Sponsored by Magellan AI. Q2's podcast ad spend numbers are in. Get Magellan AI's Benchmark Report. <a class="l" style="font-weight:bold;color:#BC1515" href="https://podnews.net/class-click/3649/2026-08-17">Download now</a><ul>
<li>Exclusive: A few weeks ago, Podnews broke the story that Spotify is testing a "<a href="https://podnews.net/article/spotify-threat-ad-skipping">Skip ahead</a>" ad-skipping tool for some customers. Perhaps making the most of its dominant market position, today we note that Spotify is <a href="https://podnews.net/article/spotify-unskippable-ads-and-auto-skips">selling its own unskippable podcast ads</a>; and we discover that its terms and conditions gives Spotify the legal right to <a href="https://podnews.net/article/spotify-unskippable-ads-and-auto-skips">automatically skip everyone else's</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://podnews.net/press-release/ambies-new-categories-2027">The Ambies are open for entry from today.</a> There are two new categories - best music and episode of the year - and there will be two listener's choice awards, for Best Podcast Host and Podcast of the Year. You get a discount if you're a member of The Podcast Academy.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/arts/ai-podcasts-fashion-pop-avatars.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5FA.tR13.EjhZI_hFQyna&smid=url-share&utm_source=podnews.net&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=podnews.net%3A2026-08-17">The New York Times focused on Inception Point AI</a> in a front-page article in its Arts section about AI influencers. However this publicity comes at an odd time: because it appears that Inception Point AI has been rebranded as Liquify AI, "the company behind <a href="https://liquidstudios.ai/?utm_source=podnews.net&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=podnews.net%3A2026-08-17">Liquid Studios</a>". The company's new website suggests that the <a href="https://www.quietperiodplease.com/?utm_source=podnews.net&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=podnews.net%3A2026-08-17">Quiet Please</a> Podcast network "was never the destination", just "proof that content infrastructure works at this scale". They're now offering the same technology to other companies.
<ul>
<li>Technology like yesterday's episode of <a href="https://podnews.net/podcast/i11qxc"><cite>Jay Shetty's Biography Flash</cite></a> podcast - which still says it's published by Inception Point AI - gives an AI-generated error in the episode audio: "I did not find a clearly verified major personal life announcement from the past few days, and I did not see a confirmed high impact scandal or break in his public image in the material reviewed ... nothing in the gathered reporting rises above ordinary promotional noise or can be treated as confirmed biographical news."</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul><a href="https://podnews.net/update/spotify-unskippable-or-not">> > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website</a>: and get our free daily newsletter.Classifieds - <a href="https://podnews.net/classifieds/">your job or ad here</a><ul><li><a href="https://podnews.net/class-click/3642/2026-08-17" rel="sponsored">📈 From Zero to 1.2M Downloads</a> &mdash; I started podcasting in 2015. Now 1.2M downloads later, I teach 375+ podcasters in my free Podcasting Business School community on Skool. 👉 Weekly training & a real path to 1,000+ downloads/episode.</li><li><a href="https://podnews.net/class-click/3621/2026-08-17" rel="sponsored">Audiencelift = More YouTube Views + Watch Time</a> &mdash; Audiencelift.com helps your videos reach more viewers and generate valuable watch time, not just empty clicks. Turn great content into measurable channel growth. Learn more.
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