Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:
Video helped the podcast star: Podcasts are all about the audio, but many shows are finding additional life and audiences with video. The Verge explored the move of YouTubers into podcasting, and how some podcast creators have found success posting video versions of both their full shows and of clips to the platform. Given YouTube’s importance in music, it may not be much of a surprise that other audio formats will also need to give the service some serious consideration.
Case study of podcasts driving subscriptions: Podcasts can stand on their own for independent creators, but we’re also seeing a rise in corporations using shows to improve their brand recognition and to drive their business goals. For instance, Digiday examines the strategy taken by French news publisher Le Monde to increase its subscription base.
The clickbait mindset in music creation: The shift to streaming has led to a rise in artists looking for ways to game the system. Rolling Stone examined a trend of performers titling their tracks based on likely search terms in an effort to boost plays and visibility. Is it a clever way to apply the internet’s clickbait mentality or is it, essentially, cheating?