I have to say – it’s not been the spiciest week in podcast news yet. But that’s how it goes!
Today, Baby Shark podcasts are expensive, BBC gets an unwelcome Twitter label and Lemonada leans further into its audio book club.
Lemonada and Apple Books Launch Audio Book Club
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again until it gets annoying: the worlds of podcasts and audiobooks are becoming increasingly intertwined. Podcast studio Lemonada Media has found a new partner for its book club this time partner with Apple Books.
The companies selected three titles — A living agent by Nicole Chung, Drama free by Nedra Glover Tawwab, and You can make this place beautiful by Maggie Smith — available as ebooks and audiobooks on Apple Books. Lemonada then plans to use its podcast network to conduct author interviews and foster discussion.
It’s a clever way to bring the large-scale book club tradition into the audio world. And this isn’t Lemonada’s first foray into audiobook clubs – the company is something similar with Penguin Random House last year, with titles like All good people herethe debut novel of Crime junkie host Ashley Flowers. As audiobooks and podcasts start living in the same spaces (Spotify, Audible) I wouldn’t be surprised to see more ~ synergistic (sorry) plays like this.
The studio behind ‘Baby Shark’ launches podcast slate
I thought this was something that was over, but I don’t think so? Pinkfong, the studio behind the song “Baby Shark” and its entertainment properties, has launched eight podcasts on Apple Podcasts – three in English and five in Korean.
Interestingly, the English channel has a premium tier. For $2.99 a month, subscribers get exclusive access to a bonus show, Exclusive Pinkfong Baby Shark Book Adventureas well as early access to episodes of The best Pinkfong Baby Shark Kids story And My favorite Pinkfong music story. The episodes posted so far are between two and six minutes long, with stories on kid-friendly topics like dinosaurs and fairy tales.
I’m not going to lie, at first this doesn’t seem like the kind of content that would normally live behind a paywall, but the marketing minds at Pinkfong must know something I don’t (like how much parents are willing to pay to keep their kids quiet).
Nick Cannon Gets Daily Live Show on Amazon’s Amp
As companies like Spotify and Reddit fall back on live audio, Amazon is still trying to get top talent for its live audio app Amp. The company announced Monday that it is launching The everyday gun on April 24. Nick Cannon will host the show daily from 9 a.m. to noon ET, during which he will perform and interview songs from emerging artists.
As I noted last week, Amp leans on the idea that live audio can work as far as leaning on music. This new deal with Cannon, which could just as easily have been a talk show like any other, seems to punctuate that thinking. Spotify also said last week that the company will find ways to integrate its live audio technology to promote music-oriented engagement, such as listening parties. If (big if) live audio does have a future, it might look more like that The everyday gunwhich is more like an old fashioned radio show.
Like NPR, the BBC is tagged as “government-funded media” on Twitter
Last week, Elon Musk took a chance on NPR by tagging his main Twitter account as “US state-affiliated media,” placing it in the same category as government publications such as RT And china daily (it is, uh, emphatically not). Since then, the tag has changed to “government-funded media,” even though it receives less than 1 percent of its funding from the federal government. Now the BBC has been slapped with the same tag.
The BBC contacted Musk to challenge the label saying: “The BBC is independent and always has been. We are funded by the British public through the license fee.” Musk responded by saying he was trying to provide “maximum transparency” for platform users, but also said he’s actually a fan. “I have to keep in mind that I follow BBC News on Twitter because I think it’s one of the least biased,” he said in the exchange.
It’s not clear how the label will affect BBC or NPR accounts going forward. When NPR labeled it “state-affiliated,” it meant the tweets wouldn’t be prioritized. Even if that’s no longer the case, NPR is taking a Twitter hiatus — there hasn’t been a tweet from the main account since April 4.
That’s all for today. I’ll be back next week with great news!
Correction 5:40 PM: An earlier version of this article stated that all of Pinkfong’s English-language podcasts are behind a paywall. The article has been updated to reflect that only one show, Exclusive Pinkfong Baby Shark Book Adventureis for paying subscribers.
Janice has been with businesskinda for 5 years, writing copy for client websites, blog posts, EDMs and other mediums to engage readers and encourage action. By collaborating with clients, our SEO manager and the wider businesskinda team, Janice seeks to understand an audience before creating memorable, persuasive copy.