321 - What It Takes to Get Featured on Apple Podcasts

0:05 Good morning podcasting Morning Chat. Today is Wednesday, June 11th, 2025, and today we're digging into podcasting's latest news from new YouTube ad moves, Apple updates to unusual podcast rebrands, Congress's plan for digital creators, and Walmart getting into podcasting. So if you're listening live on Clubhouse, hit the share button, bottom left hand side of the screen and share it. However, Clubhouse lets you. And if you're listening via podcast, please share this with a fellow podcaster. And now give us about 30 seconds and we'll get things rolling. Thanks for being here. Good morning again, podcasting, Morning Chat. Thank you for being here.

1:24 I am your host, Mark Ronick. And here on stage with me, a full stage, if you will, we have producer Ashley Feller, Amanda Sharp, Dr. Faye, Jonathan Howard, Sid Meadows and Nick Nall back. Sid, joining us again in the morning. Sid, what's going on with your morning plans? Is everybody leaving you hanging in the morning to go on those morning walks? Everybody's a little tired and so I'm on a meandering walk again rather than a power walk. Just got to get outside and get the fresh air and the sunshine before we walked into a building for the rest of the day. Awesome. Well I'm hoping to see you in your Ask Me About My Podcast shirt today. I hope we see a picture of it.

2:07 Well, you're not I'm. Sorry. Because I washed it and it's too small and so I said I can't wear this. It gave you man boobs, Sorry. Well, that's a good reason not to. What size? You need to take that part out OK. What size did you actually get Sid? I got the large and my first one was a large, but this one I think I told you in effect, I think this size a little differently, so I'm going to reorder the extra large. Got it. Well, OK, let's talk because I don't want you to have to buy a whole other shirt. Maybe we can get you a new one. We'll talk about it. And if you're interested, maybe what we'll do is Ashley, I will put a link in the show notes today to those shirts. If you're interested in getting me an Ask Me About My Podcast shirt, not only is it a great shirt for you to walk around with so that people can ask you about your podcast, but you're also helping empowered Podcasting. There's a small logo on the shirt, on the back of the shirt that's for the conference.

3:10 And so you would be supporting us while supporting yourself at the same time. So yeah, please check that out. And today, yeah, we're going to get into all the headlines. Before we do, I want to say hello to Amanda Sharp for her chick, her TikTok chicken update. If you follow Amanda on social media she does talk about other things besides her chicks and I wanted to find out. Well, I saw some video yesterday and it looks like those chickens are grown up quickly, Amanda. They're growing and growing in naughty behavior too, but they love meal worms, so when all else fails, I shake the bag and they follow me wherever I need them to, so that's good. That's awesome.

3:53 No names still because they look too similar. No names. OK, I'm laughing just because this is Amanda in her element, being able to be a Mama however she can. Yeah. Yep, my baby's flying the coop so I had to get some that have to stay in the yard. Yeah, right. I love it. Well, keep us posted. Thanks for the update. And yeah, follow Amanda Sharp on TikTok if you want to see those chicks growing into chickens. And did you figure out yet? Do you have all males, all females? A mixture? Well, I did reach out to the lady that I bought him from and I was like, at what age do you feel that I'll know for sure if they're hens or Roosters? And she said usually between like 8 to 12 weeks is when you can really start telling.

4:42 So I've got about three more weeks before I even had that milestone to be able to kind of tell. I said, well, I either got 5 Roosters or five hens. And she's like, I'll just hope for hens and I'm like me too, but I'll get 5 Roosters. I've no doubt I'm going to have the five Roosters. I I got to say it, I have an assumption of how to tell the difference, but I don't know that I've ever seen the difference between the two, if that makes sense. Some breeds are very easily like as they get older, like the Roosters typically are far more like elegantly feathered and they're bigger typically and they're the ones who grow obviously where the hens don't get as big of Combs and stuff. But with the Wine dot breed that I got, they don't get a big comb because that's what gets frostbite. And so for winners here in Michigan, that's why I chose the Wine Dots.

5:32 It helps like keep them a little bit more cold Hardy. So this particular breed really is going to, it'll probably be a year before I know what I have, if I'm being honest. But they don't, do they? I mean, they have something down there, right? No, they don't. They don't. OK, you cannot tell anything from an undercarriage. That's that's what I was kind of wondering about. Gotcha. No, no, it's literally like the appearance of what they visually look like compared to each other. Not like you know. Got it. OK, fair. OK. I, I don't know, I was just curious. I, I don't know why. I mean, 'cause I know generally speaking, most birds, usually the males are a little bigger and their feathers are more vibrant, colorful, bigger, whatever. So I knew those differences, but I just was curious if there was that other difference.

6:21 Yeah, chicks get sexed by their like feathers from the hatcheries, like when they're sending them the Tractor Supply. They're guessing by like based off of feathers. OK. It's very bizarre. Yeah, it is bizarre. They're basically dinosaurs. Let's just go with that. OK, yes, they do look like dinosaurs. I know Chris says they look like dinosaurs. Yeah. OK, we're just real quick. Speaking of birds, two birds when I was in Spain and Portugal that I saw in the wild for the first time up close and personal. One was a stork in in the Portugal Lisbon area. If you drive in certain areas there are rows and rows of storks at the tops of trees, at the tops of towers that are built, gigantic nests and storks which I've just never seen in person like that in the wild. And the other was Peacocks.

7:15 Peacocks just walk around town like pigeons, although maybe not as many as you would see, but still they they'll just walk around, walk right next to you, walk right by you. They mind their business. They don't really bother you, but it's really interesting to see that. OK, so there you go. There's a before we get into all of our podcast news, just we'll have to catch up a little bit with everybody. So let's do it. Let's dig into the news. And Dr. often helps me with this stuff. And it looks like we have a few minutes before it's time to go make the eggs for the hubby. So first, I like to kick things off with some podcast data.

7:56 This is as of June 10th from Pod News. The number one podcast on Apple in the US is The Best People with Nicole Wallace and MSNBC production, which I just don't like calling a podcast. I'm sorry if it's ATV show. It's not a podcast, just my yeah. And also, we don't do this often in the UK. I'll say this is in the this is in honor of Tristan, who's back in the audience. We haven't had here join us a lot lately and a a long timer with the podcasting morning chat. So in honor of Kristen, sorry, Tristan, the number one podcast in the UK on Apple is the War Game brought to you by Sky News. I'll share the number one in Spotify because I've heard the UK but I won't share for US because Dr. gives us our top five S #1 in.

8:53 Spotify. It's really hard to guess for the UK, it's the Joe Rogan experience. And by the way, before we get into DRS top five lists over the last week, 198,353 podcasts published at least one new episode, which is down almost 2 percent 1.9 percent. So let's get that consistency backup folks and keep posting your regularly scheduled podcast episodes. Take it away, Dr. There are three new ones on this chart that we have not seen before. OK, so #5 is Ray Williams Johnson True story podcast #4 is the World within podcast with Eddie Pinero. I think I'm I think I nailed it.

9:44 Pinero #3 #3 is past weekend with Theo von #2 is Spotify presents and number one. OK, I'll take again, it is a Joe Rogan experience. I didn't even bother giving it a timpani didn't need one I. Know, I know. So the random chart of the week is history and #5 is forbidden. History #4 is dark. History #3 is called this friggin guy and they don't use the word friggin #2 is continuously during the number one. The rest is history. I want to talk a little bit about #3. And what was #3 again?

10:28 I'm using a euphemism. It's called this friggin guy. But they don't use friggin yes. OK, correct. OK, but they don't actually spell out the bad word either, right? Right, there's an asterisk where the you is supposed to be. And by the way, I have to stop you and say I appreciate you saying asterisk. That's a very commonly mispronounced asterisk is sometimes asterisk. Please push. Those applause. I can't even say how it's normally said now because I've trained myself to say it the right way for so long, but yet people often say that word wrong. Go ahead. OK, so this one is kind of interesting and it's not just they don't just talk about guys, even though it's titled that way. They will talk about women, but they name all their episodes. You know how friends would say it's the one with blah, blah, blah, the one with blah, blah?

11:21 They kind of do that and they'll this, the current one is if you are a Zuckerberg hater, if you hate anything having to do with Meta, you will probably like this episode because it's what's his first name, Zuckerberg. Mark. What's his first name? Mark. Mark Zuckerberg. Yeah. Easy name to remember. It's spelled, that's why There you go. It's Mark Zuckerberg. Everything you didn't know about this shitty past. Yes, I said the word and everything is everything you didn't know about his shitty past or her shitty past.

12:02 So it's the name of the person and then the extension. It's kind of funny. I I clicked on it and I got to say I had a few laughs on it. All right. Well, we'll have to check that out then. Dr. Thank you. Appreciate it. And also I appreciate that when you do the top fives, it's not just the top five overall. I I appreciate that you take the time to also talk about someone or some of the people on the list. I think that's helpful. I like that. Thank you. I want to thank Dr. for putting us over the top for explicit thanks to Jonathan because now we don't have two blanks to, you know, piss. And so thanks a lot, Dr. You know, we're just, we are just the most explicit.

12:46 Yeah, Dr. What the? Thank you, Alex. Thank you Dr. appreciate it. And so all right, Dr. is going to go cook some eggs and while she does this is news, I want to keep it going with some news and good to see fellow Co host Dominic here because I had this written down to bring up today. Dominic has some news about his own podcast. Dominic, I think you probably know where I'm going with this. You posted about it yesterday. Do you mind sharing the news with the rest of the community? Your news with the rest of the community. Thank you, Mark. I appreciate that. Long story short, Mental Health Rewritten is currently being featured on Apple Podcast.

13:30 If you go to Apple podcast and look at the carousel of shows, Mental Health Rewritten is in that carousel. So it's a super exciting milestone, but more importantly, I think it just highlights the importance of of the conversations that we're having. So it's a pretty exciting moment. Yeah. Congratulations, Dominic. And may I ask how did that happen? Was it a surprise? Did you apply? How did you do it? How did I mean, look, I know it's a great quality show. I've listened to the first episode. I know that it's it's on a really important topic. So these are things I'm sure Apple looks for. But was there a strategy behind this or did it just happen?

14:11 No, there was a strategy. It started three months ago in March. Basically, you do have to apply and basically Apple Podcast has a editorial team that looks, you know, that kind of, you know, see what the show's about is that and the other and I had to get a new type of what they call Hero Art created for the feature it and that's just in case they pick the feature. So basically you apply, you create this art based on the specifications that they asked for, because obviously the cover art for your show and what they put in the carousel is different, right? And remember the last time I was here, I was sharing that I think this may be happening while I kind of hinted at it because my cover art on the feed looked different than they did before.

15:05 And I was like, I think I may be getting featured, but I don't, I don't want to, you know, jinx it or whatever. Because even when that happens, even when they change that cover art, it's not guaranteed. Like they're very selective about who they feature. Just super grateful. And the marketing team that I hired, Tink, was a huge help in crafting the pitch and this, that and the other. But even again, like I said, it wasn't a guarantee. So the fact that they decided to, because we did get word that they were interested, but it still wasn't a guarantee. But I guess they decided, you know what, you're gonna roll with it. And so they decided to and so I have been looking at Apple podcast feed, the browse button for the past couple of days to see what's what.

15:55 Cuz even Tink didn't know it was going to be there. Then yesterday morning it was right there and there has been a bump in listens. Cool. That's so that was my next. Question. That was my. Next question definitely, definitely have noticed a bump for sure. That's awesome. Congratulations, Dom. I have a question. I'm in the kitchen, but I do have a question. So you hired a marketing team and they wrote up the pitch right to to Apple, They did. Is that something that you could use as a template in the future so you wouldn't have to hire another team? Well, I mean, to be fair, the team is responsible. If you've seen a lot of the marketing that I've shared on social media and stuff like that, they're largely responsible for that, right? Not just that the Apple Podcast feature, there was a cast box feature.

16:48 There's somebody who written the editorial about that. So it's like it wasn't just for this feature, right? But yes, you could do this on your own because Apple Podcast, they have like a team that does like, you know, these webinars on how you get featured on Apple Podcast, right? And I did attend one of those and stuff like that. It's just that it was kind of like, since I already had hired the marketing team and they were familiar with the process, why not let them do it? Does that make sense? But yes, there is a template where you can do this on your own, yes. Yeah, very cool. And I just shared a link from Apple Podcasts Direct that are, I think these are 4 tips to getting featured on Apple Podcast. And within there, there is a link to the application you need to fill out if you want to be featured. I, I've helped my clients do this multiple times and yet to actually get the acceptance.

17:46 So it's cool to to be have somebody here in the community that has successfully done this with Apple and well deserved Dominic. I appreciate that. Thank you. One thing I will say is that timing, timing is important as well. If you're, if you're topic is surrounding something that's being like, you know, celebrated each month or something like, or, you know, during a particular month, because I think the thinking was they wanted to get it in for mental health awareness month. But I mean, June is men's mental health awareness month, so it still works. Yep, hosted by a guy too. So that makes sense, right? Yeah. I love it. I love it. Thank you, Dominic.

18:26 Yeah, I think that's a great tip. I don't know if it's on that list or not, but that's a great tip. If your content has to do with a particular themed month, right? That could be Black History Month, Men's and Mental Health Awareness Month, a month for autism awareness, those types of things. If you have shows that focus on those areas, then yeah, you want to plan ahead. Like like Dominic said, took him three months for this whole process from start to finish. So think about that, too. But plan ahead. And you never know, that could be in your favor. Yeah. Nick, you had something. Go ahead. Congratulations to Nick. That's freaking awesome. I was curious the timing.

19:09 You started this three months ago. How long did it take from when you actually submitted to Apple to when now you just found out that you got the feature? You mean as far as like starting a process or the actual application? I'm sorry. When you actually submitted. To Apple. Oh, it was. April. It was April, I think we did it in April, submitted it in April. And then that's when I noticed what was that like 2 weeks ago that that cover art had changed because before that it was radio silence, heard nothing, right. But they do say, you know, if you want it whenever you want to submit it, submit it with a, with at least what, 8 weeks in advance or something like that.

19:58 So you do have to be very intentional and very proactive in that regards. So we submitted it in April, probably with the hopes for it being in May. So like from April, let's say early to mid-april to like obviously this is June when I found out. So I mean, I guess that's still kind of works about 8 weeks, two months, I guess. When did you launch your first podcast episode for that show? May 4th, Submit this. Yeah. So the so May 14th was the full, first full episode, but the trailer was submitted April 30th. So there was the very least there was something on the feed to kind of give them an idea of what it is. Now, to be fair, I don't know if they listen to it. I don't know if they listen to it, but I think that's where the pitch is so important, right?

20:49 You have to have a compelling pitch because I don't think the editorial team actually listens to it. Which is kind of weird, don't you think? It is, but I get it because I mean, they have a lot of submissions. True, they have a lot of submissions, right. So I I kind of get it and the fact that I'm not a celebrity because let's be honest, celebrities usually get those kind of slots when it comes to that carousel and feature. But I think the topic was on point and, you know, relevant and I think the style of show because there's not many narrative mental health shows running around here. So I think that kind of, you know, set it apart a little bit and kind of gave us a shot, I think. Yeah, absolutely.

21:30 I see Amanda has something to go ahead. Amanda. I just want to say like congratulations again. I think this is the equivalent if I was to open up a magazine like on a newsstand and see my Betty Dominic in it as featured. Like I just, I just want everyone to understand like the significance of how special this is. I think this is a huge deal. I mean, don't you, Mark? Yeah, that's why I brought it up there has. To be so many submissions, so many podcasts and our Dominic got it. And Dominic, I know you put so much time and effort to your podcast, so it's so deserved. So congratulations. And to those, oh, go ahead. No, I just want to say thank you and I appreciate you, Amanda. I appreciate you, Mark, and I appreciate this community for always being supportive of my work and just encouraging and sharing and being a part of it and all the things I'm, I'm super excited to have Dan on the show in the next couple of days and highlighting that it was a small kind of delay because some new data from the CDC kind of popped up. I was like, I cannot leave this out. But but, but no, I, I am super grateful to this community and I think that having that support, having that community is definitely part of the reason why things like this are able to happen for me and for all of us for sure. So I want to make sure I said that. But thank you, Amanda.

22:54 I really appreciate those words and receive them. Yeah, you're welcome, Dominic. On behalf of the community, you're welcome. And on behalf of the community, thank you for always sharing with us, sharing these milestones, and sharing the process with us because we are learning from you as much as you're getting support from us. So thank you for always showing up whenever you can here in the podcasting, morning chat and outside, also still connecting with the community. We appreciate you. And by the way, Amanda mentioned magazines. For those of you who don't know, magazines are actual pieces of paper that are bound together. It's kind of like a website, but it's in a hard copy form. Listen, I still get magazines mailed to me. I shouldn't surprise anyone.

23:40 But it doesn't, not at all. Not thank you Amanda, just teasing, just having some fun. OK, let's keep going with some news, shall we? I'm hitting the right button this time. OK, so also we haven't talked about events coming up and I also have a clip to play for you in just a moment. First this one, I don't often talk about paid events except for in person events like say podcast movement pod fest, empowered podcasting, but online paid stuff I don't talk about often. But this one caught my it's called the art of dialogue editing by Radio Boot Camp. It is hosted by Michael Raphael.

24:23 He's a Peabody award-winning producer engineer whose credits include The New Yorker, Radio Hour, Studio 360, Radiolab and more. He's hosting this August 7th. Hey my birthday from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM Eastern Time. It's a limited size class. It's, I think it's for 15 participants will share the link in the show notes for you and what it is. It's, I think that the reason why it's important to me to share with you is because I think when it comes to content editing, not editing out the umm's and ah's or the spaces and breaths and all that. I mean, actually, how do you know what to cut out of an episode? Because the truth of the matter is, is we can and many of us do play the entire interview from start to finish, right? We want to get in our heads.

25:18 We think it's important to get every question and every answer out to the world. But I think the truth is is that some of those interviews can be edited. Some of it isn't necessary information. Some of it might slow the showdown. Some of it might do better at toward the end of the episode instead of at the beginning when you actually recorded it because of just the way that it flows. And it's tough for us sometimes to be able to know when and where to make those cuts. That's what this is all about. So I think content editing and education in that can do us as podcasters, especially independent podcasters, a lot of good.

26:01 So that is, again, August 7th, 1:00 PM Eastern. We will share a link in the show notes or you can go to radiobootcamp.org and learn more about it and many of their other paid classes that they offer. Also, protect the next event. Protect your podcast with easy, affordable legal strategies hosted by Gordon Firemark, who we brought up last Friday. I'm going to play a clip which he happened to put out as a short form video the day, I think it was Friday that we talked about naming your podcast and the challenges if somebody else has the rights to that name.

26:46 And so I'm going to play this clip because it just happened to come out that same day. I figured that was fate saying we we need to play it here also on the show before I do, Dominic, I saw your hand was up. Did you want to mention something about content editing? Oh, yeah, I was just going to say I would highly suggest anybody to consider that course or class, if you will, because that's it. That that's the hallmark of the work that I do. It's it's like putting a piece of a puzzle together and they rearranging it and stuff like that. So and it makes fool for more compelling content. I believe I'm biased obviously, but you know, but definitely would suggest anybody consider to consider that class for sure. Yeah. Thank you, Dominic.

27:27 And all right, so yeah, I'm going to play that clip for you from Gordon Firemark, and we'll link to his video version of this as well. Here we go. Hey, it's Gordon Firemark. If you think a registered trademark is just a box to check, you're missing the point. A registered trademark gives you power. It tells the world this brand is yours. It gives you the legal presumption of ownership, the exclusive right to use your name in connection with your work, the ability to license it, to enforce it, to build serious brand value. Not a registered trademark. You're exposed. Anyone could copy you. They could undercut you, even try to hijack your online identity with a registered trademark, even try to hijack your online identity with a registered trademark.

28:10 You're in control. So take the first step. Download the free trademark registration guide over at podcast trademark.com and let's get you protected. Thank you, Gordon Firemark. By the way, I did find that old episode we referenced on Friday when we had Gordon join us live and we asked all sorts of legal questions and the specifically for content creators, podcasters, etcetera. I did find it and I'll probably release that as an episode in the next week or so. Just kept got to figure out the timing of it. But I do want to make sure that more people get to hear that interview because there was a lot of great information, including information on trade marking your podcast name. So we will share that.

28:54 And if you want to support Gordon, he also, like I said, he's got his his event coming up here soon. This will be June 19th, 10:00 AM Pacific Time. Protect your podcast with easy, affordable legal strategies. He's breaking down affordable ways to get your show legally protected and professionally structured without needing to hire a lawyer and without the usual confusion that comes with this kind of stuff. So check that out Also. By the way, New England Podcasters Group has a June meet up that's coming this Saturday, the 14th, 12:00 PM Eastern Time in Westford, Mass. Just look up New England Podcasters Group on Google or wherever you search for things.

29:39 You'll find more info there and of course in the show notes. And also business and Podcasting network event for female entrepreneurs hosted by Female Entrepreneurs Business and Podcasting Society. This is a free event happening Tuesday, the 24th, 11:00 AM Eastern. It's an online event so anybody can attend. And of course, Empowered podcasting to happen September 26th through the 28th at the Hyatt Centric Charlotte, NC. This is for you, independent podcasters, DIY podcasters, people that are really taking on the brunt of the podcasting responsibilities and wants to learn more, grow more and collaborate more with fellow podcasters.

30:25 Come join us at empoweredpodcasting.com. Get your ticket. You still have time to apply to be a speaker. Deadline is this Friday and we would love to have you attend in some way, shape or form. And again, thank you to everybody for hearing me out yesterday, hearing me share some challenges that I've got me a little frustrated this, the fact that I haven't been able to close a sponsor yet, no matter how much effort we've put into it, for how long we've been putting into it. We've got some things on the horizon, but it's been a challenge for sure. And I could, I could use a sponsor or two and I could use your attendance as well, which is really the most important thing as far as I'm concerned is I want bodies there. I can figure out the rest of it later, so thank you for hearing me out and offering your insights and advice yesterday. Appreciate it.

31:21 Also, DRI, know you're back from cooking your breakfast for the hubby. With that, do you want to share some awards award news? Sure. Yeah, we've got some award news now. The True Crime Awards took place the other night and including nine podcast awards. The winner of the podcast of the year went to a podcast called Kill List, and that's from Wondery and Novel. And we've got a list from pod news of the of all the podcast winners. So you can go ahead and and get that list. And also, comedy comes out on top as Spotify holds its first ever podcast awards. Now the thing about this one, I'm confused about the location of where they held this award show, but that's. OK.

32:09 It was in Mexico. Spotify. Yeah, yeah, In Mexico, and I think it was based, all the awards were just focused on South American podcasts the way I understand. Well then that's not confusing to me then. Sorry about that, I missed that part. OK. Spotify held its first ever podcast awards in Mexico, attracting 300 plus industry professionals and nearly 200 top fan. Nearly 200 top fans to the live event. Fans cast nearly 8 million votes, showing the depth of engagement with local podcasting culture. Oh no, look at this word. Look, come on, help me out. You're not Latina, so it's OK if you can't. I don't know.

32:55 I am not Latino. It's LACOTOR RISA. Co Hilo RISA called Theresa. There you go. That sounded great, Jonathan. I don't know if it was right, but it sounded. I don't know if it's right, Yeah. So, a comedy podcast hosted by Ricardo Perez and Jose Luis Slaboski took home the top honor. Called the Top of the Podcast, the awards spotlighted 10 podcast categories based on a mix of listener data and 2024 critical acclaim.

33:36 Spotify reported 19% growth in podcast listenership in Mexico over the past year, reaching 27,000,000 listeners in 2024. Spotify Mexico's head of podcast Tais Tavaria, and I know the first name is Tais because that's my mother's name, said the award show reflects Spotify's commitment to investing in and growing the local podcast ecosystem. How about that? Thank you, Dr. Appreciate that. Yeah, interesting that Spotify, that's where they chose to host their first ever awards. Not that it's a problem, not that it, it's just interesting being that there are lots of countries out there that are even more into podcasting.

34:24 But as Dr. reported, it's certainly on the rise in Mexico at night with a 19% growth rate in podcast listenership. So yeah, then we found that just interesting and something that we should share with everybody. Moving into some other news first, something new from YouTube. They're apparently rolling out more ad inventory inside the YouTube Music app. Why does that matter to you? Because they have a heavy focus on podcasting in that music app, and this includes ad pop ads popping up in the now playing screen between music videos, podcasts and songs.

35:05 According to Pod News, this might be tied to a redesign. YouTube's been testing for a while now, so if you're seeing more ads show up, that's probably why. It's just another move as YouTube keeps shifting more into the podcasting world. I also want to jump into another headline, Walmart. I don't know how many people saw this. Walmart has their first in store podcast studios in a location that's only 10 minutes away from you. Dr. Franklin, TN. I know I want I want you to be our investigative reporter and go there and check it out. I did.

35:47 See. There is a not a well it could be on YouTube too, but I saw on TikTok there's a video going around of a woman who basically did just that. She went into with her phone, went in and recorded the whole studio experience there and it is quite impressive It's got. It looks amazing. Yeah, they've taken over 2200 square feet inside this Walmart in Franklin, TN 2200 square feet is a significant amount of space. And I think that. Yeah, and it's also. In Franklin. Yeah. Why is that? Well, Franklin is the higher echelon. That's where a lot of stars live. Franklin is the shit.

36:35 So I've already said the word. That's okay. As we learned yesterday, we don't have to market explicit, that is PG, PG13 language. That's OK. Yeah. I mean, it might be too many Times Now though. That's true. Go ahead, Dominic. No, when I worked for the Meadows, my office was in Franklin, and so, yeah, yeah. So I'm very familiar with it. And she's right, though. That's where a lot of stars kind of live, actually, when they work in Nashville. Like who is Frank Gifford's wife? I can't remember. Kathie Lee. Yeah, Kathie Lee. Like. Literally, I've seen twice Kathie Lee Gifford just walking around Franklin. Interesting. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. So the podcast studios are definitely celebrity worthy for lack of a better term. I again watching that video, I was thoroughly impressed. It offers 6 fully equipped studios tailored for podcasting, voice over work, audio mixing, live streaming, video production and social media content.

37:37 It's open daily from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Eastern. It's called Create It Studios. It's available for hourly booking and includes free workshops for beginners and pros alike. The grand opening and media preview occurred May 30th, featuring pro mentorship from Grammy and Emmy winning creatives like Leslie Leslie, Breath Brathwaite and Steven Barris, which I've probably butchered both names and it's designed to be accessible. Located in everyday retail space to lower barriers to entry for creators. It does cost, by the way. I looked into it from what I found to use the podcast and Vodcast Studios. That's studios one and two if you're interested. It's $70.00 an hour, or if you want to rent it for four hours, half a day, that's $260 total, and the full 8 hours for the day is $480.

38:36 I think that that's relatively reasonable, especially for what you get. Pretty standard. Yeah, they, they're really nice looking studios with high end equipment. And if your challenge about getting started with your podcast is you don't feel like you have the space, the equipment, the look, this is an option for you if you're in the Nashville, TN area for sure. Yeah, you know the comments on TikTok. I did. Anyone else? Did you see the comments? OK, so a lot of them were. I just don't see people going to Walmart and going into the studio. I just don't see it. Well, I do. I see it. I think it's a great idea. And I think also they don't, they discount all the tourism that comes here that might hear about this studio that is at a pretty good rate.

39:27 I got to say. And you know, music, Music Row doesn't really exist like it did when I came here 25 years ago. It's not the same Music Row that it was. What they had on Music Row now is in almost everyone's homes. They call them Little Boutique studios because the technology is so good. Now you can have your own studio in your own home. So I miss Music Row the way it was, but that's another story. Yeah, and I don't see why it's a problem. I think those commenters are hating just to hate because why not You're. Not Nashville. You can easily, you're going to go. If you want to rent a studio, you got to pick up, get in the car and go somewhere in most cases. So just because you have to walk through the doors first of Walmart, I don't think makes any difference because once you walk through the studio doors there, you don't feel like you're in Walmart anymore.

40:22 It is. It feels like a genuine, professional studio. It does. It's very modern, very hip looking. It's really, it's really spectacular. But you we'll put the the link to the video and Ashley, thank you for passing that along to me. I appreciate it. Yeah. And to be continued, maybe we'll get Dr. to go there for us and record for us as well. We'll see. OK, let's keep it moving with an announcement from Apple. They have a handful of updates that they announced at the WWDC this past week, several worth noting for us as podcasters because these are changes to the podcast app specifically. First up, they're adding a new playback feature called Enhance Dialogue. It amplifies just the voices in an episode, making speech easier to hear.

41:11 Especially helpful for shows with layered sound design or inconsistent mic quality. So inconsistent mic quality in layman's terms. That's where if you're listening to, say, an interview via podcast, you hear the host ask the question and then the guest starts answering and you can barely hear them. So you got to turn the dial way up so you can hear the guests finish their answer. And then when they're done, you got to turn it back down because then the host comes back in blaring in your ears. That's the kind of adjustment that this enhanced dialogue feature offers. You'll also be able to save your preferred playback speed per show. So for those of you who say you enjoy listening to podcast at 2 times speed, but maybe there's another podcast you listen to where the host talks really fast and at 2 times speed, it's hard to keep up. Well, you can set just that speed to say 1.5 if you prefer. Or maybe it's the reverse, right? You hear there's one podcast, you love the content, but the host talks a little too slow for you. So you hit that speed up, and that's the only show that you want it to be speed up.

42:19 This gives you that ability to pick and choose. Newer Airpods will be able to record in what Apple's calling studio, quality audio. That's especially relevant for interviews where guests are using Airpods. I personally don't recommend using wireless devices when you're recording a podcast. If you've done it, tested it, it works fine. Good for you, keep going. But sometimes it causes things like delays, which can really disrupt that chemistry between you and your guest. If you're doing it solo and it's working fine for you, I can see an argument for that in more cases.

43:02 It's just it can be a challenge. But regardless, they're saying that there's going to be an update to the Airpods that's going to make recording sound studio quality. Also, iPad OS26 will now let you assign different audio inputs to different apps if you're recording or producing from an iPad. That kind of control adds real flexibility. And there's also a subtle but what I'm calling a smart change to Apple Podcasts app. The Browse tab has been renamed New Apple's reframing it as a better way to discover both trending and fresh content. So depending on how they how they surface shows it could become a more meaningful source of organic discovery.

43:49 And Apple Podcast is also expanding playback speed options. In general, you'll be able to listen anywhere between .5 times. So if you need to slow it down even more or up to three times speed, certainly not a game changer, but it's good info to know and to share with your audience too, if you want them. If you know that your audience, the vast majority are using Apple Podcasts, I think it's a helpful tip to share with them. Hey, if this is if I'm going too fast for you, you can now change it to .5 speed so you can take it all in a little bit slower or the vice versa. That those are great little tips, I think, for an audience, for you to share with your audience. And if you fall asleep while listening with Airpods in playback, will pause when Apple detects you've nodded off. That's an interesting feature.

44:41 How does it know you've nodded off? What is it paying attention to your sleep? Yeah, I guess your, your breathing patterns, your snoring. Interesting. Your sleep because of your My watch measures my sleep, so I'm. Oh, yeah, that's true. That's true. Good point. Good point. All right, Dr. you have an update from the Marc Maron story from last week. Last week we reported that he was stepping down. He announced he's stepping down this September. It's number six on our sheet if you're looking for it. Dr. Thank you, I was looking for it. Thank you. I appreciate it. OK. Marc Maron, creator and host of the long running WTF podcast from that went from 2009 to this year, recently reflected on the legacy his show helped build. He acknowledges that both he and Joe Rogan pushed podcasts to into mainstream success, success and effectively revolutionizing the medium and making it a viable form for self-expression. Marin kind of laments that the same format has been used for dubious means, propaganda and pure evil, he says, blaming himself in part for unleashing its potential misuse. He criticizes other podcasters, especially fellow comedians, for casually hosting extremist or white supremacist figures, humanizing fascism, and contrast sharply with his own political stance.

46:13 Marin is vocally anti Trump, while Rogan has provided a platform to conservative figures, including Trump, which Marin suggests influenced the 2024 election. He underscores A bittersweet tone, proud of the innovation his format inspired, but trouble by how it's been weaponized. It's interesting, it feels like he's feeling a little bitter as he's exiting podcasting, and I'm not saying he's wrong here by any stretch, but seems like he's got a lot of opinions he now wants to share about the space. Yeah, it feels like the Tiger's out of the cage, but he could say he wants to now, although he was doing that anyway. Exactly.

46:56 That's that is his style, yeah. Yeah, but now he's not biting the hand that feeds him, he's biting the hand that fed him. Yeah. And also, you know, I mean, look, I, I think that he, people like him, Joe Rogan did push podcast into mainstream success, I suppose. But you know, they've been doing it for years and years and years. And it's not until more recently, I, I really think it was the pandemic that pushed podcasting into mainstream. And sure, Joe Rogan and Marc Maron are some of those pioneers, but you know, if they really made that push into mainstream, I think that would have happened years before the pandemic came along.

47:44 So I just think that the pandemic is really what got things into mainstream. And of course, 10 or so years prior to that it it was serial. I believe that that really pushed it forward. And Janae is joining us on stage. Let's see. Janae, welcome. Did you want to comment on what I'm commenting on? Janae. Good morning, everybody. Yes, I am going to comment a little bit on that. So Mark is thinking or Marc Maron is thinking, WTF did I do by unleashing these beats, right? Maybe you should start a sequel podcast. That's WTF did the idea or Senate. So yeah, you're right.

48:30 There's a combination of things that stacked that's enabled the unleashing of podcasts or you know, be bringing it to mainstream. I think pandemic is one of them. But technology, right? If you think about technology being here, being available to people to get in front of it is also one of the biggest reason. Like I started my podcast recording on the phone. We're literally doing that, all of us, as you stood here on Clubhouse. So all of those things I think stacked together. And then the other thing that also inspires this is getting the permission like, hey, I have a voice and there's a platform that I can share it, then why not?

49:12 So yeah, it's a combination of stacking and technology maturing, podcasts, platform maturing, YouTube maturing, like YouTube and podcasting story around the same time. So totally makes sense. And it's almost like, what's that president? What's that vice president that said he invented the Internet? Al Gore. Yeah, Al Gore? Yep, that's right. But there we go. Thanks guys. Yep. Thank you, Janae. Appreciate your insights on that. I'm looking at the time here and I will say we're going to do one more quick story. Jonathan, I had asked if there was any social media news you thought was worth mentioning. Would you mind sharing with the group please?

49:55 Sure, I will share that Threads has finally added DMS over the past month. I think maybe longer they've added advertising to Threads as well as DMSI. Plan to dive in. You plan to dive in? I took a course on threads and for the past week I've been kind of building up a little library of posts and stuff like that. So yeah, I'm planning to dive in. Well, it's good to hear, Dr. I'd like to see you a little more active on the social media platform. No, I'm terrible. Me too. Yeah, I bet. Yes. Yeah. Aren't you part of Jonathan's community or have been part of Jonathan's community?

50:35 Yeah, you got. Yeah, All right. Well, that's another show entirely. Yeah, I I did see that the DMS are coming. I think I saw. What else did I see? Anything else? You can also now add up to five bio links on threads as well as something I saw that happened recently. They're advancing their search tools over there as well. And oh, you also the ability to import your X or formerly known as Twitter following list, you can migrate it over on threads. Cool. Thank you, Jonathan. Appreciate that and thank you. Oh, did you have anything else? Well, just overall the search on all the the meta products is being updated to in a lot of it will include AI, so you'll be able to find things in a much more streamlined way. Oh, very cool, very cool.

51:31 Thank you, Jonathan. And thanks all to all of you today for participating and or simply listening to today's episode. We have more news to cover. So tomorrow we've got a mailbag segment. We've got more mail to get through your questions. And by the way, if you have questions and want us to answer those as best we can, just go to podpage.com/PMC/contact and you can leave us your message there and we may read it right here on the Podcasting Morning Chat, which we happen to do every Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM Eastern Time, live on Clubhouse, live on YouTube. You can get all the links in the show notes if you'd like to join us in one of those ways.

52:15 Otherwise, we're available on your favorite podcast platform just a couple hours after we go live until tomorrow. Make it a great day, everybody. Take care.