Podmastery: podcasting insights and advice for indie creators

YouTube just overtook Spotify as the UK's most-used podcast platform. By one point. Everyone reported the crossover — almost nobody read the rest of the data, which says your podcast is effectively now a radio station, and you're broadcasting on every frequency at once.

Hi, I'm Neal Veglio, founder of Podknows Podcasting and the Podmastery community.

Edison Research's latest UK numbers gave the podcasting press its headline: YouTube 29%, Spotify 28%. Tectonic plates, apparently. One percentage point.

I spent 25 years in radio before I ever touched a podcast, and the first thing that world drums into you is that a station is never for everyone. Which is exactly what this data is saying — if you read past the crossover.

Different platforms. Different people. Different reasons. This is Radio 1 and Radio 4 all over again, just dressed up with an app icon instead of a frequency. And a lot of podcasters are currently trying to be all three stations at once.

In this one:

• The four-year trend that matters far more than the 1% headline (YouTube 19 → 29; Spotify 33 → 28)
• BBC Sounds, the station that didn't panic — and what its flat 15% is quietly teaching everyone
• Why these aren't the same listeners switching apps: the age, gender and trust splits nobody quoted
• The platform growing fastest is also the one people trust the least. Amazing.
• The Sheffield podcaster making three versions of one episode every week — while 80% of her downloads come from a platform she barely thinks about
• Why “post everywhere equally” is busy work wearing a growth strategy's coat
• “But won't narrowing my focus lose me everyone else?” — no, and here's why
• Today's tip: the five-minute hosting-dashboard check that tells you which radio station you already are

PODMASTERY LINKS

The Podmastery community is opening its doors to the public soon. To join as a founding member with lifetime perks, go to podmastery.co/waitlist, fill in the form and ask me to add you to the list.

Got a podcasting problem you'd rather just get solved? Go to podmastery.co and click “Get your podcasting challenge solved”.

Just got a specific thing you need help to solve? You can pick my brain!

Do that here - https://podknows.co.uk/pick-my-brain

New research from Signal Hill Insights, presented by Tom Webster at Sounds Profitable, surveyed over 5,000 podcast listeners — and the findings are uncomfortable for most indie podcasters to hear. Probably the most uncomfortable for me to hear, considering they contradict everything I've ever told people around podcast growth. But, as with all things, this research is not gospel. It's, as usual, a soupçon of insight into a complex and wide challenge.

It challenges what our audio is, what our newsletter does and why our video clips should be.

So listen as I break down the Podcast Atlas findings and what they actually mean for indie shows without a publisher, PR team, or paid clip editor behind them.

You’ll hear:

— Why the 43% trust number matters — and why it’s useless until someone finds you first

— What the data says about clips as a discovery engine (and my nuanced take on whether that shifts my position)

— Why 61% of your potential audience is untapped and ownable — and what to do about it

— The only two things in this whole system you actually own

📊 Download the full Podcast Atlas report (free): https://soundsprofitable.com/research/the-podcast-atlas/

Three ways to work with me:

1. Start the free 7-day podcast makeover email course at podmastery.co

2. Take the listener survey and receive a free download: podmastery.co/listener-survey/

3. Ready to work directly? podmastery.co/need-podcasting-help/

A couple of episodes back I made the case for Apple Podcasts’ new HLS video. Then I had to go and actually do it — because the theoretical version of podcasting-about-podcasting is slightly embarrassing, and I hold myself to a better standard than the people spouting expertise about things they’ve never tried.

So I enabled video for B2B Podcasting Insights, my other show, in Captivate. A real show, in a crowded market, with real numbers. This episode is the field report.

In this one:

• What HLS video actually is — and why it isn’t the old MP4-in-the-RSS-enclosure trick that nobody could see
• What the listener experience really looks like (spoiler: “clean” is a Michelin star in podcast infrastructure)
• The hosting catch — it lives or dies on who you host with
• Three workflow changes nobody warns you about, including the upload time and editing for two audiences at once
• What two weeks of data actually showed — told straight, no fake growth-hack victory lap
• The honest verdict: who should switch it on now, and who should wait

LINKS

Got something about your show bugging you at half eleven at night? Go to podmastery.co and click get in touch. Let’s sort it rather than just theorise about it.

Recorded on Boomcaster — free trial + 50% off your first three months (affiliate link): podmastery.co/boomcaster

And go follow B2B Podcasting Insights if you want more on getting the most from a B2B show: podknows.co.uk/b2bpi

Your show sounds cleaner than it ever has. You've sorted the room, fixed the levels, maybe even brought in an editor. And when you listen back — nothing.

No connection. No feeling. Just technically correct audio with nobody in it.

Hi, I'm Neal Veglio, founder of the Podmastery community from Podknows Podcasting. And this week, I'm exploring why that hollow feeling has nothing to do with your equipment — and why the fix is simpler than you think.

I share a story from my radio days about a presenter who went from compelling-but-rough to polished-and-forgettable, what broadcast training actually teaches about the difference between performing and talking, and the 30-second exercise I even use myself before every recording.

If you'd like a proper look at what's sitting between your show and where you want it to be, head to podmastery.co, hit the Get In Touch page, and tell me what's going on.

Somebody just moved the goalposts on podcast metrics. And most podcasters didn’t even notice.

The Alliance for Measurement in Podcasting — AMP — has defined a new cross-platform standard for what counts as a ‘play.’ Spotify has already adopted it.

In this episode, Neal breaks down what this actually means for indie podcasters — why your dashboard numbers are about to look fairly different, why that doesn’t mean your show is doing better, and why optimising for any play-count threshold is optimising for the wrong thing.

You’ll hear:

— What AMP is and why they’re trying to standardise this

— What is ‘intentional consumption’ in Spotify’s words, and what that actually means

— Why Apple’s definition is still extraordinary (and not in a good way)

— The one metric that actually tells you if your show is working

🔗 Listen to other episodes here: https://podmastery.co/

📊 Free 7-day podcast makeover email course — one tip per day, no filler. Sign up at podmastery.co

💡 Want to work through your specific show? podmastery.co/need-podcasting-help

Every podcaster who's ever had a guest on has felt it. You do the edit, write the show notes, create the clips, tag them everywhere — and hear absolutely nothing back. No share. No repost. Not even a like.

So is it you? Is it them? Is this just how guests are?

In this episode, I'm getting into why podcast guest cross-promotion is one of the most persistent myths in indie podcasting.

If you're booking guests to borrow their audience, this episode is going to save you a lot of disappointment.

Free 7-day podcast makeover: head to podmastery.co and sign up — one practical tip per day, straight to your inbox.

In the previous episode I explained why we need to be cautious around Apple Podcasts new video HLS streaming feature. Well, this podcast about podcasting is about balance. So now, it's important we look at all the good things about the feature.

With Apple Podcasts video now becoming a mainstream feature as the main hosting platforms roll it out, there are more and more creators leaning into creating this content.

But should you be joining them?

Well, before we can answer this question, we need to establish the answer to another one; do you understand the algorithmic differences surrounding video and audio?

Click play.

I'll explain.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• Apple Podcasts

This episode will challenge a lot of assumptions you may have about your audience. If you’ve been losing sleep over whether you need to shift all your energy into video, or feel the pressure to keep up with multi-camera setups just to stay relevant, you’re going to want to pay attention to this one.

We’re sharing new research from Tom Webster and the Sounds Profitable team that uncovers who your most valuable listeners really are — and it’s not who you think.

Link to report: https://soundsprofitable.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Audio-Primes-2026-Webinar-Version.pdf

Beehiiv are targeting podcasters with offers to join their new creator platform. But is this the solution podcasters have been waiting for?

Link to check out their teased offer: https://www.beehiiv.com/beehiiv-for/podcasters