Speaker 1: The latest from podnews.net. Pocket Casts, a popular podcast app, is now free on Android and iOS. The company has also launched a way of playing your own files within the app and has launched Pocket Casts Plus, an optional subscription for additional features including the web player and desktop app. Pocket Casts itself was $3.99. If you bought the desktop or web app for a one-off $9 fee, you'll get Plus free for three years. Reaction on social media from those that bought the desktop app, which we imagine is a small minority of users, hasn't been good, noting that the previous $9 was clearly marked as no monthly subscriptions and would be payable, quote, just once. Owen Grover, the CEO of Pocket Casts, has told podnews that we will continue to monitor sentiment closely to ensure we get this right. All of this is new for us, too. He continues, and we appreciate the passion and loyalty of our users, many of whom have been with us for many years. It is, though, the app that we use, and it's by far the best podcast experience on Android. So good, we bought it twice. You can, of course, listen to us on Pocket Casts. The Daily from The New York Times, which launched on February 1, 2017, has hit a billion total downloads, the company has announced. The Daily now achieves more than 2 million downloads per episode, slightly more than this podcast. Spotify has announced the results of their second SoundUp podcast accelerator for women in colour. You'll find it linked from our show notes and our newsletter today. Also, a VP at the company, Paul Vogel, has said in a conference that podcast audiences on Spotify increased by 50% from quarter one to quarter two 2019 and that it's had a positive effect on user retention and churn. Amazon has announced Amazon Music HD, which for $5 extra per month, will offer HD songs in lossless. Flac format in Ultra HD, up to 24 bits at up to 192 kilohertz sampling. The Verge points out that most phones won't play it. And if you're using Bluetooth headphones, you're unlikely to hear any difference. But, you know, knock yourself out. iHeart Radio has done a deal with Hilton Hotels, putting podcasts, live radio and music into hotel rooms across the US. Podcasts are booming in Brazil with the announcement from TV network Rede Global that it has launched a new set of podcasts, which will instantly made Apple's trending chart. The pod vader, Jay Soderbergh, has been announced as executive producer for Locked On Podcast Network, a daily local sports podcast network. Jay most recently worked with Vox Nest and Blog Talk Radio. The Infinite Dial South Africa study is being announced in a webinar at 8 o'clock New York time today and will be available online shortly afterwards. It'll be the first study for the country and follows similar work in the US, Canada and Australia. The studies are designed to be as comparable as possible. And Hindenburg Journalist 1.81.2282 is out. Among other new features, it supports importing RODECaster 14-channel files and BBC folk can relax because it understands Star Trek files now. In podcasts today, the first podcast from a street. Shaping the Future by Regent Street is a new podcast to celebrate the 200th anniversary year of Regent Street in London. Which has hosted and helped shape so many of the cultural milestones over the years. And Glamour and iHeartRadio have launched She Makes Money Moves, which explores the relationship women have with money. It's hosted by Samantha Barry, the editor of Glamour. And that's the latest from our newsletter at podnews.net.