Acast has partnered with the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) to support the organization’s inaugural podcasting program.
With a financial contribution from Google.org, the charitable arm of Google, ISO will allocate $300,000 to 12 Indigenous-led projects for the development and creation of podcasts by Indigenous audio storytellers. Acast will provide information sessions and access to services on its platform, including lifetime hosting for each podcast.
“Podcasting has become an important part of the screen-based ecosystem and is a vital tool for reclaiming Indigenous narratives in the audio realm,” ISO CEO Kerry Swanson said. “The response to the program launch and the quality of the projects demonstrate the need and enthusiasm for this initiative.”
Selected projects include Actors and Ancestors (from British Columbia), a film and TV podcast that celebrates Indigenous actors and focuses on the future of Indigenous peoples on screen; Alex au pays de Gaby (Quebec), an educational audio for kids ages eight to 12, which explores the perspectives of Indigenous peoples, their languages and realities; Ancestral Science (Alberta), about the stories of the ancestors; The Aunties Dandelion (Ontario), which focuses on the land, language and relationships; Creepy Teepee (Manitoba), about traditional teachings; Enweying Our Sound (Ontario), a podcast about parents’ experiences in educating their children by speaking to them in Ojibwe language; The Future is Indigenous (Ontario), a podcast series that focuses on matriarchy, sustainability, Indigenous fashion and futurism; Indigi-Demo-Itis (British Columbia), which highlights Indigenous music artists and their careers; Kwu Sneqsilxw (British Columbia), exploring what it means to be an Okanagan Indigenous person and what the future of the culture might look like; Native Origin Stories (Manitoba), about the origin stories of different people; Tales From The Rez Podcast (British Columbia), an adaptation of ghost stories; and Truth Before Reconciliation (Manitoba), a context of Indigenous truths across Canada.
“Through this partnership with the ISO these creators will have the opportunity to monetize through ad spots and host read sponsorships,” Acast creator network director for Canada Yael Strasberg tells MiC. According to Yael, the collaboration will help highlight Indigenous voices across Canada and break down the barriers they face when entering the podcast arena. Plus, it will make the company’s platform more inclusive. “We’re always looking for new opportunities to work with and support talented creators, so partnering with the ISO was the perfect fit,” Yael says.
Acast, which calls itself the “world’s largest independent podcast company,” runs a network of indie podcasts monetized by dynamic ad insertion. It recently published a report showing that 55% of Canadian advertisers believe podcast ad spending will grow over the next five years, while 5% think the opposite. The same report also found that marketers rank podcasts as the most effective audio medium for advertising, citing audience household income and brand safety as the main reasons.
