Opinion Podcasting Platform is Shutting Down

Opinion announced that it will be shutting down its podcasts platform on November 1, 2017. Podcasters who are currently using Opinion as the hosting for their podcast are advised to download their content before the shutdown.

Opinion made the announcement on their Tumblr, where they noted they have been forced to shut down the podcast hosting. Since the launch of the Opinion app in November of 2014, there have been more than 100,000 people who are using Opinion’s service. It appears that offering free hosting is no longer an option for the company.

From early on, we decided to allow free hosting for all of our users. That’s because we wanted it to be easy and free to share spoken stories.

However, the amount of content on our servers is now measured in years, rather than hours or weeks. And the costs followed suit. We have a small and humble revenue stream from our in-app-purchases, but the costs are unfortunately soaring well beyond that. The numbers don’t add up and we are forced to do something about it.

Opinion says that they will wind down their online podcast sharing platform, but the Opinion app will remain exactly as it is. This means users can keep using Opinion for recording and editing, but sharing has to be done on any of the numerous podcast hosting services available online.

If your podcast is on Opinion, be aware that it will be available online “for the following month” (meaning before November 1, 2017.) The post also has information about how to download your content before the shutdown.

Opinion also stated that it is for sale. Those who are interested in buying Opinion, and keeping the online sharing platform running, are asked to contact Opinion at an email address that is at the bottom of their Tumblr post.

 

Gimlet Media’s New History Podcast is on TuneIn

TuneIn enables people to discover, follow, and listen to what’s most important to them – from sports, to news, to talk. TuneIn provides listeners access to over 100,000 real radio stations and more than four million podcasts streaming from every continent. Gimlet Media’s new history podcast is on TuneIn.

TuneIn recently launched the TuneIn First Play program. It gives TuneIn listeners early access to episodes from a broad range of podcasts.

We’ve partnered with top content creators like WNYC Studios, Gimlet, HowStuffWorks, Wondery, Feral Audio, and StarTalk to include some of their most popular shows and some brand new ones, too. More than 30 podcasts will take part in First Play and new episodes will drop up to one week early on TuneIn, so our users can hear them for free before they’re available anywhere else.

Gimlet Media has a brand new history podcast called Uncivil. The first episode will premier Wednesday, October 4, 2017. Uncivil is available on TuneIn (and also on Gimlet and iTunes.)

Uncivil is hosted by Chenjerai Kumanyika, who is an author, journalist, and professor of journalism and communications at Rutgers University. The podcast is also hosted by Jack Hitt, a Peabody Award-winning author and radio producer. Uncivil points out “America is divided, and it always has been.”

Uncivil brings you stories that were left out of the official history of the Civil War, ransacks America’s past, and takes on the history you grew up with. The podcast will include untold stories about resistance, covert operations, corruption, mutiny, counterfeiting, antebellum drones, and much more.

Vimeo Acquires Livestream – Launches Vimeo Live

Vimeo, the world’s largest ad-free open video platform, announced an agreement to acquire Livestream, the leading live video solution that powers over 10 million events a year. Vimeo also rolled out its own Vimeo Live product, offering professional live streaming capabilities directly through its platform for the first time.

Following completion of the acquisition, Livestream’s offering will be integrated with Vimeo to empower creators to capture, edit, stream, and archive live events, as well as host, distribute, and monetize videos, all in one seamless workflow. The move into live streaming positions Vimeo as the most complete video solution in the market for businesses, organizations, and professional creators.

The combination of Vimeo and Livestream will offer:

Innovative Production Hardware and Software – Livestream provides best-in-class production tools and services for capturing, broadcasting and editing live events, from its live event Mevo camera to its live production switcher Studio. Future integrations with Vimeo will provide creators with direct access to stream live events through Vimeo and leverage the platform’s robust video tools.

High Quality Streaming – With Vimeo Live, creators can now broadcast live events in full 1080p with built-in cloud transcoding and adaptive streaming, so viewers can watch in stunning high quality, perfectly fit for their device and bandwidth. Auto-archived live videos on Vimeo can be replaced with files to support 4K viewing.

Powerful Distribution and Marketing Tools – Creators using Vimeo Live have the flexibility to embed the fully customizable Video player wherever they choose, see who’s attending their event by enabling email capture in the player, turn on live chat, and view live and archived stats to track performance. The addition of Livestream’s syndication tools will enable live distribution across social platforms in the future, including Facebook, YouTube, Twitch and Twitter.

Singular Home for Video Workflow – Vimeo now provides one home to help creators with all aspects of their video hosting and live streaming workflow – from broadcasting and auto-archiving to storage, management and collaboration to distribution, marketing and analytics.

Post-event videos can also be monetized directly to audiences worldwide as a rental, purchase or subscription. Moving forward, Vimeo will also integrate live with its over-the-top (OTT) technology, enabling live content in branded apps across iOS, Android, Roku, Amazon, Samsung, and more.

Ignite Podcast Movement 2017 Speaker Videos Available

Ignite Podcast Movement was new to Podcast Movement 2017. Those who attended Podcast Movement 2017 were able to attend the Ignite event. Videos of the Sparks from that event are now available to view on YouTube.

Relive Ignite Podcast Movement 2017 again and again! We recorded every hilarious, inspiring, and educational movement and have them available for you to enjoy here or on YouTube.

Ignite Podcast Movement is a unique speaking event where a series of speakers get on stage for five minutes each to share a Spark. A Spark is a 5 minute talk that consists of 20 slides. Each slide is on a 15 second auto advance. Each Spark is designed to educate and entertain.

The entire playlist of Sparks from the Ignite Podcast Movement 2017 are available on the YouTube channel of Eric Rosenberg, the producer and host of Ignite Podcast Movement. He has put together a playlist of eleven Sparks that were presented during the Ignite Podcast Movement 2017 event. Or, you can watch that same playlist on the Ignite Podcast Movement website.

Ear Buds: The Podcasting Documentary Now on iTunes

When I think of iTunes, the first thing that comes to mind is podcasts. Of course, iTunes has more than podcasts – it also has music and stuff to watch. Ear Buds: The Podcasting Documentary is now available on iTunes You can purchase it for $12.99.

Graham Elwood and Chris Mancini (The Comedy Film Nerds Podcast) wanted to find out why podcasters had such a deep personal connection with their audience. They went all over the country, and then even to Australia and Japan to interview fans and podcasters. From dealing with mental illness to battling cancer, the stories they heard were as surprising as they were inspirational.

Chris Mancini and Graham Elwood are two of the founders of the Los Angeles Podcast Festival (with Dave Anthony and Andy Wood). The first year of that festival was in 2012. Graham Elwood was the director and executive producer of Ear Buds: The Podcasting Documentary, and Chris Mancini was the writer and executive producer.

Ear Buds: The Podcasting Documentary is also available on Steam. You can rent it for $4.99, or buy it for $12.99. A note on Steam says “This content is only available in an online streaming format.”

Nashville Podcast Network Comes to iHeartRadio

Earlier this month, iHeartMedia announced that iHeartMedia’s syndicated radio host Bobby Bones will bring his newly launched Nashville Podcast Network to iHeartRadio’s listeners. This adds seven featured podcasts to iHeartRadio.

Nashville Podcast Network is a podcast network from Bobby Bones that gives listeners an inside look at the lifestyle, music, and pop culture of Nashville, Tennessee. Bobby Bones has a nationally syndicated show called Bobby Bones Show. He also is an author and part of The Raging Idiots (a comedy band.)

The newly featured podcasts are:

BobbyCast – A podcast where Bobby Bones talks openly about anything and everything. He records the podcast from the comfort of his home where he brings in guests to chat on big, comfy, chairs.

Velvet’s Edge with Kelly Henderson – A podcast based on the Velvet’s Edge website (which was founded by Kelly Henderson). The podcast features fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and travel.

The Frontline Generation with Marjorie K. Eastman – A podcast by award-winning author Marjorie K. Eastman who was a combat veteran. The podcast includes interviews with frontline leaders, including first responders, veterans, law enforcement, and philanthropists.

Good Company with Jake Owen – Jake Owen is a country music star. His newest album is called American Love, and the single is called “Good Company.” In his podcast, he shares the good and bad sides of being a country music superstar.

Whiskey Riff Raff – is hosted by Steve Gazibara and Wes Langeler. They give an unfiltered and unapologetic take on country music.

Geeking Out with Kristian Bush – Features host Kristian Bush (whom you may recognize as one half of Sugarland.) He invites guests and asks them what they’re geeking out over in pop music right now.

BoBo and Mikey – is a podcast for children ages four to eight. The podcast features two larger-than-life characters, Bobo and Mikey. Each episode will include an educational lesson with the fun feel of listening to a cartoon.

RadioYo is Building a Decentralized Ecosystem for Podcasters

RadioYo was Founded by Steven Blinn. He ran the Toronto Tech Meetup, and is now focused on RadioYo. Cary Torkelson is the Technical Lead at RadioYo. He has co-founded two mobile software companies and has over 20 years of Wall Street and startup experience. RadioYo is building a decentralized Ecosystem for Podcasters that uses a cryptocurrency called the RAO.

Podcasters, online broadcasters, and independent media face a range of pressures every day. Funding, competition for listeners, press freedom, copyright infringement and producing the most remarkable programming possible weigh on people’s minds every day. RadioYo is laying the groundwork for a new age of ownership, tracking, content sharing and creation that is engaging, sustainable, borderless, and fair to all stakeholders.

At RadioYo, content creators can register and license their content as a “programmed contract” directly to the “blockchain.” These contracts automate the collection and distribution and remain in control of content creators. Users can access a global catalog of audio programs stored on RadioYo and can pay content creators directly using RadioYo’s digital currency (RAO).

If I’m understanding this correctly, podcasters who put their content on RadioYo will be paid in the RAO cryptocurrency. There is information on the RadioYo website about the RAO Token Sale Terms.

You can also find a roadmap on the RadioYo website. The roadmap lays out when RadioYo expects to hit “milestones.” They rolled out the beta testing in 2016, and expect to release their White Paper in Q3 of 2017. There are more milestones planned out on the roadmap.

Personally, I would not feel comfortable being paid in cryptocurrency, but I am aware that some other people would enjoy that. If you like the idea of being paid in RAO, you might want to visit the RadioYo website for more details.

Boom! Lawyered – A New Podcast from Rewire News

Rewire News is a nonprofit daily online publication. They seek to foster public knowledge and enlightenment through high-quality evidence-based news, analysis, commentary, and investigative reporting on issues of sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. Rewire Radio has launched a new podcast called Boom! Lawyered.

Every other week, Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy will deliver entertaining and helpful legal analysis for resistance-minded folks, including important justice issues coming up in the courts, how legal processes work, and what cases and their outcomes mean for all of us.

Jessica Mason Pieklo is a writer and adjunct law professor in Boulder, Colorado. She is the former assistant director of the Health Law Clinic and Hamline Law School in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a former litigator. She covers civil rights and courts for Rewire News.

Imani Gandy is the Senior Legal Analyst at Rewire News. She is “a recovering attorney turned political blogger, journalist, and women’s rights activist.” She received her J.D. from University of Virginia School of Law in 2001, where she was a Hardy Cross Dillard scholar and an Editorial Board member of the University of Virginia Law Review.

At the time I am writing this blog, Boom! Lawyered has released a short introduction and a full episode. The first episode is titled: “Four Ways Neil Gorsuch Could Ruin Your Life” In this episode, the hosts discuss the opening of the U.S. Supreme Court term and the big decisions that are on the horizon.

Big Sky is Seeking Audio Documentaries

The Big Sky Film Institute nurtures and elevates non-fiction films that have the power to transform our world, our culture, our youth, and ourselves. Big Sky is seeking submissions of audio documentaries for the 2018 Big Sky Film Festival.

While Big Sky will always be a film festival, it cannot go unnoticed that audio documentary has recently been the fastest growing medium in the documentary field, with radio and podcasts enjoying a proverbial 21st century renaissance.

For the 2018 festival, Big Sky will hold an open call for audio documentaries, seeking submissions from around the globe. There is a $10 entry fee for all entries (any length). Submissions will be open through November 5, 2017. All submitters will be notified of selection status via email or through Submittable in December of 2017.

Big Sky defines an audio documentary as: “Audio docs are considered radio-format, non-fiction, narratives that typically feature interviews or commentary with creative sound to dramatize, elaborate, or otherwise paint a sound-picture for the listener.”

Entries should consist of an individual documentary and must range between 3 and 25 minutes in length. Entries must be produced in English (or a combination of English and translated voice over). Each entry should be a single MP3 audio file.

To be considered for selection, entries should be produced after January 1, 2015, and should not have been played publicly for the first time via terrestrial radio or in a public setting in Montana before February 26, 2018. In short, Big Sky wants fresh content that will be new to Montana audiences.

Some of the submitted AudioDocs may be played in front of feature films at the festival. They are also planning collective listening events where audiences can participate in a variety of activities (or just relax) while listening.

Spotify has Hired Courtney Holt

Spotify previously confirmed that it had parted ways with Tom Calderone. He was Spotify’s Head of Video and Podcasting Operations. Since that confirmation, Spotify has hired Courtney Holt to oversee its video and podcasting division.

Daniel Elk is the CEO and Founder of Spotify. Courtney Holt is the former head of Maker Studios. He replaces Tom Calderone as VP and head of Spotify Studios. Hollywood Reporter states that “A Spotify spokeswoman says Holt will lead development of Spotify’s efforts in video, podcasts, and other audio content. Courtney Holt will be based out of Los Angeles, and will report to chief content officer of Spotify, Stefan Blom.”

Bloomberg reported that Spotify is “about to announce a new slate of original podcasts”. Bloomberg also stated that Holt “will try to bring order to Spotify’s efforts beyond music, an ongoing struggle for the popular on-demand music streaming service.”