This Week in Podcasting - 13th September
Podcasting is expanding beyond the traditional episode, and this week’s stories show what that looks like in practice.
Goalhanger Just Proved How Big Live Podcasting Can Get
Goalhanger’s first The Rest Is Fest brought 26,000 people to London’s Southbank Centre across 22 shows from September 4–6, turning one podcast network into a three-day live entertainment operation. The programme included live editions of The Rest Is History, The Rest Is Politics, The Rest Is Football and The Rest Is Money, alongside new formats and special collaborations. Goalhanger says around 85% of attendees came specifically to see one particular show.
The ticket sales do not tell us whether the festival was profitable, since Goalhanger has not published revenue or costs, but they do show that podcast audiences are willing to pay for an experience built around shows they already follow. For podcast companies, the opportunity may be bigger than live recordings: successful shows can become brands with audiences that extend into tickets, memberships, video and other forms of entertainment.
Acast Hires a TikTok Advertising Executive to Run Its European Business
Acast announced that they have appointed Liv Sandberg as EVP, Europe, bringing in a senior advertising executive from TikTok to lead its European business from early 2027. Sandberg previously served as TikTok’s Regional General Manager for Global Business Solutions across Central Europe and the Nordics, having joined the company to build its Nordic advertising business.
The appointment is notable because it brings experience from one of the world’s biggest digital advertising platforms into podcasting. Acast has been expanding beyond traditional podcast advertising through acquisitions, video and broader creator monetisation, making advertising expertise increasingly important as podcast companies compete for larger brand budgets.
Kenya Moves to Tax YouTube Creator Earnings
YouTube has confirmed that it will withhold 5% Kenya tax from finalised YouTube earnings for accounts based in Kenya, beginning with September 2026 earnings paid in October. Creators must submit a valid Kenyan PIN by October 1 or payments may be held until their tax information is verified.
The change brings platform payouts further into Kenya’s existing tax framework for digital content monetisation. It also creates a more immediate financial consideration for creators, who will now see the withholding applied before their YouTube earnings reach them. Kenyan creator groups have raised concerns about how the policy has been introduced and called for greater consultation.
For African creators, the development is worth watching because governments are increasingly looking at platforms as part of how digital income is collected and reported.
Substack Is Making a Bigger Play for Podcasting
Substack has launched a dedicated podcast tab in its app, giving podcast creators another discovery surface within a platform that already combines newsletters, subscriptions, community and publishing. The company says creators publishing podcasts collectively earn more than $200 million a year on Substack.
The move makes podcasting a more central part of Substack’s broader creator business rather than simply another publishing format. Podcasts can already be published through Substack publications and distributed to external podcast apps including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, while the new in-app tab gives the company more control over discovery.
What We’re Watching Next
This week’s stories show podcasting moving beyond the episode itself, with live events, advertising, creator platforms and regulation increasingly shaping the business around podcast audiences.
For creators and publishers, that creates more ways to build sustainable businesses, but it also means navigating more platforms, commercial systems and rules that shape how audiences are reached and monetised. The next stage of podcasting may be less about growing the feed and more about what you can build around it.
