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• Exclusive: Inception Point AI's thousands of AI-made podcasts could just have been a publicity stunt, according to a new episode of The Lead Balloon podcast, to be released today. CEO Jeanine Wright is interviewed on the show, saying that some publicity was "a PR strategy to get attention". We learn that the Quiet Please network now only has 300 active shows, which they're no longer trying to monetise. Wright tells Podnews that "the catalog itself was never a stunt, and we never chased volume for publicity." Also in Lead Balloon she gives a definition of AI slop: folks "using AI tools to make as much content as they can with as little expense as possible, in order to be able to monetize the delta." Sounds familiar. The company is now branded as Liquid Studios, which now suggests that it "transforms existing content, not generates from a blank page".


• The biggest podcast advertiser is going international - BetterHelp has appointed Media Bodies to focus on international podcast advertising. Media Bodies will work alongside BetterHelp to develop, launch and scale campaigns across 10 international markets, combining global strategy and performance data with local market expertise.


• The Apple iPhone might not be giving your headphones the best audio quality - because it doesn't support the latest Bluetooth audio codecs. A new Bluetooth dongle from Questyle could unlock better audio quality - and also much lower latency, which might be useful for recording podcasts without the delay you get with a normal Bluetooth connection.

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