HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!!
And to follow the trend, we are compiling all the goodness that was 2019 for the entire Libsyn ecosystem, from birthdays to new Hall of Famers to new Destinations to IABv2 Certification and everything in between!
Are you ready for the ride?
Here we go!
Podcasting stats, stats, stats!
An end of year post wouldn’t really be a post without some kind of podcasting data, right? And if you know our podcast The Feed, you’ll know that our listeners tend to be a bit obsessive about stats.
The following are not podcasting industry-wide stats but the latest 2019 publicly available podcasting stats from Libsyn.
- 67,000 Podcasts hosted on LIbsyn
- 5.6 million episodes served
- 5.1 billion downloads in the first 3 quarters of 2019
What's New? At Libsyn!
Mid year, we started the practice of giving you quick and succinct mini blog posts on updates coming from the Dev Team. The info below was shared via these great new posts and also compiled from earlier releases.
- New Deezer destination
- New RADIO.com destination
- Categories Updated to Support Changes in Apple Podcast
- Bulk Update the Author Tag per Episode Using the Tags Bulk Editor!
- Update to TinyMCE
- File Replacements for YouTube & Soundcloud Get WAY Easier
- Spotify Badges in the HTML5 Custom Player
- Spotify passthrough
- Configuring Your Own URL Prepends
- Bulk Update the Author Tag per Episode Using the Tags Bulk Editor!
- Our podcasitng plug-in The Libsyn Publisher Hub supports Gutenberg
- Opened up beta for the Libsyn publishing app – no link here as the beta is closed!
We didn’t just have little updates…
Libsyn is IABv2 Certified!
IAB stands for Interactive Advertising Bureau. They have, with the help of companies like Libsyn and others, developed a series of standards that define a download. These standards include consistent filters and measurement practices that are particularly helpful in building advertiser confidence in the value of podcast advertising.
Libsyn is 15 years old!
THANK YOU! Thank you to the podcasting industry for being such a powerful medium, thank you to all of the incredible podcast listeners out there, you guys make the podcasting space go round - and last but not least, thanks to all 67k+ of you that host your media with us. Without your support and loyalty we wouldn't be where we are.
Website refresh!
There is nothing like a nice website refresh to reflect back to you who Libsyn is and what we represent. We are thrilled to be able to feature our amazing podcasters so prominetly on our site. They deserve all the ears and eyes. We look forward to continue to uplevel our brand and our values through 2021.
How-to podcast education
We’ve now been running almost monthly Podcasting Quickstart webinars for around 3 years. In these webinars we help new podcasters and new Libsyn users not only get started podcasting but also making sure that they feel empowered and confident in using Libsyn and all it’s tools to have a successful podcast.
These monthly webinars are also happily attended by podcast consultants and coaches regularly because the podcasting industry changes rapidly, and some of the biggest players in the industry like Apple and Spotify iterate on their tools, these webinars reflect the latest and greatest workflow, practices and changes to all things podcasting technical specs.
In addition to our Podcasting Quickstart Webinars, we’ve started to put on educational webinars that are aimed at helping podcasters navigate on some things that are a bit beyond podcasting or podcasting adjacent.
Podcast Title and Metadata Explained
In March, Krystal and Elsie demystified all the confusion about podcast episode titles, episode numbers, season numbers and so much in between! They clarified all of this with Libsyn system walkthroughs, what Apple’s first email of the year actually means and what you do (or don’t) need to do to make Apple Podcasts happy. Watch the replay RIGHT HERE!
WordPress Libsyn Publisher Hub and Gutenberg Explained
In June, Krystal and Elsie dug into publishing with WordPress’ Gutenberg editor, and using the Libsyn Publisher Hub in conjunction with Gutenberg and with your Libsyn hosted show with a bonus actual roof caving in during the webinar, which is not to be missed! You can find this highly informative webinar RIGHT HERE
Podcasts and Websites
In October, Krystal and Dave examined all sorts of websites that support podcasts and the importance of a website presence, including best practices, tips for getting started, and a live Q&A. If you have been wondering whether or not having a podcast website is necessary, what type of website you should have, or what are the elements that you need to have on your website REPLAY RIGHT HERE!
Rob Greenlee VP of Content and Partnerships
Rob Greenlee joined Libsyn as Vice President of Content and Partnerships. ⠀ ❝There is no one in the podcast industry with more experience and knowledge of this space than Rob Greenlee, who has been podcasting from the very beginning,❞ said Rob Walch, VP of Podcaster Relations.
Elsie and Jess 200% funded their She Podcasts Live Kickstarter Campaign
Congratulations Elsie Escobar and Jessica Kupferman on 200% funding the very first She Podcasts Live Conference! It was a one of a kind conference fueled by a vibrant community vibe unlike anything else up to now in the podcasting industry. This all went down in Atlanta in October this year!
Where have we been? Podcasting events
The question is where have we NOT been 
In 2019, the Libsyn Team attended separate conferences and podcasting events – ever! Here is where we have been!
- Podcon – Seattle – Jan
- Podfest – Orlando – Mar
- Proclaim 19 – Anaheim – Mar
- NAB – Las Vegas – Apr
- Outlier Podcast Festival – Austin – May
- PodX – Nashville – Jun
- Utah Podcast Summit – Utah – Jun
- Outlier Podcast Festival – Denver – Jul
- MegaPhone Summit – Bentonville Arkansas – Aug
- Podcast Movement – Orlando – Aug
- Content Marketing World – Cleveland – Sep
- Fincon – DC – Sept
- Military Influencer – DC – Sept
- Tech Learn – New Orleans – Sep
- Outlier Podcast Festival – LA – Sept
- NAB Radio Show – Dallas – Sep
- She Podcast Live – Atlanta – Oct
- Vancouver Podcast Festival – Vancouver, BC – Oct
- NAB NYC – New York City – Oct
- Digital Hollywood – LA – Nov
As Rob Walch says on every episode of The Feed, we do really try to get around the country and shake hands and do fist bumps. As always if you have an organization or event and need someone to speak about podcasting email rob@libsyn.com. We have a few people that can help out on that front.
The virtual podcasting community: International Podcast Day
In celebration of International Podcast Day, Libsyn was excited to be a gold sponsor and invite three powerful international podcasting voices to speak about podcasting. The focus on the conversation centered on the theme of one language and a diversity of cultures.
Live IRL podcasting meet-ups
This year, at Podcast Movement we had our second The Feed Meet-up, where we had an opportunity to ask our podcasters face to face what they thought, or what they would like to have in a publishing app! #awesome
We also hosted a launch gathering for my new fledgeling podcast all about podcasting in spanish, called Sobre Podcasting focusing on lovely conversations and relationship building amongst the amazingly vibrant spanish speaking podcast community!
Wow, that was a lot!
Libsyn has now been part of the podcasting space for a decade and a half. We have watched the podcasting industry expand and grow from the inside before even iTunes supported podcasts 
We are looking forward to continuing to support the heart and soul of the podcasting industry, those independent voices that continue to courageously share their voices and as Dave Chekan said many years ago, to continue centering “the majority of our efforts and focus into answering the call and doing what we can to level the playing field for a democratized media.”
We are also excited to create more partnerships with existing or new podcasting industry companies and initiatives 🙏🏽In order to grow, we cannot do it alone.
Happy New Year!
And Happy New Decade podcasters!!!
