Apple Podcasts now has a “Listen With” section with recommendations from famous people

Starting today, Apple Podcasts is getting a new feature that will help you discover new shows on the platform: “Listen With”, a collection based on what famous people recommend, reports 9to5Mac. On top of that, Apple has shared how its newly launched paid subscription option for podcasters has been performing recently.

The new “Listen With” collection is now available

The new “Listen With” collection can be found in the Browse section of Apple’s Podcasts app, and it is a new and interesting way to discover great podcast shows on the platform. The first entry comes from best-selling author and podcaster Jay Shetty.

In the new section, podcast listeners will discover find new show recommendations, with an explanation from Jay on the reasons why he has decided to feature a specific show. Additionally, this section of the Podcasts app also has quick access to Shetty’s On Purpose podcast. This means that as a new famous person publishes an entry there, such recommendations will appear.

In the future, there will be more collections with recommendations from famous people, including filmmakers and influencers. The new Listen With section joins Apple’s two other editorial collections on the app, “Spotlight” and “Kids & Family”.

Apple also has a set of stats for its Podcasts paid subscriptions feature

Apple has also released a set of statistics that could inspire podcasters to benefit from Apple’s paid subscription feature, which launched back in April 2021. Here are some of the stats Apple showed:

• One in five podcasts with subscriptions have converted more than 10% of listeners into paid subscribers
• Early access and exclusive content converts the most listeners into subscribers
• Among the top 50 podcasts with subscriptions, total audience size increased on average four weeks after launching a paid tier

Apple has been investing efforts into expanding its podcast platform in order to make it a better competitor to other popular platforms such as Spotify, for example. The others have also been expanding on the podcast front, and Spotify has reportedly spent over $800 million on podcast companies (via TechCrunch), acquiring podcast companies and growing its business.