AudioBoom is Adding a Subscription Fee

AudioBoom announced that can no longer provide accounts for free. Current users who have been enjoying ad-free channels at no cost will be asked to pay a $9.99 monthly subscription fee starting October 2, 2017.

It is time for podcasters who have audio on audioBoom to make some decisions.  Stay with it and pay a subscription fee?  Or move your audio elsewhere.

The new subscription includes:

  • Publish up to 5 episodes per month
  • Up to 10,000 plays per month per episode
  • RSS feed compatible for distribution via podcast platforms such as Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, GooglePlay and Stitcher, TuneIn, etc.
  • Advanced analytics
  • Embeddable Players for your website and social media integration

Those who want to add additional podcasts can visit their audioBoom dashboard and follow the instructions to purchase subscriptions for additional podcasts at $9.99 per month each.

What happens if you exceed 10K plays per month? “Your account will continue to work as normal, though audioBoom reserves the right to move you to a bespoke subscription plan or a free, advertising supported, account by a certain date.” If you decline to take up that offer, your account will become private and you will no longer be able to upload new content.

However, your RSS feed and web embeds will continue to work for a period of 1 month, and after 36 months, your account will be deleted (including your old podcasts and your RSS feeds). AudioBoom recommends that you arrange for the redirection of your RSS feeds, download your old podcasts and back them up elsewhere, before that period expires. You can contact audioBoom support for help in redirecting your RSS feeds to any new podcast provider.

What if you don’t want to pay for a new subscription and instead choose to do nothing? In that situation, audioBoom states “If you take no action, then after 2nd October 2017, you will no longer be able to upload new content and your account will become private.”

AudioBoom will enable distribution of your existing content for one month so that all your RSS feeds and web embed continue to work for that period. After 36 months from August 30, 2017, your account will be deleted (including your old podcasts and your RSS feeds).

The changes audioBoom made to their Terms have already gone into effect (on August 30, 2017). Some of the changes include information regarding their subscription fee.

Their Content Policy now states: “We value your voice, but we also need to restrain any abuses that could threaten our ability to provide our services and the freedom of expression it encourages.” All podcasts that you upload to audioBoom must comply with the Content Policy.

If you currently have an audioBoom account, more details about the new changes will appear immediately after you log in. As for me, I chose to delete my audioBoom account (after downloading the few pieces of audio I put there) because I haven’t used the service since 2010. Those who are very active on audioBoom have a choice to make: pay for a subscription, or move your audio elsewhere before October 2, 2017.

It’s Happening with Snooki & Joey Podcast has Launched

Television personality, entrepreneur and New York Times best-selling author, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, and makeup artist and stylist Joey Camasta announced the debut of their new podcast, It’s Happening with Snooki & Joey. The podcast launches in partnership with AudioBoom.

AudioBoom is a global podcasting platform that consolidates the business of on-demand audio, making content accessible, wide-reaching and profitable for podcasters, advertisers, and brands. It’s Happening with Snooki & Joey is a weekly, hour-long show that features celebrity interviews, hilarious and informative takes on the latest news and trends, and an inside look into the hosts’ day-to-day lives.

AudioBoom is rolling out an original content network, featuring an eclectic mix of high-quality and celebrity-driven podcast. The partnership with AudioBoom, and hosts Nicole Polizzi and Joey Camasta signals a new direction for AudioBoom which will co-produce the It’s Happening with Snooki & Joey podcast in addition to handling digital distribution and ad sales for the show.

The podcast will be available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify and wherever podcasts are available. The first episode premiered on Thursday, July 13, 2017. It featured Nicole Polizzi’s “Jersey Shore” co-star Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino as their first guest.

Previously, Nicole Polizzi hosted the Naturally Nicole podcast. I found it on acast. Interestingly, the acast information describes Naturally Nicole as “By PodcastOne”. But, when I tried looking for it on PodcastOne, the website says “This content is no longer available, but here are some others that you might like.”

AudioBoom Debuts In-House Network of Original Podcasts

AudioBoom has launched a new lineup of original, on-demand audio content. In addition to hosting, distributing, and monetizing content, audioBoom will debut five new podcasts.

The launch marks the company’s first wave of original podcasts featuring a mix of shows in the following categories: Arts, Comedy, News & Politics, and Society & Culture. This growing network will also provide greater advertising option for audioBoom’s brand partners.

Newly launched audioBoom original podcasts include:

The 45th premiered on February 26, 2017. It is hosted by Rabia Chaudry (former public advocate for Serial‘s Adnan Syed and host of Undisclosed) and features legal professionals Susan Simpson and Sarah Basha. The 45th provides a deeper dive and closer look at the latest developments out of the White House.

Very Bad Words premiered on June 14, 2017. It is hosted by WNYC radio producer Matt Fidler. He reaches out to experts, linguists, and historians to explore forbidden words and their cultural significance. He includes personal stories and interviews to help shed light on the power of bad words.

Inbox is scheduled to premier in July of 2017. It is hosted by UBC Theater-trained comedians Nicole Drespel and Matt Stroup. They invite celebrity guests to the show and then riff on the emails they find in the guest’s inbox. Nicole has written for Netflix Original “Wet Hot American Summer” and “The Chris Gethard Show”. Matt is a writer for NBC Sports and Rotoworld.

Mission to Zyxx is scheduled for September of 2017. It is hosted by producers/comedians Alden Ford, Seth Lind, and Jeremy Bent. They play an unlikely trio exploring the far reaches of the galaxy in this audio fiction, improvisational comedy show.

FORK is also scheduled for September 2017. It is hosted by Cassie House, the wife of filmmaker and podcast creator Payne Lindsey (Up and Vanished, and Sworn). The podcast is in the true crime genre, and it introduces listeners to people who have come to a crosswords, revisiting the circumstances and choices that saved their lives.

AudioBoom Partners with iHeartRadio and Spike TV

AudioBoom announced two strategic partnerships – with iHeartRadio and with Spike TV – demonstrating the company’s continued growth and focus to provide users with the ability to make content far-reaching, as well as deliver interesting and engaging audio content.

Through its collaboration with iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s all-in-one digital music, podcasting, and live-streaming radio service, podcasters who use audioBoom’s platform to host and distribute on-demand audio content will now have the option to reach iHeartRadio’s 95 million registered users.This partnership will provide an avenue for increased visibility, as well as audience and revenue growth.

Separately, through its branded content partnership with Spike TV, audioBoom is producing a roundtable podcast discussion dedicated to Spike TV’s upcoming six-part series, “TIME: The Kalief Browder Story,” featuring the hosts from popular true crimes podcasts including Undisclosed, Up & Vanished, Truth & Justice and Actual Innocence.

Podcasting is DOOMED! – PCN Show 033

PCN iTunes artworkIn this episode, Shawn and Jen discuss the latest “podcasting is doomed” scenario by reviewing two articles that touch on it. Are they right? Or are they being overly dramatic? You decide!

We also talk about that list of most influential podcasters that received a lot of negative comments, point you toward good sources for music in your podcast, and wonder why someone would think that voicemail in podcasts is a new thing.

Links mentioned in this episode:

* E.W. Scripps Buys Podcast Company Stitcher
By Jon Gruber on Daring Fireball

* Large Podcast Advertising Company Buys Large Proprietary Podcast Player
By Marco Arment on Marco.org

* Find great music for your podcast
By AudioBoom on AudioBoom Blog

* The 22 Most Influential Women in Podcasting
By Alex Laughlin on Medium

* For its new personal finance podcast, FiveThirtyEight set up voicemail to hear from listeners
By Ricardo Bilton on NeimanLab

AudioBoom Signs “Undisclosed” to Exclusive Ad Sales Deal

Undisclosed logoUndisclosed is a podcast that has been compared to Serial. The two podcasts do not have the same creators, and are not actually connected to each other. People liken the two of them because both focus on stories about people involved in complex legal matters.

Undisclosed examines possible wrongful convictions. Its first season dove into the Adnan Syed case that was first investigated by Serial. The Undisclosed podcast is produced weekly and includes supplementary “Addendum” programs following each main episode.

Rain News reported that Undisclosed has selected audioBoom to exclusively represent the podcast in an exclusive premium ad agreement. Jon Cryer (who was in the Two and a Half Men TV show) is the new cohost of Undisclosed.

AudioBoom allows podcasters to join for free. The free version comes with unlimited posts (max duration 10 mins), full social integration with media cards and easy sharing to other podcast platforms. AudioBoom also offers an upgrade that costs $10 a month, that comes with all of the above plus full iTunes integration and audioBoom distribution and syndication.

The second season of Undisclosed will launch on July 11, 2016.

audioBoom Comes to Apple CarPlay, Android Auto

audioBoom logoaudioBoom, the spoken-word focused podcast creation and consumption app formerly known as audioBoo, now works with both Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto systems. This will allow audioBoom users to interact with the service using their car’s built-in controls, accessing the app thru a dashboard touch screen or buttons on the car’s steering wheel. This makes audioBoom one of the first podcasting apps to become fully integrated with the modern automobile.

And while audioBoom will obviously be able to browse and playback podcasts that are hosted with the service, it’s unclear as to whether the app’s car integration will also allow it to record new podcasts. This could be extremely useful for mobile podcasters who are already using the service and would like to be able to create new content while being (mostly) hands free.

audioBoom also made podcasting news this week by announcing it had set a new record for new user signups, adding more than 200,000 new users during the month of March. This growth is attributed to audioBoom’s partnership with different content partners, including the BBC and multiple professional sports franchises. In addition, audioBoom recently launched a podcast hosted by celebrity actor/comedian Russell Brand. That show’s success has also brought new users to the audioBoom platform.