Hi everybody!

Newsletter #1: Introducing "The Scoop"

Hi everyone, 

My name is Molly but you can call me MJ. I'm the CEO of Afripods, a FREE (!) pan-African podcast hosting platform building the largest library of African audio stories on the planet. It can be difficult finding information about what's happening specifically on the continent so I decided to start a free bi-monthly newsletter that shares the scoop about whats going on in the African podcasting ecosystem focusing on innovation, discoverability, news, events, education & whatever else has captured my mind.  

More is more and we need as much information as possible. If you have anything we missed, hit me on Twitter or find me on LinkedIn. 

MJ

The Scoop: AFRICAN NEWS

Whats happening at home: 

• Sorotiti Studios out of Nigeria has announced a podcasting grant (money!) and are looking for Nigerian based podcast creators to create ‘quality and captivating audio content’. Applicants must be over 18 with 1+ years of podcasting content.

• Award winning podcast network, Kerning Cultures, signs with CAA . Huge news for the MENA region & congratulations to the KC team. They produce shows in both English & Arabic.

• Discovery Tour: Data Edition from Africa Podfest. For the past few years Africa Podfest has done a great job generating research from the continent. This year they partnered with Baraza Media Labs and have shared this short survey that would shed more data on podcasting on the continent. Please fill it out!

• Afripods has released its newest dashboard which is Africa-first. Shameless plug as I run the business, but we have quite a few similar stats to what Apple announced earlier this month. Please share your RSS with us and if you are interested in hosting with a FREE African based solution, we’re happy to help you migrate your podcast.

  

The Scoop: GLOBAL NEWS

What's going on around the world?

• The Ambies have announced winners for 2022! This is currently one of the biggest and most prestigious award shows out for podcasters. NOTE: In 2021, UK-based Jacob Roberts-Mensah’s podcast ‘Dem Times’ was nominated for Best Fiction Podcast. We love to see it. In additional news, The Webby Awards just announced The Signal Awards, which will be their inaugural podcast awards intended to take place January 2023.

• Podcast Movement Evolutions just ended in LA at the end of March. Podcast Movement is the largest annual podcasting conference in the world. Evolutions sees about 1000 attendees which is smaller than their signature event which receives about 3000 people. At the conference, PodNews released their first annual report card on the industry and Infinite Dial (who produces the longest run report on American media consumption habits) released their 2022 report. This year their report showed 73% of the U.S. 12+ population (an estimated 209 million people) have listened to online audio in the last month, up from 68% in 2021.

• Google Podcast Creator Program Accelerator Program in partnership with PRX Training is accepting applications. Definitely check them out if you’re a podcaster!

• Have you seen what Chris Messina tweeted about Spotify’s alleged new interface? According to Messina in an updated tweet, if you’d like to check it out here are the steps:

  • 1. Update Spotify on iOS

  • 2. Open Safari on iOS

  • 3. Paste this into the URL bar:

    4. Paste and Go

  • 5. Open in Spotify

    Chris Messina 🪬 @chrismessina

    HUGE!! @Spotify is adding a dedicated TikTok-style vertical scrolling feed for @Spotifypodcasts to its toolbar! h/t @SleepwellCap #NewSpotify

• PodNews announced that YouTube will be ingesting podcast RSS feeds directly and that there will be a new podcasts homepage, tentatively a non-working link of youtube.com/podcasts.

DISCOVERABILITY: 

Discoverability & searchability have been challenging for the entire industry. I want to do my part in sharing some of the great podcasts I hear from the continent (& within the diaspora) as the market continues to grow. It’s my belief that Africa will be the largest podcasting market in the world due to the fact that people are already comfortable with the audio format (ie. radio) and that we are the fastest growing digital market in the world. Every newsletter I will focus on a new country and a podcast (or two) I like from there. For our first country, I’m going with favorites and choosing my Ghana because that’s where my mother is from …and also, the BLACKSTARS ARE GOING TO THE WORLD CUP!

Palaver by Frances Quarcoopome. She just completed her first season and absolutely crushed it. In a conversational and interview style, Frances has digestible conversations with some interesting people doing incredible things on the continent, especially in West Africa. Check it out HERE or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Sincerely Accra is an easy to listen to podcast under The Gold Coast Report. Highly suggest the content coming out of TGCR and if you’re looking for a vibrant, fun and fast paced podcast, Sincerely Accra might be a good fit. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts.

PODCASTING 101: 

Every newsletter I will break down one of the fundamental basics of podcasting. Podcasting is still very much in it’s infancy on the continent and for those who are new to the space, don’t worry- I’ve got you too.

What is a podcast? 

The word initially came from iPod+ broadcast= podcast. What we know as a podcast is an audio file (RSS) distributed over the internet that can be listened to via web, mobile or app platform. Sometimes people explain it as "radio on demand". How do you define a podcast?

EVENTS:

Let's meet up! There are things to do and places to be.

• Podcast Movement : The largest community of podcasters and the largest annual event for podcasting. Need I say more?

• RadioDays South Africa 2022 : The largest radio conference in Africa. Since radio is the largest player in the audio space (and form of media), it’s definitely worth keeping on your radar.

• The Podcast Show London: An international podcast show and Europe’s biggest podcast gathering.

• BlkPodFestival: Two days of Black storytellers in Atlanta with 80 sessions and 120 speakers.

• Podcasting Seriously, Live : Every week, a really cool Twitter conversation. Get in on it. It can get a little late with our time zones on the continent but if you’re ever up, it’s worth tuning in.

Want to talk? Got feedback?

Contact us! Please let me know if you have any information about Africa’s podcasting ecosystem.

You can reach me @mj_akosua or find me on LinkedIn. If you need my email address, shoot me a DM and I’ll get back to you.