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James Cridland on Muck Rack

James Cridland

Verified
(He/Him)
Brisbane
As seen in: Podnews, Radioland, with James Cridland - radio futurologist, Apple Podcasts, Medium, BBC, Substack, Podbean, GIGAZINE, omny.fm, The Tab, Journalism.co.uk, Sounds Profitable (Podcast) and
Covers:  Podcasting, radio and audio

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James Cridland’s Biography

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James Cridland is Editor of Podnews, the daily podcast newsletter. As a radio futurologist, he is a writer, consultant and public speaker on radio’s future.

James has worked in audio since 1989 as an award-winning writer, radio presenter, and internet strategist.

James was inducted into the Podcast Hall of Fame in January 2026, and in 2025 he was awarded the inaugural Ambies International Impact Award from The Podcast Academy. He is an Associate Member of the International Academy of Digital Ar…

James Cridland’s Journalist Portfolio

Is Hot Hollywood really the #5 podcast in Podtrac?

Is Hot Hollywood really the #5 podcast in Podtrac?

Two new entries in this month's Podtrac podcast charts highlight the fragility of podcast stats.

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Details on the Podcast Music deal: a good day for podcasting?

Details on the Podcast Music deal: a good day for podcasting?

"Think licensing popular music to podcasts is impossible? Think again." - the claim from Podcast Music in an …

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How to understand podcast stats

How to understand podcast stats

· Updated · By · 12.7 minutes to read It's always nice to look at the numbers to see how your podcast is doin…

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Podcasting's "Privacy Problem"

Podcasting's "Privacy Problem"

Podcasting itself doesn’t have a privacy problem. But other things connected to podcasting certainly can have.

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The Standards Innovation Paradox: is it real?

The Standards Innovation Paradox: is it real?

And how should we fix it if it is?

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Articles

What is a podcast play?

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By James Cridland Verified
| Podnews
A “play” should be pretty easy to define - and most podcast platforms that report them report them in a similar way. But not all of them do. YouTube From Aug 24, 2026, a public “play/view” in YouTube is “counted the moment a video begins to play - from the very first frame”. It’s called a “first-frame count” by the company. YouTube also has an “engaged view”, available to creators in YouTube Studio.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Spotify's unskippable podcast ads, plus could they skip yours automatically?

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By James Cridland Verified
| Podnews
Joshua Hoehne EXCLUSIVE Podnews’s exclusive story of August 4 unveiled “Skip Ahead”, an ad-skipping button that Spotify is trialing with some Premium members. The button becomes visible as a suggestion to a listener to skip ad breaks, intros, sponsorship messages, and even mentions of premium subscriptions. There have been two new developments since our story.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Spotify threatens industry with ad-skipping tool

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By James Cridland Verified
| Podnews
EXCLUSIVE: In a significant threat to ad-funded shows, Spotify is testing a new feature in its app that will let users skip the ads in podcasts. The tool, called “Skip Ahead”, is available for Premium users in selected markets, and enables them to skip entire ad breaks, intros, sponsorship messages, and even mentions of premium subscriptions. In our tests, a “Skip Ahead” button appears on-screen as soon as an ad-break starts.
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Interview

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What was your first job as a journalist?

I was the "holding the mobile phone" person for a radio journalist in Bradford, England. Phones were the size of a suitcase back then.

What does it mean to be a journalist?

I like helping people.

What's your favorite social network?

Mastodon is nice. It's like Twitter but without the idiots.