Some podcast hosts can deliver a lot more than others, like being a complete audio content management service rather than just providing an RSS feed.
Whooshkaa is one of those platforms, giving users the ability to not just publish podcasts but host, manage, and commercialize their efforts.
TLDR;
🚨 UPDATE: Spotify acquired Whooshkaa, an Australian podcast technology company, to enhance its podcasting capabilities.
Is Whooshkaa Good for Podcasting?
Whooshkaa is a major podcast host that refers to itself as an audio content management service, indicating how much further it can go compared to its competitors. If you want to get serious about your podcast, using their services would be well worth the monthly fee.
Whooshkaa does things a little differently than most, and that’s what’s earned them such a stellar reputation.
Before you drop everything and switch over to Whooshkaa for your podcast hosting needs, read more about what they offer to see if it’s in line with your podcast goals.
What Happened to Whooshkaa?
Whooshkaa, an Australian podcast technology company, was acquired by Spotify. This acquisition integrated Whooshkaa’s technologies, including its broadcast-to-podcast tool, into Spotify’s podcasting services.
The Whooshkaa and Spotify Deal:
- Spotify’s Podcast Investments: The acquisition of Whooshkaa is part of Spotify’s larger strategy in the podcast technology market. Spotify previously acquired Megaphone, a hosting and ad company, and Podz, a podcast discovery platform. This pattern shows Spotify’s commitment to expanding its presence in the podcasting sector.
- Other Acquisitions: Spotify has also acquired creator-focused tools like Anchor and Spotify Greenroom (originally from Betty Labs), as well as podcast studios like Gimlet, Parcast, and The Ringer. This diversification indicates Spotify’s aim to cover various aspects of podcasting, from creation to distribution.
- Broadcast-to-Podcast Technology: A key feature of interest in the Whooshkaa acquisition is its technology that enables radio broadcasters to convert their shows into podcasts. This technology will be integrated into Megaphone, enhancing its capabilities in podcast hosting, distribution, and monetization.
- Impact on Spotify’s Audience Network: Whooshkaa’s technology is expected to bring more third-party content to the Spotify Audience Network, enhancing the reach for Spotify’s advertising partners. This is significant considering Spotify’s substantial growth in advertising revenue.
- Whooshkaa’s Innovations: Launched in 2016, Whooshkaa has made advancements in text-to-speech, speech-to-text, connected home integration, and dynamic ad insertion. Joining Spotify, which has a vast listener base, means Whooshkaa’s innovations can reach a broader audience.
- Growth and Opportunities in Digital Audio: Spotify’s Chief Content & Advertising Business Officer, Dawn Ostroff, emphasized the untapped potential in digital audio worldwide. The acquisition is seen as a step to help creators, publishers, and advertisers tap into this potential and expand their reach.
What is Whooshkaa?
Whooshkaa is an Australian company that provides services for podcasting. They help with publishing, making money from podcasts, hosting them, and analyzing how they perform. This service is good for both experienced podcasters and those who want to grow their podcast.
Whooshkaa is well-known and often mentioned in the media for its unique features. Spotify, a big name in music streaming, recently bought Whooshkaa. They’re interested in Whooshkaa’s technology that turns radio shows into podcasts quickly.
The company keeps growing and offers three types of plans. There’s a free plan for beginners, paid plans with more features for serious podcasters looking to increase their audience, and custom plans for big companies or famous podcasts. These custom plans are made to fit the specific needs of the user.
Spotify recently acquired the company and plans on utilizing their broadcast to podcast tool that turns radio broadcasts into podcasts immediately.
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Who Should Use Whooshkaa?
Whooshkaa has an easy-to-use interface that suits people of all technical backgrounds, even if you’ve never published audio content before.
There are a lot of features to learn which can make it overwhelming, but they’ve designed their plans to suit podcasters of all levels and for any type of goal you might have for your content distribution.
The fact that Whooshkaa offers a free service shows that they’re accessible to beginners as well, even if it can take some time to get used to what a podcast host does.
If you’ve never published a podcast before, they can walk you through their most basic features and you can feel peace of mind that you’re using one of the most respected platforms to grow your podcast.
For the more serious podcaster, Whooshkaa will be right up your alley. They have premium features, customized plans, and all kinds of partnerships that other podcast platforms just can’t offer.
It’s one of the best ways to grow your audience reach, but you have to be willing to spend a little more than most podcast hosts charge for the pleasure.
The Features They Offer
A quick look at the features on offer from Whooshkaa will show you why they’re such a popular choice for podcasters.
Although it might seem hard to utilize everything they have, selecting the features that align with the goals you have for publishing and growing your program is the best approach, and these are some of the best.
- Distribution channels: As one of the bigger names in podcast hosting, it makes sense that Whooshkaa has a lot of distribution partnerships. This means it’s easier to get your program heard around the world and on all kinds of streaming services and devices. For anyone wanting to increase their reach, this is how you do it.
- Smarter tech: Among their impressive technology features, Whooshkaa offers services like automated transcripts and video creation. You can be more hands-off while still getting all of the most modern tech working for you, giving you plenty of time to create amazing content. Whooshkaa is committed to investing in this type of technology in the future and they partner with other industry leaders so you’re always getting the most modern features.
- Web players: You get access to all kinds of customizable web-players that can be embedded in websites and social media feeds. This allows your podcast to be shared in places it might not normally be heard.
- Analytics and reporting: A podcast isn’t over after its publication, and Whooshka’s suite of analytics tools can show you what’s possible. With high-level statistics, you can look at things like audience participation, listening habits, and downloads or plays per month. Using these stats will help you edit and adapt your show always to reach more listeners.
- Broadcast to podcast: This revolutionary technology allows live broadcasts to be captured and made available for listeners on demand. It’s been a game-changer for those looking to integrate radio with podcasts. You can choose to have a one-time recording or automate repeat recordings on a specific schedule, making sure listeners never miss out on content.
Making Money With Podcasts on Whooshkaa
Whooshkaa is one of the industry leaders in monetization for podcasts, and if your ultimate goal is to live off your audio content, they’re one of the best.
Their support center has an entire category dedicated to monetization, and they walk you through all possible ways to earn money from your podcast.
Dynamic ad insertion technology is a standout, as this puts targeted ads into your podcasts at carefully timed intervals, and there’s nothing you can do.
You can choose which brands you want to work with and those you don’t, and you can choose where to put them with their ad cue point feature.
Other ways to earn money with Whooshkaa are through channels like paid advertising, sponsorship, donations, and affiliate marketing.
You’ll need to consider which ones work best for your podcast and current audience reach, with not all of them always being suitable.
Tips for Getting Started
As one of the more comprehensive audio content management services out there, Whooshkaa can feel a little overwhelming to get a handle on. Check out these tips for getting started and making an account with Whooshkaa:
- Test it out: You can use the free version of Whooshkaa’s software to experience the interface and see what features are available. Just like having a free trial of a service, this free version costs nothing but gives you a clear idea of how the software operates. From there, you can decide whether to upgrade to one of their paid plans.
- Take their advice: If you’re still not at the publishing stage, Whooshkaa has walk-throughs and advice for creating a podcast from the ground up. These tutorials can be invaluable if you’ve never worked in the audio content space before, and they show you everything required to succeed.
- Set up a tenancy: Whooshkaa helps users manage their shows in a special workspace called a tenancy so you can keep track of things. An individual show’s tenancy includes media assets, playlists, and content. You can easily have more than one show in your account, and other people can access it; this gives you the scope to grow your brand as big as you want.
How to Migrate to Whooshkaa
Changing to a new podcast host happens when people find another better-suited platform.
If you’ve tried out Whooshkaa and you’re sure that you want to commit your podcast to them, it’s easy enough to import all of your previous data so that the show can be hosted by Whooshkaa instead.
Whooshkaa has a long list of tutorials that take you through importing your data from various providers, including Podbean, Libsyn, Anchor, and SoundCloud.
Some of them also allow their analytics data to be imported so you don’t lose access to historical data that might be important for managing your program.
The entire process will take a few minutes, and they’ll let you know once the files are imported.
Get Whooshed Away
When your podcast has reached its maximum potential with simple podcast hosting, it is best to take the next step and use a content management service like Whooshkaa.
Although a little pricier, the features and benefits that this comprehensive platform offers make it unique.
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