Compiled by Trent Thomas
Ella Hooper is Front and Centre for LiSTNR and Triple M
Last month SCA announced that Ella Hooper would host the new music podcast, Front & Centre.
The podcast is exclusive to the LiSTNR app, where Hooper will use interviews from a list of artists that includes Lorde, Benee, Green Day, The Living End, The Killers and Imagine Dragons.
“SCA approached me and it was quite serendipitous because I had been thinking about getting back into radio and I had been on a lot of other people’s podcasts but hadn’t quite made it to podcast land myself yet. I was like gee that is really something I should look into and they just contacted me and said they had a few ideas.”
Hooper will also appear on Triple M 90s as the workday host, which she said was too good of a package to turn down.
“We ended up doing a bit of a twofer with Front and Centre on the LiSTNR app and Triple M ’90s as well which was such a good fit because I never get sick of listening to 90’s music.
“I like to stack my jobs so that I can make my days in the studio count and come away with two records rather than one. I also just think it really reflects that I still have a foot in both words I am still an artist that is releasing music but I also got my start in the 90’s and that is always going to be one of the eras that are close to my heart.”
The interview footage used on the show is from the SCA archives which is why it can feature a litany of big names.
“I really just repackage and present all the fantastic content from the interviews they got from over the years ranging from the first time they would have talked to a band like Green Day to the most recent. I don’t have to do any cold calling thank goodness, it is all there for me to use.”
“I see it as a highly digestible bite-sized trivia tune-up so you can go to your pub trivia music night and have all the latest info, goss, and fun facts that maybe other people don’t know.”
Hooper said that the show is a team effort crediting her team of writers, producers, and researchers that help bring the podcast together, with her being the cherry on top.
“I can add my own knowledge to it and own personal stories. I just never get sick of talking about music, if I am not singing, I want to be talking about music so I can bring that enthusiasm in my delivery.”
Hit Network to host a podcast for Stan’s RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under
The Hit Network today announced Justin Hill as the host of Stan Original RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under: The Podcast to coincide with the debut of the eight-part Stan Original Series RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under premiering Saturday May 1.
The Hit Network production, created exclusively with Stan, will be available to stream on LiSTNR every Sunday after each new episode.
The podcast will showcase a weekly rundown of each episode and interviews with eliminated queens.
[Listen to RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under: The Podcast here]
SCA announces new digital audio sales leadership structure
SCA chief sales officer, Brian Gallagher today announced a new sales leadership structure for digital audio, following the launch of LiSTNR and the opportunities it provides advertisers.
Kim Norman, currently head of podcast sales, will take on the role of head of commercial – podcast and partnerships in the new structure. She will be responsible for managing the commercial relationship between LiSTNR Original Podcasts and Sales, ensuring SCA maximises the commercial potential.
Kim Norman
Reporting to Norman will be Angie Stavros who moves from group sales manager – LiSTNR podcasts into a new role as commercial partnerships manager.
Jonathan Mandel, currently head of digital sales and operations, has been promoted to the newly created role of head of digital commercial – streaming and ad tech. He will be responsible for driving ‘on network’ digital revenue for SCA with a core focus on digital audio, social media, video and display.
As part of these sales leadership changes, the digital and podcast sales teams will merge to form a National Digital Audio Sales team, working independently to drive digital audio revenue growth and alongside national head of radio sales Nikki Rooke’s team to extend SCA’s commercial reach across all its audio platforms to deliver a leading-edge service to its advertising partners nationwide.
Tom Gleisner on HYBA? podcast and his eclectic taste
Earlier this week Mediaweek spoke to Tom Gleisner about the return of Have You Been Paying Attention?, and Gleisner also spoke about the HYBA? podcast.
“HYBPA? works really well as a podcast (feel free to rate us). Even though aspects of the show are clearly visual there’s more than enough to keep you entertained without the pictures.”
When asked about what podcasts he listens to Gleisner described his tastes as eclectic.
“It was great to have Tony Martin’s Sizzletown back this year. Deadline Whitehouse from MSNBC is good for U.S. politics. There’s a podcast called Aria Code I really like; each episode takes a classic opera aria and breaks it down. Oh, and I stumbled across a series from musical theatre lyricist Tim Rice called Get Onto My Cloud that is curiously fascinating.”
See more: Have You Been Paying Attention? welcomes back contestants and a crowd
[Listen to Have You Been Paying Attention podcast here]
Angie Kent joins Nova for Angies Tries It podcast
Angie Kent will launch her new Nova podcast, Angie Tries it on Tuesday, May 11.
Released each Tuesday, Kent will brave a seres of alternative wellness therapies in a show being branded as ‘goop-debunked’. The types of treatment will include exposure therapy, laughter yoga, past life regression and BDSM.
Kent said: “What a complete round trip! I did an internship with Fitzy & Wippa in 2013. The boys sent me around Australia to do the most insane activities and now I have my very own podcast with Nova! I went from crackin’ whips to now givin’ tips. Sister loves to talk, loves to listen and loves me some therapies! So stoked to be part of the Nova fam for Angie Tries it. I’m back, more awkward and vulnerable than ever!”.
Rachel Corbett, NOVA Entertainment’s head of podcasts and digital content said: “For this show we needed someone who was completely open minded and willing to jump head first into any situation without judgement – and that’s Angie Kent to a T”.
Angie Tries It is available on the Nova Podcast Network, with a new episode launching every Tuesday from May 11. Episodes available here or wherever you access your podcasts.
Nova launches A Positive Climate podcast
NOVA Entertainment has announced the launch of a new podcast A Positive Climate, focused on what is being done about climate change and showcasing the cutting-edge technologies that will help humans tackle the issue.
A Positive Climate is hosted by experts in the cleantech sector, Nick Zeltzer and Alex McIntosh, who conduct interviews with inspiring people driving positive change and looking at inventions and products to tackle climate change.
Season One of A Positive Climate looks at waste eating maggots, turning beer into electricity, battery powered planes and innovative businesses seeking to eliminate single use plastics, with the first episode showcasing Nick Hazell, CEO of v2Food, a plant-based meat developed in Australia.
The podcast brings together the wealth of experience Zeltzer and McIntosh have in the cleantech sector. Zeltzer is an innovation junkie with the ultimate respect for the founders of Australian startups. He is also passionate about electric vehicles, having helped direct funding to the first ultra-rapid charging network in Australia, Chargefox. McIntosh has worked on a number of pumped hydro and battery projects within Australia and sees storage as a key piece of the puzzle in Australia’s transition to renewable energy. More recently, she is focused on the quickly developing hydrogen industry which provides Australia with unique potential to be an exporter of clean, not fossil fueled energy.
A Positive Climate releases a new episode available every Monday.
[Listen to A Positive Climate here]
Apple commissions first original podcast
Apple TV+ has announced a new original podcast project – a Siegfried & Roy audio documentary series executive produced by the filmmaker Steven Leckart and At Will Media. The difference with this announcement from Apple is that there is no accompanying TV project. This is a standalone podcast series and it will only be available on the Apple Podcasts app, a first for the tech giant.
Apple’s recent six-part podcast series The Line came with an accompanying streaming video series with four episodes coming to Apple TV+.
Footy fans now getting AFL Daily
SEN podcaster Damian Barrett is now getting up earlier every morning for a new daily football podcast. Barrett has been one half of SEN’s The Sounding Board podcast for six years with co-host Craig Hutchison. He is also a key part of Triple M’s AFL coverage and is a regular on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
Now Barrett has expanded his audio portfolio to his day job with the AFL where he is a reporter, columnist and TV host. The new podcast is AFL Daily where he co-hosts with Nat Edwards.
Since 2014 Edwards has worked for AFL Media as reporter, producer, and presenter bringing football coverage to millions of fans on AFL.com.au. In 2019, she became the first female to lead host primetime free-to-air AFL coverage, as an anchor of Seven’s The Kick on Saturday nights. She also co-hosted Seven’s Sunday football analysis show, Game Day. Edwards also freelances with 3AW radio as a boundary rider during the football season.
AFL Daily is available to download from 7.30am on weekdays.
Ricky Gervais is back…but it will cost you
Absolutely Mental is the name of a new podcast to feature Ricky Gervais. But to hear the 11 episodes, all available at launch, will cost US$14.99. The episodes, available from AbsolutelyMental.com, will be 30-40minutes. Co-hosting with Gervais is neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris, who will answer some very important questions…and some not-so-important ones.
Gervais and Harris contemplate the wonders of science and the chaos of modern life while having many good laughs.
Gervais told Deadline, “These aren’t academic lectures. They are casual chats about how it feels to be human. Evolution, the mind-body problem, spirituality, morality, mortality, the pursuit of happiness, and free speech. And by ‘free’, I mean $14.99.”
Listen to Absolutely Mental from May 10 here.
