Organiser of The British Podcast Awards Matt Deegan joins as co-host. Spotify launch 'Sound Up' and buy Locker Room. Voting for the Ambies is now open. You can now download the Podclock.

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Join Sam Sethi and Matt Deegan on this week's highly informative show

NEWS:

James Cridland launches his new project the PodClock
The British Podcast Awards has closed entries for this year. Organiser Matt Deegan says it was the best ever year, with entries up a third since 2020.
Last week we talked about how podcasting had hit 2 million shows in Apple Podcast
Spotify is to hold a new round of Sound Up programs: a global program that gives under-represented podcasters the tools to boost their platforms and build their own shows. The website lists shows from previous Sound Up alumni and the full details about where they are taking part.
- The first to announce is the Australia Sound Up Program, aimed at Indigenous or Torres Strait Islander podcasters. If that’s you, you’ve until April 19 to enter.
- The company has also launched Behind The Mic, a new apprenticeship program coming later this year to support aspiring Black podcast producers. Three apprentices will become permanent Spotify employees as a result.
  
  Happy sixth anniversary to Podcasts in Color
Spotify has bought Locker Room, an iOS-only live sports audio app. Like Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces, it will let anyone host audio conversations. It’s to rebrand under a new name, and Gustav Söderström, chief R&D officer at Spotify, hints at integration with Anchor and Spotify’s podcasts
Voting is now open for The Ambies. Any Podcast Academy member can now vote - log in at The Podcast Academy’s website and follow the prompts.
The Podcast Index now lists over 2m podcasts. It doesn’t automatically pull new shows from Apple Podcasts, but even so, has now overtaken the number of shows there.
The Podcast Index website now also shows Value for Value splits, as in this example. Watch Podnews in the next few days for a full article on how this all works.