Quick Hits: Google Podcasts, Yandex, Sirius XM, and coronavirus support

Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:

Two Google Podcasts leaders, Baq Haidri and Zack Reneau-Wedeen, hosted an “ask me anything” session on reddit. Redditors inquired about potential new features, attitudes about curation, and advice for aspiring podcasters.

Russian media platform Yandex Music said it has 3.3 million paying subscribers as of January 2020. The company also has its own voice assistant, Alice, that offers commentary on Yandex’s playlists.

Free Sirius XM Premier: Lots of businesses are offering deals and discounts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sirius XM is making its Premier streaming service available for free through May 15.

More on the business side, Billboard has a round-up of the efforts by streaming services to provide support for artists, who are losing gigs and in some cases cancelling music releases in the wake of the coronavirus.

Anna Washenko