For the first year, SXSW has opened a Podcast Stage for live podcast production, turning what is historically a recorded medium into performance art. It’s not a first-time breakthrough for podcasting generally, but it does start to put podcasting on an even footing with live music as a festival attraction — especially since the interactive and music agendas overlap this year. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Automation practices at Carolina Classic Hits. Royal National Institute of Blind People and its efforts for digital audio accessibility. Some dubious reporting about Spotify’s popularity in Ireland. Much more. Continue Reading
PRX and iHeartRadio are collaborating on a day of live podcast performances at SXSW. Podcasts are usually put through re-recording and editing in order to get a polished final episode, so the trend of live recordings poses a challenge for the producers. Continue Reading
RadioPublic, a mobile podcast listening app, is launching a discovery feature called Podcast Playlists. Each playlist is themed by topic or activity, and they are programmed by podcast experts, producers, and listeners with episodes from across different shows. Continue Reading
Global podcasting platform audioBoom announced that it has created a distribution partnership with iHeartRadio, whereby its on-demand audio programs are exposed to iHeartRadio’s millions of listeners. Continue Reading
iHeartRadio, the public-facing brand of the largest commercial radio group in America, is training its resources on the emerging podcast category with new content, technology partnerships, and in-house leadership. We spoke to Chris Peterson, iHeart’s new SVP of Podcasting. Continue Reading
A new study from the Knight Foundation is focused on interviews with Foundation grantees. Citing a philosophy of working alongside those organizations, the foundation identified key themes in the podcast industry. Continue Reading
Podcast specialist ART19 has entered a partnership that will bring its API (application program interface) to iHeartMedia. ART19’s API will allow its podcast publishers whose shows appear on iHeartRadio to access more advanced data about how people are listening. Continue Reading
Thrive Global is working with iHeartRadio to produce a podcast on well-being. Thrive is a startup from Arianna Huffington, who recently left her Huffington Post brand to launch this new venture. Continue Reading
The reVolver podcast network is making its shows available on iHeartRadio. The company’s programming targets U.S. Hispanic listeners with both English- and Spanish-language content. Continue Reading
Podcasting is in a boom, but the audio format still has a long way to go before achieving mainstream familiarity. Tools like RadioPublic seem designed to be an entry point into podcasting by making the discovery process simpler for a newbie listener. The question is whether this app can succeed in reaching them. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: BBC World Services expands its language offerings. PRX offers podcast training to radio. Big changes for Brisbane’s breakfast radio. Continue Reading