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Facebook (finally) turns its attention to audio: The Media Roundup

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Facebook plans to go after Clubhouse — and podcasts — with a suite of new audio products

According to Recode, Facebook is planning to announce a series of products under the umbrella of ‘social audio’. This will include – surprise surprise – a copycat version of Clubhouse, as well as voice message status updates and audio-only videoconferencing.

But it will also include a push into podcast discovery and distribution, in partnership with none other than Spotify. The two companies have linked up in the past, when people would accidentally reveal their embarrassing music taste with all their Facebook friends (just me?).

Personally, I think this is likely to add yet another layer of complexity to what is already a mind-bogglingly cluttered product. But it will inevitably introduce more people to podcasts, which can only be a good thing in the long run.

In the Roaring Twenties, ads make a comeback

Digital media executives scrambled last year to tell their boards about their new subscription products, but something strange happened. Their old, unfashionable advertising businesses exploded as consumers stayed home and shopped online. Now, brands from travel to alcohol are pouring money into advertising on digital media platforms.

How Spain’s infoLibre managed to increase subscribers, staff, audience during the Covid crisis

infoLibre is heading for its first year in the black after losses over the past eight years. The publisher has emerged stronger from the pandemic, growing its paid subscribers 44% to 13,500. Subscriptions now account for 55% of its revenues, but it has also seen a large increase in advertising income.

Trolley Times newsletter gives voice to protesting farmers in India

This is a great story of using an actual, printed newsletter to reach communities at a vital point. “People sit around, read and discuss the news in the villages. That’s how newspapers are consumed in the villages. Many of the farmers are [older than] 50 and not attuned to how to process the news that comes via social media on their phones. We wanted to bridge the gap with print.”

This content originally appeared in The Media Roundup, a daily newsletter from Media Voices. Subscribe here: