Spotify's porn, Dear Gatekeeper, Gatsby casting, grant money for audio artists, and more

Issue 307 of The Fiction Podcast Weekly is brought to you by “Podcasting is Dead. Long Live The Show?”

Is a broader definition of what podcasting is nowadays essential to save the medium from market death? Or, is Max Cutler’s proclamation a clickbait hot take? Katie Paterson and Matthew McLean break it down for you in “Podcasting is Dead. Long Live The Show?”

News, Roundups, and Announcements

• 20 Years, 20 Podcasts We Love. Congratulations to The Truth and Moonface on making Apple Podcasts’ list!

• Not-so-sweet news: Audacy is closing Pineapple Street Studios.

• AudioUK’s response to the UK government’s Creative Industries sector plan is a clarion call to “give podcasting and audio the recognition and support they deserve."

• The Gen Z Audio Report by Edison Research says that Gen Z uses audio to boost their mood and aid mental health. When asked what podcast genres they listened to most, 37% said comedy, 23% said mystery/thriller, 21% said horror, and 20% said drama.

• Podnews reports: “Wanting to get promoted by Apple Podcasts? Apple is now requiring specific artwork for shows it promotes in its app: its feature request form says that 'submissions without Showcase Hero art will not be considered for Showcase featuring in the US.”

• Podnews also shared, “Meanwhile, The Times of London reveals (in a paid-for article) that Spotify “has a porn problem”, after stumbling upon “everything from lascivious critiques of skin flicks to audio erotica and reels of ASMR sounds” found in many categories, including Fiction. As Kyle Decker said in our discussion in the Indiepod community, “Glad to see that Spotify has finally caught up with 2017 Tumblr.”

• Tea, Am I Congratulations to Skadi’s Symphony for winning the Silver Sound Sonic Dash for Summer 2025! You can hear their episode, Tea, Am I and other finalists at Silver Sound’s Past Dashes.

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Creator Resources

• Auphonic’s new “De-Cough” feature removes unwanted respiratory noises.

• The Gratitude Practice is this week’s Mindset Moment. Mindset Moments is a free Substack newsletter: subscribe now so you don’t have to hunt for it later.

• Dear Gatekeeper. Sarah Farrington advocates for self-production with a delightfully salty attitude on her Substack, Theater Is Hard.

• The rise of DIY audio dramas: Is podcast fiction the new fringe theatre? by David Burton for ArtsHub.

• Is Podcasting Worth It? (& Why it Might Not Be!) Short answer: it depends on your goals and context.

• Galaxy One Radio interviews podcaster and novelist Mur Lafferty about her creative process. Sci-fi writers, rejoice!

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Opportunities

• The RESONATE Podcast Festival Pitch Party’s national call for submissions window opens August 15. One winner will receive a first look agreement with VPM and $10,000 to produce their podcast pilot. Submissions must not have been previously published and must feature docu-fiction: projects that use fiction to tell nonfiction stories, or that use nonfiction to tell fictional tales. More info: Resonate Podcast Festival. Deadline: August 31.

• The MØRNING People Fund is their quarterly grant for artists, creatives, dreamers and innovators, designed to fuel the boundary-pushing work that keeps culture alive. Each successful applicant will receive a £4,000 grant along with a support package offering one 45-minute coaching session with a MØRNING team member. Deadline: 1st of August.

• SONOHR Radio & Podcast Festival seeks audio-based artistic works and performances that broaden the scope of traditional audio productions, such as radio plays and podcasts, and that explore innovative and creative approaches to the audio medium. “We are also seeking short audio pieces from audio producers born in 1990 or later.” Deadline: 4th August.

• The Leeway Foundation’s Art and Change Grant (ACG) provides grants of up to $2,500 to fund art for social change projects by women, trans, and/or gender nonconforming artists and cultural producers living in Greater Philadelphia (the 5-county region). Deadline: August 1.

• Casting Call: A Live Radio Play "The Great Gatsby" Needs Talent, in Aldersyde, AB, Canada. Deadline: 28 June. Go get ‘em, Tiger!

Milestones & Debuts

• Buy Me a Drink and I’ll Tell You a Story A hotel bar. A piano playing in the background. In the corner, a man is waiting. If you buy him a drink… he’ll tell you a story.

• He Vanished Below Beneath the town of Oak Hollow are tunnels that lead to hell. When three friends venture in, only two come out again.

• Lauren & Hardy Lauren, a mixologist and Brooklyn-based podcaster, accidentally teams up with a (possibly undead) 19th-century British gentleman: Anthony Hardy, founder of the historic Maison Hardy Cognac.

• Justin Thyme races against a clock he doesn't know is ticking in order to save a world on the bring of WWIII.

• Congratulations to Fool and Scholar Productions on 10 years of podcasting!

Keep sharing good stories.

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