Spotify's Terrifying New Patent

Last week, Squadcast debuted their video recording in their latest upgrade, which puts them on par with StreamYard and Riverside. Squadcast users had been pining for this for awhile, and now it's here. If you'd like to try Squadcast, here's my referral link: http://bit.ly/squadcastjag

Also in the last week, Adam Corolla went on Fox Business with Robert Ellin, the CEO of a company called LiveXLive. They said podcast video will drive the industry's growth over the next 5-7 years, to somewhere between $5 and $10 billion annually. Look, I get it, podcasters want to be on video. And as a radio purist, I've always been against it. But I started offering my clients video recording, because 1) they were asking for it and 2) it would be foolish for me, as a business owner, to turn away a potential revenue stream. So there is an upside.

However, I will say - don't turn your back on pure audio. There will always be a place for it - for example, I listen to podcasts when walking my dog or driving somewhere. And especially during the pandemic, I am sooo burnt out on Zoom calls and video chats. Step away from the screen, close your eyes (as long as you're not driving), and listen. It's a much more immersive, connected experience. We spend enough time staring at screens as is.

PodNews reports that on Spotify's quarterly earnings call, they said a quarter of all their users listen to podcasts. And they host more shows (2.2 million total) than Apple. https://podnews.net/update/spotify-q42020?utm_source=podnews.net&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=podnews.net:2021-02-04

Speaking of Spotify, there's a report about a new patent of theirs that will terrify privacy advocates. They want to use the microphone in your phone to determine your mood and other demographic data to better suggest music for you. Yikes. https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/spotifys-latest-invention-will-determine-your-emotional-state-from-your-speech-and-suggest-music-based-on-it

Chartable reports there were almost 900,000 new podcasts in 2020. That's two per minute. Also worth noting -these are worldwide numbers - and only half of those shows were in English. And internationally, Spotify does better than Apple Podcasts. The latter of which is expected to redesign their app once again in iOS 14.5. Here's a link to the Chartable study: https://chartable.com/blog/2020-year-in-review

Colin Cowherd and iHeart are teaming up to launch the Volume podcast network. iHeart continues its strategy of landing big names, as opposed to growing talent, like, you know, when they staffed radio local radio stations.

If you liked today's Five Minute Friday version of the Jag Show, please share it with someone else you think will enjoy it - sharing the pod is how you can help the show grow. And as always, if you need help with YOUR podcast, you can find me online at https://jagindetroit.com/

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