Blog: Acast

Artificial intelligence is revolutionising entertainment, including podcasts. Perhaps the most contentious part of this revolution is AI voice generation, which is stoking legitimate fears from creators that their voices will be used without permission.

As the podcast investment boom slows down, it is time for platforms to shift their focus to innovation — both in the listener experience and the format as a whole. Currently, Apple Podcasts is the third most-used podcast listening platform, behind Spotify and YouTube.

Earlier this year, when Acast announced the dismantling of its podcast app, it cited the open podcast ecosystem as the motivation behind the decision. Acast CEO, Ross Adams, explained that the open podcast ecosystem allows all creators to share their work on all possible platforms, which differs from other platforms' approach.

Following yesterday’s announcement from Meta , detailing its plans to become a more creator focused platform, it debuted a new partnership with leading independent podcast company Acast. Although Facebook’s initial move into podcast content was halted, this new deal does not focus on creating content but rather focuses on aiding a podcaster’s ability to find and develop their fanbases.

Following its formal announcement in March, Acast tweeted last week that its app is shutting down. Although this may be a surprise to some listeners, Acast explained that being platform independent allows it to better foster the open podcast ecosystem.