It's been awhile since we did a recap of news in the podcasting world - so I'm gonna share some headlines that have grabbed my attention over the last month or so:

The biggest story is Edison Research's Spoken Word Audio report, released at the end of October, and surveying Americans ages 13 and up.  Some of the key takeaways: 131 million Americans listen to Spoken Word Audio daily, that's up 25% since 2014.   Also, 29% of all audio consumption is now spoken word. That's up 1.5x from eight years ago.  And Gen Z specifically, their consumption of spoken word audio has nearly tripled.   And that's not just because today's pop music sucks.  Also, it's too loud and GET OFF MY LAWN!   Here's a link to the takeaways and the study: https://www.edisonresearch.com/the-spoken-word-audio-report-2022-from-npr-and-edison-research

Podcast host Buzzsprout has gone viral with their video on how to be a podcast guest.  It's a classic 90's instructional video throwback - complete with a rapping PSA.  Link: https://youtu.be/mes-wril-Gw

Some news specific to Apple Podcasts:  Beginning in 2023, they'll no longer require an email address to be associated with a show.   I love this idea - because I'm the admin email for many of my clients, I can't TELL you how much spam I get.   Your email address doesn't need to be in the back end RSS data.  But it should be in your show notes, so your listeners have a way to contact you.    Also, Apple has started auto-tagging individual episodes by category.   On one hand, Big Brother is listening, but on the other, it might help your discoverability!

You may have noticed a new look to Apple Podcasts in iOS 16.  If you listen on an iPad, you'll have a new sidebar to help you navigate between shows.  And on iPhone, you'll be able to navigate easier from the lock screen.  That said, Apple is raising prices on Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple One.   Man, I hope that last season of Ted Lasso is worth it...

Amazon Music still represents less than 1% of US podcast listening, but it's Amazon, so I expect that number to grow.  They've added more ad-free podcasts for Prime members.  Maybe instead, we'll just keep seeing ads for terrible Thursday Night Football games.  Titans-Packers this week.  Yawn.  Can't Wait.

Tom Webster, in Sounds Profitable, has a two-part series on Radio's Seven Warnings For The Podcast Industry. They are:

1. Painting With The Same Brush
2. Please Don't Destroy Us With Ads
3. Don't Neglect the Farm Team
4. Never Be Content With Content
5. No One Will Thank You For Killing Their Joy
6. You Don't Start Smoking at 30
7. Never Forget Joey Bag O'Donuts

https://soundsprofitable.com/update/radio-warnings-for-podcast-industry-1

https://soundsprofitable.com/update/radio-warnings-for-podcast-industry-2

You know I'm a fan of Squadcast as a remote audio recording platform.  They announced they've received several patents for their behind the scenes tech. https://squadcast.fm/blog/patent-awarded-the-squadcast-recording-engine

A podcast called Canadian Politics is Boring is putting out an episode of their show on cassette.  Yes, cassette.  It's a cool novelty - but unless you've got a device that plays cassettes, it seems the tapes are just going to be glorified paperweights.

Finally, a quick shoutout to Evo Terra, who wrapped up his show Podcast Pontifications.  He was one of the first big names in podcasting two decades ago, and he was always gracious to me with his time, including being a past guest on this show.  You can find his episode here: https://thejagshow.simplecast.com/episodes/podcast-og-evo-terra-consumed-only-beer-and-sausages-for-a-month

Find jag on social media @JAGinDetroit or online at JAGinDetroit.com