10 votes

Spotify begins testing curated podcast playlists

9 comments

  1. [3]
    povey
    Link
    Deezer offers a ton of curated playlists, including some podcast lists . If this is something you're into, it's probably worth comparing to Spotify's offering.

    Deezer offers a ton of curated playlists, including some podcast lists . If this is something you're into, it's probably worth comparing to Spotify's offering.

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Unfortunately Spotify is only doing AB testing of this new podcast playlist feature and only 5% of users have access to it right now (and sadly, I'm not one)... so comparisons may have to wait...

      Unfortunately Spotify is only doing AB testing of this new podcast playlist feature and only 5% of users have access to it right now (and sadly, I'm not one)... so comparisons may have to wait until it's rolled out to everyone. But thanks for the heads up about Deezer, I will definitely be checking that out since I am always on the prowl for new podcasts to listen to and Spotify's discovery features are generally pretty terrible.

      2 votes
      1. povey
        Link Parent
        It's interesting how there are algorithms for detecting styles/genres of music, for things like Deezer and Spotify's auto-generated playlists (like discover weekly on Spotify), but most of the...

        It's interesting how there are algorithms for detecting styles/genres of music, for things like Deezer and Spotify's auto-generated playlists (like discover weekly on Spotify), but most of the podcast curation is just based on genre. I wonder if there will ever be a need for algorithmic determination of podcasts. Spotify for sure has a team of engineers who work on the tools behind discover weekly, it would be interesting if they're helping with the podcasts or it's just a manual human effort.

        1 vote
  2. [5]
    povey
    Link
    I'm looking at this article on a new day and I'm dubious about the claim that "podcast discoverability, an issue that plagues the industry". I've tried a lot of podcast apps on my android phone,...

    I'm looking at this article on a new day and I'm dubious about the claim that "podcast discoverability, an issue that plagues the industry". I've tried a lot of podcast apps on my android phone, and seemingly 90% of them have podcast discovery built-in to them based on genre. Do people actually struggle with finding new podcasts?

    2 votes
    1. Deimos
      Link Parent
      I don't listen to many podcasts so I have no idea how widespread it is, but it seems pretty normal for there to be a segment in every episode where they practically beg you to subscribe to the...

      I don't listen to many podcasts so I have no idea how widespread it is, but it seems pretty normal for there to be a segment in every episode where they practically beg you to subscribe to the podcast and please for the love of god post a review on iTunes to help push them up the charts a little. If the only discovery mechanism is "most popular, by genre", it's extremely hard for anyone new to break into it.

      3 votes
    2. ols
      Link Parent
      I only discover new podcasts by mention in a podcast, or word of mouth. I trust Spotify with my music recommendations having used them for many years, and have recently started listening to...

      I only discover new podcasts by mention in a podcast, or word of mouth. I trust Spotify with my music recommendations having used them for many years, and have recently started listening to podcasts on there too, so hopefully they have enough data about me... never thought I'd say that

      3 votes
    3. [2]
      hauntedlikeowls
      Link Parent
      How do people discover podcasts? I usually Google a genre or subject I want one on and look at the "Best XX [genre] podcasts" lists. I have no idea how smaller podcasts would get discovered on...

      How do people discover podcasts? I usually Google a genre or subject I want one on and look at the "Best XX [genre] podcasts" lists. I have no idea how smaller podcasts would get discovered on Spotify, which is the only platform I use. I've tried keyword searching or "browsing" but never had much luck.

      3 votes
      1. cfabbro
        Link Parent
        Sorry for the late reply, but I only noticed now that this topic had a new comment so decided to investigate. :) I honestly can't remember the last podcast that I didn't hear about through word of...

        Sorry for the late reply, but I only noticed now that this topic had a new comment so decided to investigate. :)

        I honestly can't remember the last podcast that I didn't hear about through word of mouth. The latest one I have been listening to (My Dad Wrote A Porno, which is hilarious) was recommended to my by some real life friends on our private Discord. There have also been a couple recommended directly to me by users here on Tildes (and Tildes Discord), and even a bunch of good recommendation topics as well:

        https://tildes.net/~talk/tl/what_are_your_favourite_podcasts
        https://tildes.net/~talk/63e/what_are_your_top_five_favorite_podcasts_im_looking_to_broaden_my_podcast_horizons
        https://tildes.net/~talk/19g/lets_talk_podcasts_what_are_some_that_you_like_and_why
        https://tildes.net/~talk/2qz/podcast_recommendations
        https://tildes.net/~talk/b9p/recommend_me_some_podcasts

  3. boredop
    Link
    I'm sure this will in no way favor podcasts by Gimlet (now owned by Spotify) over their competitors.

    I'm sure this will in no way favor podcasts by Gimlet (now owned by Spotify) over their competitors.

    1 vote