Photo Credit: 9to5Mac
Apple Podcasts gets a new Spotlight editorial header with a new podcast every month.
The new feature was unveiled earlier this week in the Apple Podcasts app on all platforms. The first Apple Podcasts Spotlight creator is Chelsea Devantez, who hosts Celebrity Book Club. Apple hopes the new feature will help highlight some of the up-and-coming talents in the podcast industry.
“Apple Podcasts Spotlight helps listeners find some of the world’s best shows by shining a light on creators with singular voices,” says Ben Cave, Global Head of Business for Apple Podcasts.
“Chelsea Devantez has created a fun, vibrant space with Celebrity Book Club for listeners to gain new perspectives on the celebrities we thought we knew. We are delighted to recognize Chelsea and Celebrity Book Club as our first Spotlight selection and look forward to introducing creators like Chelsea to listeners each month.”
The first Apple Podcasts Spotlight focuses on the memoirs of ‘badass’ celebrity women.
“Writer, comedian, and filmmaker Chelsea Devantez and her talented friends recap and celebrate the memoirs of badass celebrity womxn who have been torn down by tabloids and dissected by social media – all while facing career obstacles, broken relationships, and incredible triumphs. You can read along, or just listen, but either way, you definitely want to join this book club,” reads the podcast’s synopsis on Stitcher.
Apple is gearing up to help take some of the wind out of Spotify’s podcast sails.
Spotify spent most of 2019/20 acquiring several podcasting properties. Amazon Music joined in, acquiring Wondery and producing several Audible Originals. The battle for spoken word content is heating up as Apple, Spotify, and Amazon find themselves in a three-way stand-off over a new marketplace.
SiriusXM is in a somewhat distant fourth place as it moves to transition some of its content to podcasts. The acquisition of Pandora and Stitcher has helped transform some of its satellite radio shows into more easily digestible podcasts. But the real battle between Apple and Spotify is just heating up.
Apple is finally looking at producing its own original podcasts and acquiring podcast studios. There are also rumors that Apple is considering adding a premium podcast subscription to its offerings. That premium podcast subscription would undoubtedly become part of the Apple One bundle subscription.
That would also help Apple differentiate itself from Spotify, which is also mulling a separate podcast subscription for those who want to listen to podcasts ad- and sponsor-free.