Acast has partnered with Amazon Music on a new initiative that aims to improve discoverability for independent podcasters in Canada, the company announced.
The two podcast companies are giving Canadian indie creators an opportunity to have their shows promoted within a special collection on Amazon Music, which will be further promoted on social media channels across Acast and Amazon Music. The aim of the initiative is to help these podcasters gain new listeners by helping to amplify their voices to a wider audience.
Creators can ask to have their show promoted by submitting a form to the Acast x Amazon Music Indie Podcast Amplifier programme with details on their podcast including the title and description. To be eligible, the creator must be a resident of Canada aged 18 and above, and the show must be hosted on Acast and distributed to Amazon Music.
Applicants can only submit their own podcasts and must ask for permission from co-creators or co-hosts before completing the form. The deadline to submit the form is 10 November at 11.59 pm and all selected applicants will be notified by email before 10 November.
Other platforms that offer promotional opportunities for creators include Apple and Spotify, both of which also have a public form where creators can request help with promotion. During a session on podcast discoverability at the Radio Academy Festival, freelance podcast strategy consultant and former Apple head of podcasts Danni Haughan said that the Apple public form does not get as many requests as people expect as there is a lack of awareness around it, although she did not go into specifics due to being bound by confidentiality.
Haughan also emphasised how important it is to have a “tight concept” when it comes to pitching a podcast to these platforms for promotional opportunities.
“Think about how you would fit into their editorial promotional spaces,” said Haughan. “There’s no secret sauce but a key thing is to have a really obvious and comprehensive plan - What is it about? Who is it for?”
