Did someone forward this to you?
Become one of the more than 1000 valued email subscribers. Find Out More đ
đ Hi, Podsky!
Today's a rules day. The body that sets how your downloads get counted closes public comment on its next standard this afternoon, and three conferences angling for your September calendar have very different doors on them. Neither story is loud. Both change what you should be checking before the month's out. Reading time: ~5 minutes.
Your subscription to Podwires will help to fund our operations as an independent media organisation. Becoming a paid subscriber
First time reading? We would be delighted if you would join us â after all, we have over 1,000 intellectually curious readers already! Sign up here.
We want everyone to know about this, so please spread the word by sharing the email with your friends! (copy URL here)
And, as always, send us feedback at editor@podwires.com
Todayâs reading time is 5 minutes. - Miko Santos (August 19,2026 )
đ¨ Signal Check â Stat of the Day
US podcast advertising revenue rose 17.6% year-over-year to $2.862 billion in 2025, according to the IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report released in April. Podcasts make up 34.1% of all US digital audio ad spend but still less than 1% of all internet advertising. The category keeps growing, but is still a rounding error in the industry it wants to join. The honest pitch to sponsors from producers is real growth from a low base.
đ° One Big Story â The group that sets how your downloads get measured wants your feedback by tonight
Podwires Rundown: IAB Tech Lab released version 2.3 of its Podcast Technical Measurement Guidelines on 21 July, and the 30-day public comment window closes today, 19 August. Sources: IAB Tech Lab press release; PR Newswire, 21 Jul 2026.
Key Points:
The update covers server-side log measurement across both audio and video shows distributed through open RSS and podcast apps, closing gaps the last version didnât address for video.
It swaps the term âlistenerâ for âpodcast consumerâ throughout, and adds guidance on URL-prefix measurement, RSS enclosure URL changes and invalid-traffic filtering.
It also lays out different measurement-window approaches, which is the part that actually affects the number a sponsor sees on your media kit.
These guidelines are the technical layer underneath the download counts hosting platforms report and agencies use to set CPMs. Most producers never read them and never need to, until a hosting migration or a sponsor audit throws a number that doesnât match what they expected.
IAB Tech Lab is asking publishers, platforms and measurement providers directly for feedback before finalising the spec.
Why It Matters: You donât need to read a technical spec to have a stake in what it says. If your hosting platform switches how it counts a download mid-year and your numbers move, this is usually why. The practical move costs five minutes: ask your host whether theyâre planning any changes tied to v2.3, and whether anything about how your showâs downloads get counted is shifting. Better to hear it from them in August than notice it yourself in a sponsor report in November.
⥠Quick Hits â Why Podcasters Should Care
SXSW is adding a standalone podcast festival for 2027. The inaugural edition runs 17â20 March 2027 in Austin, joining Film & TV, Music, Comedy and the Innovation Conference as a core SXSW track. For producers whoâve watched podcasting get folded into other peopleâs festivals for years, this is the first time a major cross-media event has built a dedicated lane for it. Nothing to book yet, but worth flagging on next yearâs travel budget now. (Deadline, 18 Aug)
Three September conferences are competing for the same travel budget, and only two will actually let you in. Sounds Profitableâs first Business Summit (14â15 Sept, New York) has Ira Glass and Don Lemon on the bill, but itâs restricted to the roughly 220 companies already paying into its partner network. Podcast Movementâs first NYC edition runs three days later at the same venue, open registration. The Empowered Podcasting Conference in Charlotte (21â23 Aug) is cheaper, smaller, and built around networking rather than main-stage panels. Most independent shows only have budget for one. (Net Influencer, 13 and 17 Aug)
The EU AI Actâs disclosure rules are now enforceable, and podcasts werenât exempted. Enforcement began 2 August, with penalties up to âŹ15 million or 3% of global turnover for undisclosed AI-generated audio that could pass as human. Regulators say the first-year targets are the obvious cases, deepfakes and undisclosed mass-produced commercial content, not a podcaster whoâs already upfront about an AI co-host in the show notes. A separate June survey from Clutch found 46% of listeners would reject a heavily AI-generated podcast outright. Together theyâre a plain signal: say whatâs AI on your show now, before a regulator or a listener makes you.
𧰠Tactic / Tool of the Day
Go to the About page of your show, the RSS description and latest show notes right now and see what they actually say about who is speaking. If youâre using an AI voice tool, even for a recurring bumper or an ad read, and itâs not disclosed somewhere a new listener can see it, fixing it is ten minutes and one plain sentence, not a legal disclaimer. The "AI narrator does the intro for this episode" does the trick. Do it this week, not when the trade press writes about the first enforcement case under the EU Act.
PRESENTED BY PODWIRES MARKETPLACE
Hire Top Independent Podcast Producers for Your Business
Podcasting is a powerful way to grow business, and Marketplace Podwires is here to assist you in the easy hiring of top-rated independent podcast producers. Be it branded podcasts that share your products with the entire world or internal series aimed at engaging and energizing your teams, our expert producers can craft stories that meet any brief and bring more personality to your brandâs voice. Begin with Marketplace Podwires, and find a dream producer for your project today!
Built for the podcast industry, Podwires brings together talent, opportunity, and visibility in one clean platform. Whether you are launching a new show or improving an existing one, Podwires helps you find creative partners who can make your production stronger.
Podwires connects clients with top independent podcast producers and freelancers through a dedicated marketplace built for audio work.
đ§ Listen & Learn â Episode Case Study
âTwo Classics Professors on Why Nolanâs The Odyssey,â from It Was a Book First (hosted by culture reporters Sophie Vershbow and Rudi Greenberg) is worth studying for turnaround speed, not production polish.
The show, which premiered in June, is a weekly book-to-adaptation review, and when Christopher Nolanâs Odyssey adaptation set off a wave of âhow faithful is this, actuallyâ arguments online, the hosts dedicated an episode to answering just that question, with two classics academics as guests, all while staying within the same news cycle. The lesson is not the smaller show format. Itâs having a standing structure ready to point at whatever the internet is already arguing about that week (a new adaptation drops, the book people react) rather than starting from a blank page every time a cultural moment hits. (Source: PodCast Review, 4-9 Aug 2026)
đĽ Community, Jobs & Opportunities
Empowered Podcasting Conference 2026 (in-person, Charlotte, 21â23 Aug). Over 150 podcasters and creators, built for networking and project collaboration rather than watching panels â the smaller, cheaper option in this weekâs conference quick hit above.
Pittsburgh Podcast Showcase (online, 22 Aug, 5pm ET). A regional networking event for Pennsylvania-based creators and industry professionals.
How To Make Your Podcast Findable: PodSEO Product Walkthrough (online, 25 Aug, 10am ET). Aimed at producers whoâve never touched podcast SEO and want a practical starting point, not a marketing team already running one.
Podcast Movement 2026 (31 Aug â 4 Sept). The organisationâs long-running flagship event, distinct from its new NYC edition covered above â worth checking which one your showâs actually eligible for or interested in before assuming theyâre the same conference.
New in the Podwires PodToolbox this week: Mumbler, a monetisation platform letting creators sell premium episodes, memberships and private RSS feeds directly to fans, without going through a third-party subscription host.
đ¨ Stay on top of your deadlines with our weekly-updated calendar of fellowships, grants, training opportunities and podcasting events. If your organisation has a fellowship, grant or event to share, just đ fill out this form or want to contribute an article đ click here or reply to this message.
đ Before You Hit Record Today
Two rule-setters moved this week: one technical, one regulatory, and both reward producers who check their own paperwork before someone else does it for them. If you do one thing today, read your own show notes the way a new listener would and fix whatâs out of date. Catch the full story roundup in Saturdayâs Weekly Newsbrief, and if youâre hiring or looking for work in podcasting, the Podwires marketplace is at podwires.com.
THATâS WRAP
SPONSOR US
Reach over 1000 podcast producers with your product.
Thousands of podcast producers, audio/video editors, podcasters, executives, and business owners worldwide read our newsletter. Contact us now.
đ I appreciate you taking the time to read! See you in the next issue. Got a question or criticism? Just click on Reply. We can talk while we are here.
âď¸ Give us a press release and a good-sized landscape photo. Make sure itâs newsworthy. Send press releases to editor@podwires.com or click here. Editorially, we may rewrite headlines and descriptions.
đŹ Sponsor us and get your brand in front of thousands of Independent Podcast Producers and podcasters. Email us at sales@podwires.com for more information or as personal supporters via Patreon, as your contributions help us enhance the experiences of all our users.
đď¸We are delighted to hear from our subscribers! We would be happy to publish your testimonial if you have found our newsletter to be helpful or if you have a success story to share. đ Post a Testimonial: https://testimonial.to/podwires
đ We are here to help you succeed! Fill out a 5 minute survey and tell us more about your business and yourself. These questions will help us better understand you and promote your business as part of our mission. Itâs a win-win!
đ¨ Did someone forward this to you?
Become one of the more than 1000 valued email subscribers. Find Out More đ
Weâd love to share what our Podwires readers have been saying!
Weâre so grateful to our previous Podwires advertisers!
Podwires is here because of our incredible partnersâ unwavering support. The Podwires readers receive journalism free of financial and political influence. If you found this valuable, consider Restacking so more people can see it. Get together with them today.
Weâd love to get to know you better â share your thoughts and feedback on our newsletter by clicking below!