Issue #247 of The Fiction Podcast Weekly is brought to you by The Podcast Host's Guide to How to Use Creative Commons Images For Your Podcast.

Images help grow your podcast and clarify your topic, but they can be costly. Here's How to Use Creative Commons Images for Your Podcast along with some excellent places to find them.

News, Roundups, and Announcements

• ​Edison Research's Infinite Dial study for 2024 (PDF) says that"just under 100 million Americans age 12 and older now listen to podcasts every week," and "this platform is so much more than chat shows for guys." Y'think?
• Congratulations to Long Cat Media for Ghosted's nomination for the Tinniswood Award (Best Audio Drama Script) at the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2024! Thanks for showing us your BBC faces.
• ​Audio platform Pocket FM bags $103M in funding as it eyes global expansion, reports Ivan Mehta for TechCrunch. This makes me wonder why Lightspeed Ventures and Stepstone Group aren't funding The Fable & Folly Network or Apollo.fm.
• Todd Spangler reports for Variety, A Surprising Number of Consumers Believe AI Could Make Better Shows, Movies Than Human Creators. Fortunately, Deloitte's Digital Media Trends report for 2024 says that 70% of U.S. consumers say they would rather watch a TV show or movie written by a human than by AI, but 22% disagree. They also prefer their food to be flavorless, their birds stuffed, and their flowers plastic.
• Everything old is new again! Ashley Carman reports for Bloomberg that Mobile Game Ads Are Boosting Podcast Follower Counts. (Gift link: please enjoy.) You'd think someone would have learned their lesson by now. Important bits: MowPod claims they promote podcasts by buying display ads on websites. Fair enough. MowPod offers an unadvertised product, in-game ads. "the ads instruct gamers to complete an action— specifically, to follow a show on Apple Podcasts — in order to earn tokens, or in-game currency. The offer’s fine print says gamers must “visit the podcast page” to receive their reward: “If you’re interested, click + in the upper right of Apple Podcasts to follow.” Gee, and we all thought people paid attention to Alex Cooper for her brilliant insights.

Creator Resources

• ​Happier Scriptwriting with Tom Crowley, with him, Tom Crowley
• ​Why does your listener retention look different on Apple vs. Spotify? by Mary Jubran for Pacific Content
• ​Evo Terra shows you How to Optimize RedCircle For Your Fiction Podcast for The End, where everything comes out all right
• ​What To Do When a New Podcast Uses Your Name? from Content is Queen
• ​How Do I Write a Script? from Podcast Title Pending by GZM media (YouTube link).

Opportunities

• Casting Call: Bonestell Studios. Non-union, seeking talent in Los Angeles. Listing expires 27 April.
• Casting call: Derry's New Direction. Listing expires April 9.
• ​June 7 is the Late Deadline to submit your show to the NJ Web Fest.
• ​T. O. Webfest's regular deadline for entry is 30 April.
• ​NoSleep Podcast seeks scripts. Deadline: None listed.

Milestones and Debuts

• R. Raymond asked, "We released time-travel comedy-thriller Rescuing Ravenstocke as a single 120-min self-contained ‘audio movie’ (and potential series pilot). What do other creators and listeners think of this format?" Tell him what you think.
• ​Debatably Arcadian Entertainment is "place to listen to everything that doesn't belong on a specific show feed."
• ​Three Pilots: Sterling Arts and Design presents three pilots for new audio dramas: Unrequested, All The Hype and Onyx Ridge.
• ICYMI: Wondering why your audio drama or fiction podcast isn't catching on? Packaging Your Fiction Podcast To Maximize Your Listeners’ Experience​ can help you craft titles and descriptions.

​

The Fiction Podcast Weekly is Supported By:

​

​