brings together videos, audio lectures, science animations, lecture notes, online tests, presentations, and publications to offers visitors a wide range of material with which to learn. Those looking for an in-depth experience can find entire courses, while those just doing cursory research can browse through short articles and PowerPoints.
    

14. Grovo:

    Knowing how to use technology is an essential skill in today’s job market, but with so many new technologies popping up all the time, it can be hard to keep up with them all. That’s where Grovo can help. The online learning site specializes in offering video lessons on top Internet products. Visitors to the site can expand their knowledge of sites like Twitter, Gmail, Facebook, and WordPress, or just learn a bit more about netiquette and online marketing.
    

15. Alison:

    Alison offers free online courses and certification through 400 different courses in 10 different course categories. Launched in 2007, the site helps people from around the world earn certification in topics like legal studies, psychology, health studies, project management, and human resources. All content is free but to get a copy of your certification, you’ll have to shell out about $20.
    
 

March 7th, 2005 Effective today, Carnation Software will have a new RSS news address. Our new address is http://www.carnationsoftware.com/carnation/RSS/CarnationSoftwareNews.xml

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