Spotify Podcast Stats for Nerds

Hey honeys and hustlers,

The best advice for anybody hustling this time of year is to slow down, enjoy some good company and good food - and recharge yourself for the new year.

The news cycle is neverending and it can be difficult to unplug or determine what news is readworthy. I curated a few headlines that I’ve come across recently that I think you’d enjoy and benefit from. I may have tossed in my 2 cents as well. 😉

The Spotify Fan Study

Spotify knows we love stats. Honestly, they don’t give us enough of them most of the time. While Spotify Wrapped is all the rage, as a podcaster, I’m equally interested in the Spotify Fan Study, and it’s full of insights and numbers that podcasters are going to love.

I think there are some great insights that you can apply to be seen, be heard, and be connected with your desired audience.

$750K Grant for Black Entrepreneurs

A new, three-year grant has been received by Spelman College and it will be going to the school’s Center for Black Entrepreneurship.

Many times, entrepreneurship is seen opposite of traditional learning and career paths. I don’t think that should be the case. It’s refreshing and encouraging to see more college and university institutions place an emphasis and a dollar sign on their commitment to developing entrepreneurial ecosystems. If you went to college, it might be worth reaching out to their alumni network and seeing what resources they have that could be useful for your business.

The Best SaaS Launch Video of 2023

When PassionFroot launched its Discovery marketplace on ProductHunt, they published a compelling, high-quality video to accompany it. Their in-house creative team developed the video and shared the process behind it.

Over on Twitter, Fillip Mark shared his perspective in a thread breaking down their approach to making their launch memorable. Watch the video and check out the thread below.

PassionFroot has long made creators the cornerstone of their business – from facilitating brand deals to sharing their stories in their video podcast “Creators on Air.” To take it a step further and shine a spotlight on their in-house creative team who developed my favorite brand video of 2023, is beautiful. 

Colin and Samir mentioned on an episode of their podcast that people shouldn’t just be looking to the people that inspire them, but look to the people that inspire their favorite creators.

Go back. Go deep. Go old. Go evergreen.

This launch video is an homage to discovery as a vital part of innovation, not just a typical product announcement video. I’m a sucker for an appreciation of the craft and those who came before us to pave the way. Well done, Passionfroot.

If you’d like to hear my conversion with the founder of Passionfroot, I spoke with Jen on my other podcast, Creative Architects.

It can also be found on Apple Podcasts.

YouTube Passes Netflix in Teen Use

The landscape of streaming platforms is getting crowded - and expensive.

When this happens, teens do what teens do - seek out free and easily accessible entertainment. New data shows teens are turning to YouTube more than Netflix for long-form content.

Is YouTube a streaming platform? Yes. Is YouTube a search platform? Also yes. Is YouTube the best platform? I’ll keep my thoughts to myself on that one. 

I think people started to count YouTube out for younger generations when a report released earlier this year showed that teens use TikTok to search for things, passing YouTube as the highest-used search engine for teens for the first time. But YouTube has some staying power, and I wouldn’t be surprised if TikTok adjusted its algorithm to compete with YouTube on long-form content. In fact, they’re already incentivizing creators to make long-form content, and I suspect this has something to do with it. 

Have you stumbled across something readworthy or created anything you’d like to share here? Submit it using the form below and it may be featured in a future edition!

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Thank The Team: I do not do this alone. Send your love to Evoke Media and Staehle Media for audio and video editing, Looping in Alex for guest outreach, Intake Create for helping write some of the posts you see here, Henry McCarthy for the design of many of our physical merch items, and Danielle Clardy for any behind-the-scenes photos.