Month: June 2018

Nerdist Removes Chris Hardwick References from Website

~ jen

Chris Hardwick is in the news again, and the details connect to Nerdist (a website he used to be a big part of). The shortest explanation of what happened is that Nerdist has removed all references to Chris Hardwick from the website. This might sound strange, unless you know the context.

Earlier this year, Chris Hardwick announced the end of an era for the Nerdist podcast. He rebranded the podcast as ID10T with Chris Hardwick and moved it to his ID10T website. At the time, Hollywood Reporter stated that Legendary Entertainment (the parent company of Nerdist) owned the Nerdist name – but Chris Hardwick owned the Nerdist podcast and its library of episodes.

Nerdist (the website) has several podcasts, including: Bizarre States, Bruce Lee Podcast, Maltin on Movies, Nerdist Comics Panel, Nerdist News: WTF Friday, and many more. It also has videos, articles, and other stuff.

On June 14, 2018, Chloe Dykstra posted an article on Medium titled: “Rose-Colored Glasses: A Confession”. The article is about abuse she experienced from someone she had dated, and it starts with a trigger warning. The Medium article does not include the name of the person that Chloe Dykstra used to date.

Hollywood Reporter included the following in an article they wrote about Nerdist and Chris Hardwick: “In a lengthy essay posted to Medium on Thursday, Dykstra did say the perpetrator of the alleged abuse was 20 years her senior and described him as someone who went from being a “podcaster to a powerhouse CEO of his own company.” Hollywood Reporter continued: “Hardwick is 20 years older than Dykstra and CEO of Nerdist Industries. Legendary Entertainment acquired Nerdist in July 2012.”

On June 15, 2018, Nerdist released a statement in a tweet on their verified Twitter account:

Hey everyone,

Like you, we were shocked to read the news this morning. Nerdist prides itself on being an inclusive company made up of a positive, diverse community of people who come together to share, and discuss the things we love. That type of behavior is contrary to everything we stand for and believe in, and we absolutely don’t tolerate discrimination, harassment, and other forms of abuse….

It also included a statement from Nerdist’s parent company: “Chris Hardwick had no operational involvement with Nerdist for the two years preceding the expiration of his contract in December 2017. He no longer has any affiliation with Legendary Digital Networks. The company removed all reference to Mr. Hardwick even as the original Founder of Nerdist pending further investigation.”

Spreaker Added Automatic Embedding

~ jen

Spreaker announced that it has enabled automatic embedding across a range of platforms. They did this because podcasters asked them to. Now, it’s even easier to get your podcast heard by more people.

Spreaker has made it possible for you to automatically embed your podcast on Medium, Patreon, Kickstarter, and Change.org.

For fans of the written word now its possible to embed on Medium, the home of all things literary. If you’re a journalist, influencer, or writer, why not add depth and a different perspective to your words by adding audio?

Podcasters can also publish their podcast to Patreon. Those who are already Patreon users can integrate their podcast to their page with complete ease and there is even the option of Private Episode Sharing. It allows you to take care of your most loyal fans with extra care. For example, you could create special one-off bonus episodes just for your Patreon supporters.

Spreaker also points out that you can use their automatic embedding feature to share your content on Kickstarter and Change.org. All you need to do is copy and paste the episode or show link when uploading your content. Once pasted, the embedded player will show up automatically and you can get publishing.

Podcast Movement 2018 Announced Speakers for PMx Competition

~ jen

Podcast Movement 2018 has announced the speakers and emcee for the PMx Competition. As has been the tradition since Podcast Movement 2015, the first people to take the stage and speak at Podcast Movement will be their PMx Competition participants.

PMx offers a chance for fellow Podcast Movement attendees to take the stage, give a fifteen minute TED-like talk, and compete for a chance to take the main stage at the following year’s Podcast Movement.

The emcee for the 2018 PMx Competition is Addy Saucedo, the author of The Podcast Planner.

The speakers for this year’s PMx Competition are:

Medium Launched the Medium Playback Podcast

~ jen ~ 1 Comment

When you think of Medium, the first thing that likely comes to mind are the stories and articles that various writers post there. Some of those posts include audio, but many do not. People go to Medium to read interesting pieces of writing. As such, it may sound surprising that Medium has launched its own podcast.

Medium Playback is going to incorporate stories that have been posted on Medium. It is an interesting way to repurpose content that is already on the Medium website. A brief description of this new show is: “Medium’s first-ever podcast features your favorite writers, in their own words.”

Hear some of the best stories on Medium, straight from the authors who wrote them. On each episode of Medium’s flagship podcast, we invite an author to the studio to perform a recent story they wrote for Medium and then talk about it. Hosted by journalist Manoush Zomorodi and writer Kara Brown, Playback features insightful, first-person stories on timely topics affecting the world today – and then gives you the story behind the story from the writer.

This is not a new technique – Modern Love: The Podcast (from The New York Times) is composed of stories that were published in the weekly New York Times Modern Love column. One difference is that Modern Love the Podcast has celebrities read things that were written by other people.

Medium Playback will be publishing new episodes every other Wednesday this summer. A trailer has already been released.

Patreon Acquired Kit

~ jen

Patreon powers membership businesses for creators of all kinds. Kit is a community to discover, discuss, and get interesting products – grouped into kits – for activities like traveling, Djing, cooking, cycling and more. Patron has announced that they have acquired Kit.

It appears that the acquisition could result in something on Patreon that would make it easier for creators to sell physical merchandise. Exact details have yet to be revealed.

One of the most effective ways creators build a growing and sustainable membership is by selling merch. Patrons want something personalized, a physical artifact to connect them to the creator – and the more unique the better. But today, merch is unnecessarily painful for creators; we’ve talked to heaps of creators who spend time stuffing envelopes, researching the lowest prices on shipping, and take endless trips to the post office. We want to make merch easy. A simple solution empowering creators to easily add merch to their membership business, and connect deeply with their biggest fans.

Kit launched a little over two years ago with a simple idea: to help people discover the products worth getting – and create a new kind of experience where your creativity and expertise actually earn you money. Patreon says that the creators of Kit have “built a beautiful product in Kit.com”.

Kit posted a blog about the acquisition, in which they state they are going to work on Merchandise, creating features that give creators a simple way to deliver their products to their members. Kit says it will continue to be available to Kit users while they transition over to Patreon.

What does this mean for podcasters who use Patreon? That’s not entirely clear, yet. The Patreon blog about the acquisition ends with: “Together with Kit, we’re going to make it simple by inventing a way to fulfill automated “merch for membership” that will help creators stop stuffing envelopes and get back to full time creation.”

AudioBoom Raised More Funding

~ jen

There has been an update in the continuing saga of audioBoom and Triton Digital. Audioboom has managed to raise funding in an effort to secure its operational capital.

Previously, the deal between the two companies was that audioBoom would buy Triton Digital for $185 million in a reverse takeover. Later, it was reported by Radio Ink that “due to insufficient funds, that deal is off and audioBoom is in jeopardy of shutting down.”

RAINN News provides an easy-to-understand explanation of a May 25, 2018, filing on the London Stock Exchange website regarding audiBoom. The company was able to raise 500,000 GBP from an existing investor. The investor is Candy Ventures. Nick Candy is the 90% shareholder of Candy Ventures.

The loan from Candy Ventures is in convertible notes. The announcement says the loan is “pending the completion” of audioBoom’s “current equity fundraise, which is being undertaken to provide additional working capital, investment in additional podcasting content and other growth initiatives.” The deadline to convert the loan notes is set at June 30, 2018.

Plex is Now Featuring Podcasts

~ jen

Plex announced that one if its most requested features is now available on Plex: Podcasts! With rich metadata and tons of features, like On Deck, personalized recommendations, variable speed playback, a customizable home screen, offline mode (coming soon), and so much more, you can now enjoy a robust podcast-listening experience on Plex.

The new Podcasts feature on Plex is available in beta on Android, iOS, Roku, and Web (no Plex Media Server required). Best of all, the Podcasts feature is free for all users.

Here at Plex, we like to use every part of the media and hate it when good content goes to waste. That’s why we’re adding support for the incredibly rich and diverse body of content that is Podcasts. We love the scrappy, two-people-and-a-mic nature of this ecosystem. It’s egalitarian, fanatical, and sometimes just a little rough around the edges, but we think it’s a perfect complement to the rest of your Plex diet.

Here are a few of the features:

Rich Search and Discovery: Plex’s machine learning team has built a sophisticated system which delivers personalized recommendations for new podcasts.

Personal Podcasts: Once you’ve found your podcasts, you can add them to “My Podcasts” on your home screen. Once there, they’ll act much like a show in your personal TV libraries, with features like On Deck to make podcast binging easy.

Enhanced Player: Plex upgraded the players inside their mobile apps and the web app to allow for variable speed playback, as wells as quickly skipping backwards or forwards.

More great features are coming soon, including OPML, importing, and offline podcast support for Plex’s mobile apps.

Academy of Podcasters Reveals 2018 Hall of Fame Inductees

~ jen

The Academy of Podcasters is a group of influential contributors to the podcast community who come together every year to vote on the winners of the annual Academy of Podcasters awards. These contributors are also in charge of voting annual inductees into the Hall of Fame. The Academy of Podcasters has revealed their 2018 Hall of Fame Inductees.

Chemda – Keith and the Girl
Keith Malley– Keith and the Girl
Best known as hosts of the comedy podcast Keith and the Girl, Keith Malley and Chemda have been putting out daily shows since March 2005. Many of today’s top podcasters credit KATG as being pioneers that got them into the podcasting world!

Dave Jackson– School of Podcasting
Dave Jackson is an award-winning podcaster who has been podcasting since 2005, and has been the host of nearly a dozen different podcasts over the last decade. Dave is best known as the host of School of Podcasting, where he has helped thousands of new and experienced podcasters to launch their shows and become better hosts.

Father Roderick VonHögen – The Daily Breakfast
Father Roderick VonHögen is a Roman Catholic priest from the Netherlands who works as a new media broadcaster and television presenter of programming related to Catholicism and pop culture. He is best known for starting the Star Quest Production Network, the leading Catholic podcasting platform, in 2005, and as the host of The Walk and The Daily Breakfast.

Grant Baciocco – The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd
Grant Baciocco is a content creator and performer who is on the forefront of all things new media. In 2004 he created the popular, family friendly podcast, The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd, which has been releasing episodes ever since.

Pamela Gay – Astronomy Cast
Dr. Pamela Gay is an astronomer, writer, and podcaster who uses new media to engage people in science and technology. She is best known as the host of Astronomy Cast where each week she takes listeners on facts-based journeys through our Cosmos.

Reggie Ossé Aka Combat Jack – Loud Speakers Podcast Network & The Combat Jack Show
Reggie Ossé (July 8, 1964 – December 20, 2017) was a hip hop music attorney, executive, founding partner of the Loud Speakers Podcast Network, and host of the podcast The Combat Jack Show. He was also the host of Gimlet’s MOGUL.  Ossé will be inducted posthumously this summer in Philadelphia.

Scott Johnson – Frogpants Studios
Scott Johnson is a cartoonist, illustrator, designer and podcaster. In 2008, Johnson launched FrogPants Studios, an illustration and audio production company, and has since put out over a dozen different podcasts, including the award winning Film Sack, and The Morning Stream.

Apply for the Audio Podcast Fellows Program

~ jen

The Audio Podcast Fellows Program at Stony Brook Southampton offers a year of advanced, hands-on training to introduce students to the most current information on every aspect of audio podcast production, from storytelling and writing, to audio editing and sound, to marketing, production, and distribution.

During their year, Fellows work on a variety of shows with our production partners, while producing a portfolio including a podcast pilot that is ready to take to market. Admission is selective and limited to 12 Fellows.

Throughout the program, students will take advantage of two Stony Brook classroom and recording locations: The newly renovated David Rakoff Studio on the Southampton campus, and in Manhattan, the Center for Creative Writing and Film at 535 Eight Avenue, near Penn Station. The program will include field trips to conferences, live recordings/shows, and studios around the city. Accepted students will have the opportunity to work in a studio on other podcasts as well as their own.

WSHU Public Radio is a production partner of Stony Brook Southampton. WSHU Public Radio will broadcast podcast excerpts and interview hosts on the air, creating widespread awareness among public radio listeners. The podcasts will also be featured on WSHU’s website and promoted via on-air announcements, social media, and e-newsletters, offering an extraordinary opportunity to reach and build a new York and Connecticut audience.

Those interested in applying for the Audio Podcast Fellows Program can apply online. Applications are being accepted now and admission is on a rolling basis. Completed applications will be reviewed in the order in which they were received.