3 ways to create a bad user experience for your podcast listeners
Welcome! I'm Simon Owens and this is my tech and media newsletter. If you've received it then you either subscribed or someone forwarded it to you. If you fit into the latter camp, then you can subscribe over here. Or just click on this handy little button:
I’m back from running a half-marathon and I’ve got two great pieces lined up for you. Let’s jump right into it…
The next frontier in self-publishing: audiobooks
Jane Friedman has spent almost the entirety of her professional career working in book publishing. In the mid-aughts, she began writing about the industry, both for professional outlets and her own blog. A few years ago, she launched a paid newsletter that now generates the majority of her income.
I recently interviewed Friedman about her work. We discussed how she grew her newsletter into a sustainable business, and then we talked about the current state of book publishing. One aspect of this world that’s long fascinated me is self-publishing, so I asked Friedman to fill me in on how this market is maturing and where self-published writers are seeing success. [link]
3 ways to create a bad user experience for your podcast listeners
Building a listenership for a new podcast is hard work that rewards consistency and is likely to be devoid of hockey stick growth. The most successful shows will be the ones that treat that listenership with respect. [link]
Want to interact with me directly?
I have a secret Facebook group that’s only promoted to subscribers of this newsletter. I try to post exclusive commentary to it sometimes and have regular discussions with its members about the tech/media space. Go here to join. [link]
Other news:
A great profile of FaZe Clan, described as "the Dallas Cowboys meets Supreme meets MTV." [link]
Here's some data showing that Spotify has made significant headway cutting into Apple's market share of podcast listening. [link]
A great profile of T-Series, the Indian YouTube channel that unseated PewDiePie as the most-subscribed channel in the world. [link]
“The internet was never made for distributing video. It’s like inhabiting Mars. It’s a hostile environment. It’s constantly trying to kill these streams.” [link]
Most people think of AARP as a special interest group, but it's also a massively successful media company. [link]
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