mevio

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mevio
URL mevio.com
Commercial? Yes
Type of site Media
Owner PodShow Inc.
Created by Adam Curry, Ron Bloom
Launched October 2004

mevio, formerly known as PodShow, is a digital media entertainment network whose properties include PodShow+, PodShow Podcast Network, PodShowPDN, Podcast Alley, CastBlaster, the Podsafe Music Network and, BT PodShow.[1] The network acts as both an index for podcast listeners and as a tool for podcasters to publish their content, communicate with their listeners and legally access and play music within their shows.

mevio.com, the main brand of PodShow Inc., is a social networking website, podcast directory, podcast delivery network, and music store.

Contents

[edit] History

mevio was founded as PodShow in October 2004 by Adam Curry and Ron Bloom, with the aim of helping people to podcast and publish their podcasts, and to help listeners to find podcasts that suit their interests. It also plans to use the marketing potential of podcasts by allowing advertisers to find the podcasts their target audiences will listen and allow those podcasts to put commercials on their podcasts and receive money for it.

In August 2005, PodShow received about $8.85m in Venture Capital from the Sand Hill Road firms Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital[2], and Sherpalo Ventures.[3][4] PodShow set up company headquarters in San Francisco, California in a temporary office South of Market Street. In February 2006, Curry announced Podshow L.A. a production division being setup by Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff.

In September 2006, BT PodShow, a co-branded service for the UK and Ireland, was launched.[5] On September 29, 2006 PodShow Inc. announced that the company had raised a second round of venture funding from new and original investors, totaling $15 million, led by DAG Ventures.[1]

With respect to downloads and the audience of the PodShow network, on March 3, 2007 Adam Curry stated "For the record, In <sic> December 2006 the network produced 52 million download requests."[6] (With respect to "download requests" see Criticisms and Controversy.)

In March 2007, Keith Malley (from Keith and The Girl) claimed that the summation of all PodShow shows totaled a mere 12,000 downloads a day, and suggested that PodShow had squandered the funds obtained from venture capitalists.[7] Malley challenged PodShow to "prove him wrong", and later suggested that PodShow had attempted to hurt the standing of his show on the list of podcasts on digg. As of May 30, 2008 mevio still hasn't proven him wrong.

[edit] Podcast shows

mevio maintains a small stable of flagship podcasts, including Curry's own Daily Source Code, The Dawn and Drew Show[8], Madge Weinstein's Yeast Radio (from July 2005 til April 2008), CC Chapman's Accident Hash, and tech vidcast GeekBrief.TV.

[edit] Podcast directories

mevio runs indiePodder.org (formerly iPodder.org), and Podcast Alley, podcast directories that can be used to help people find and subscribe to podcasts.[9]

[edit] Podsafe Music Network

Main article: Podsafe Music Network

On August 23, 2005, PodShow announced the launch of their Podsafe Music Network. [10] The site allows musicians or record labels to upload podsafe music into their system so that podcasters may download it for use on their podcasts, as well as the ability to sell music to listeners.

[edit] Podcast Delivery Network and PodShow+

PodShow announced the launch of the PodShowPDN (Podcast Delivery Network) on February 12, 2006. [11]. Partnering with Limelight Networks, the PodShow site began offering free content hosting and delivery to podcasters opting to sign up.

The new version of their site, called PodShow+ combines their PodShow Delivery Network, PodShow Podcast Network, and Podsafe Music Network with a new "video network" and additional functionality to create a social network in the vein of MySpace. Users can sign up as listeners or podcasters. Musicians are sent to the old Podsafe Music Network site. PodShow+ is currently in what the site terms "un-beta."

[edit] thePLUS

thePLUS is PodShow's 24/7 Live entertainment channel. "Backstage Pass" is a successful series of events hosted on thePLUS. Two standouts include the UK's Digital Music Awards and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. For the SBIFF event, PodShow partnered with MediaTrust to produce red carpet interviews.

[edit] Criticisms and Controversy

After the release of Podshow+ on July 6, 2006 other podcasts's RSS feeds were hijacked by Podshow, with Podshow copyrights overwriting original feeds. Instead of XML feeds linking to the original, they linked to the internal cache.[12] Adam Curry addressed the issue in the following Saturdays episode of the Daily Source Code in which he stated "We basically cache that, no different from what iTunes does." Curry went on to explain by saying "What should have happened was that the link underneath the orange on white XML button should be a direct link to the original, with original information, no added bits from us, original copyrights etc, Instead of linking to the external feed, it went to the internal feed. It wasn’t a bug, it was a dumb mistake, it slipped through." [13]

PodShow and the PodShow Network have not released broadcast metrics publicly. This has created keen interest and rampant speculation by the public, due to the PodShow's notoriety and publicity. Additional controversy has been generated by Adam Curry due to statements he has made which focus on "download requests". No clarification has been provided by Adam Curry or the PodShow Network on their use or definition of a "download request". This is of noteworthy interest, as a "download" is commonly interpreted as a single download request which results in a download, while a "download request" could include all requests made for a download (including failed download requests, system-to-system requests, internal administrative requests, or automated time-scheduled RSS feed requested).

Additionally, PodShow Network "download requests" may include not only PodShow-owned podcasts, but any "download requests" made through links listed on the PodShow Network website to many independent podcasts.

PodShow's relationship with Sirius Satellite Radio ended on May 1, 2007 without any formal acknowledgment or media release by Sirius Satellite Radio or the PodShow Network. Speculation is that Podshow, having no control over its podcasts compression consistencies, could not guarantee audio quality across the multitude of content being produced. [14]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b PodShow Receives $15M From Leading Venture Firms as Company Accelerates Its Growth on the Internet and Beyond
  2. ^ Sequoia Capital funds PodShow.
  3. ^ Podshow gets Big Bucks. podcastingnews.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
  4. ^ Curry's podcasts attract big money
  5. ^ BT launches UK PodShow
  6. ^ Download Numbers, Are They Important?. curry.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.
  7. ^ KATG claims Podshow has only 12,000 downloads a day. keithandthegirl.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-01.
  8. ^ Indie Podcasting: Not So Independent Anymore
  9. ^ Podcast Alley Bought Out; Team Moves to Podshow. podcastingnews.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
  10. ^ PodShow.com Launches the Podsafe Music Network, the First Online Music Network that Features Royalty-Free Music for Listeners & Podcasters. prnewswire. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
  11. ^ PodShow and Limelight Networks Launch PodShowPDN - The First High Performance delivery Network for Podcasting. prnewswire.
  12. ^ Is PodShow Hijacking Podcasts?. podcastingnews.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
  13. ^ Adam Curry Speaks Up About Podshow Podcast Hijacking Controversy. podcastingnews.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
  14. ^ Has the PodShow network been booted off Sirius?. Retrieved on 2007-04-24.

[edit] External links