Tuesday 20th April: Facebook (finally) turns its attention to audio

April 20, 2021

Good morning! Today's Media Roundup is brought you by Esther.

Every year since 2016, I've predicted that this will be the year Facebook turns its attention to audio. Finally, I'm right! It was bound to happen eventually...

According to Recode, Facebook is planning to announce a series of products under the umbrella of 'social audio'. This will include - surprise surprise - a copycat version of Clubhouse, as well as voice message status updates and audio-only videoconferencing.

But it will also include a push into podcast discovery and distribution, in partnership with none other than Spotify. The two companies have linked up in the past, when people would accidentally reveal their embarrassing music taste with all their Facebook friends (just me?).

Personally, I think this is likely to add yet another layer of complexity to what is already a mind-bogglingly cluttered product. But it will inevitably introduce more people to podcasts, which can only be a good thing in the long run.

Digital media executives scrambled last year to tell their boards about their new subscription products, but something strange happened. Their old, unfashionable advertising businesses exploded as consumers stayed home and shopped online. Now, brands from travel to alcohol are pouring money into advertising on digital media platforms.

This is a great story of using an actual, printed newsletter to reach communities at a vital point. “People sit around, read and discuss the news in the villages. That’s how newspapers are consumed in the villages. Many of the farmers are [older than] 50 and not attuned to how to process the news that comes via social media on their phones. We wanted to bridge the gap with print.”

infoLibre is heading for its first year in the black after losses over the past eight years. The publisher has emerged stronger from the pandemic, growing its paid subscribers 44% to 13,500. Subscriptions now account for 55% of its revenues, but it has also seen a large increase in advertising income.

This week's episode:

This week, we hear from The Wall Street Journal’s Editor of Live Journalism and Special Content Kim Last. She talks about the role of live journalism at the publication, how they adapted when the pandemic hit, and what they are doing to bring events and networking to life virtually.

Talking of virtual events, the digital version of our 2021 programme is now live! It features a welcome from the Media Voices team, all the shortlisted podcasts, and a sneak preview of our special announcement for next year...