Hey podcasters,
In this issue, we’re tackling the biggest problem for European podcasters: language. Many, if not most of us, listen to English-language podcasts, but how much content are we missing out on because of this limitation?
At the core of this conversation which I’ve been having for months now with podcasters from across the continent, is the question of translating your shows. I spoke with Studio Ochenta’s Lory Martinez to get her take on this, the importance of cultural sensitivity, and the role of AI in translation.
What if years from now we could open our listening app, select a podcast, then choose our preferred language and listen to it in whatever our native tongue is? Or in the language we’re trying to learn on Duolingo?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
In other news:
WePod’s Podcasting Academy in Milan was a special experience! I wrote about it on LinkedIn.
I also spoke at Mobile Stories and News Decoder’s webinar on using podcasting as an educational tool. Both these organizations are doing fantastic work for podcasting in Europe.
Via Podnews, Spotify’s monetisation model for creators, the Spotify Partner Program is to expand to a further nine new countries, eight in Europe. From April 29, eligible audio and video creators in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and New Zealand can enroll.
If you are looking for marketing support, there is no one better than our team at Tink Media ✨ You can get $50 off a Podcast Therapy consultation session using code EUROWAVES25
Before we get into it, I also recommend:
Subscribe to the free Podcast Delivery newsletter and join the thousands of podcast fans and creators who receive fresh podcast recommendations every Monday.
It’s one of my go-to newsletters - they’re an example of what supporting creators should look like!
Eurowaves Update ☘️
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🇫🇷🎙️How To: Multilingual Storytelling with Studio Ochenta's Lory Martinez🎙️🇫🇷
Lory Martinez is an international communications professional with over 12 years of experience crafting impactful strategies that resonate across diverse markets. As the CEO of a multilingual agency, she’s led award-winning campaigns in 27+ languages, managed global rebranding initiatives, and built strategies that connect brands to audiences worldwide. Fluent in English, French, and Spanish, Lory specializes in localization, brand storytelling, and cross-functional collaboration. Her passion lies in helping organizations amplify their message and foster authentic connections on a global scale.
She is based in Paris, France.
You can find Lory on LinkedIn here.
How did you first get into podcasting, and what motivated you to start Studio Ochenta?
I was a radio journalist at a small public radio station in the States before deciding to move abroad to pursue a master’s degree in communications. When I arrived in France in 2015, podcasting was just starting to become popular, so I quickly networked and joined the local podcasting community as a freelance producer, doing what I was trained to do in radio: recording good stories.
The transition to podcasting was easy, but starting my own business was a challenge. I knew I wanted to take on more ambitious projects, but I was afraid to take the leap from freelance to small business. I was ultimately inspired to start Ochenta after attending the HEARSAY Audio Festival, a European festival celebrating audio art in Cork, Ireland. At the festival, I heard some incredible producers sharing the same fear: they too weren’t sure if they should put their stories out there. When I got home, I was motivated to get started, and finally put pen to paper to create our now-flagship show: Mija Podcast.
What are the main challenges you’ve encountered in creating multilingual podcasts for diverse European audiences, and how have you addressed them?
The primary challenge is audience targeting. It’s important to understand that making a project in a new language isn’t enough to properly reach that audience. You really have to understand the local listener’s habits and what other shows might already be in their queue.
Audience targeting was a big challenge for our multilingual shows, but we ultimately solved it by treating each version as a new podcast in the local language (not just a translation) with a clear local listener in mind.
In your experience, how does Europe’s linguistic diversity impact content distribution and audience engagement in the podcasting industry?
It’s a very scattered landscape because, despite being multilingual, few people listen to content in languages other than their own. That being said, localized content on platforms like Netflix and the ubiquity of subtitled content on TikTok have created an interesting trend in media consumption, where people are accessing stories from around the world much more easily.
This accessibility has made it simpler to distribute multilingual content to multiple country targets at once.
How do you foresee the future of multilingual podcasting evolving in Europe?
I believe that more multilingual experiments will be publicly funded through partnerships with traditional media organizations. Projects like WePod, or even Ochenta’s latest production for Swiss Info, Lost Cells (available in English, French, and Spanish), show that there’s an opportunity for richer storytelling that takes advantage of our proximity to each other in Europe.
What are your thoughts on AI used for translation?
Honestly, it’s becoming more and more ubiquitous, though it still has its flaws. I’m seeing a lot of translators highlighting the importance of recognizing that localization is actually transcreation—that is, recreating content for a new audience with different cultural contexts.
It’s essential to have human oversight to ensure localizations are well done, and that’s something we make sure to do on every production we localize at Ochenta. That said, the tech is advancing very quickly, so I hope its use remains human-supported for the foreseeable future—so millions of translators don’t lose their jobs. But only time will tell.
Share your recommendations of 2–3 multilingual podcasts you love!
Sea of Rage, a multilingual production by WePod that recently won a Premios Ondas! Lost Cells from Swiss Info, of course!
🎙️🌍What I’ve been listening to🌍🎙️
Before we get into this week’s recommendation, I wanted to share a great resource if you are considering pitching an English-language story. Here's a list of radio, podcast shows and radio companies you can pitch to. Save the tab for that idea you’ve had in your mind but keep putting off.
Inshallah, un viaje a Palestina en Líbano
I heard about this podcast at WePod’s Academy and immediately added it to my queue. Manu Tomillo, a producer and reporter for Spain’s PRISA, walked us through his process of building the story and the challenges he encountered as a journalist, including attempts at censorship. I binged the series and was fully immersed in every episode, brought to tears and inspired by the storytelling and the resilience of the Palestinian people. One aspect I appreciate about this podcast is their choice to tackle topics ranging from the experiences of Palestinian refugees facing discrimination in Lebanon and gender-based violence to the ever-present lens of intergenerational trauma. If you can understand Spanish, I can’t recommend this more.
A trilingual podcast series (English, Spanish, French) investigating human stories behind the promises and failures of high-tech solutions. Producing something at this level is a massive task, and Piz Gloria Productions, Futur Proche, and Studio Ochenta absolutely nailed it. My favorite kind of journalistic work centers on human stories. That’s the best way to draw listeners in and keep them engaged. It’s the empathy of it. Lost Cells accomplishes that and more. They also bring in scientific experts and provide accessible information and explanations that guide listeners through the investigation. I'm currently bingeing the English version and planning to dive into the Spanish and French ones right after.
Europod & Sphera • News, Europe's fight against femicide despite data gaps and taboos has begun
Europod News brings listeners daily news updates with brief commentary, all in under five minutes. Europe Talks Back is a series published on the same feed, released on the last Wednesday of each month. Their latest episode on femicide travels across Europe to investigate the issue, discussing it from multiple angles—legislative, societal, and beyond. It’s a crucial topic that deserves more attention, and their approach, which highlights different relevant aspects, offers listeners a clear understanding of why we must keep the conversation going.
🇧🇬Podcasts from Bulgaria🇧🇬
Starting with this issue, I’ll also include the English translation of our curators’ reviews, so everyone in the community can follow along while still keeping the multilingual aspect.
This issue’s curator is Nikolay Dobrev:
“In 2017, I stumbled into marketing while studying finance—and got hooked. Turns out, real stories with real emotions win people over. Since then, I’ve led a team for three years, worked with CEOs and top marketers worldwide, and helped 40+ brands fine-tune their funnels to reach millions and close deals. By 2019, I was managing podcasts for others, and in 2023, I finally decided—why not start my own?”
Ratio Podcast: Подкаст за наука, технологии и критично мислене. Всяка тема се разглежда задълбочено, но поднесена достъпно и с доза хумор.
Ratio Podcast: A podcast about science, technology, and critical thinking. Each topic is explored in depth, but presented in an accessible way and with a dose of humor.
Свръхчовекът: Вдъхновяващи истории за успех, упоритост и личностно развитие. Всеки епизод представя хора, които постигат изключителни резултати в своята област.
The Superhuman: Inspiring stories of success, perseverance, and personal growth. Each episode features people who achieve extraordinary results in their field.
Подкастът на Lidl България: Практични съвети, интересни дискусии и любопитни факти за ежедневни съвети, кариерно развитие, по-здравословен начин на живот. Поднесено с лекота и експертно мнение.
The Lidl Bulgaria Podcast: Practical tips, engaging discussions, and curious facts about everyday advice, career development, and a healthier lifestyle. Presented with ease and expert insight.
Thank you for sharing, Nikolay!
You can connect with him on LinkedIn here.
🚀Events and Opportunities🚀
The Podcast Show (London, UK)
The Podcast Show is the biggest international celebration of the podcasting industry with visitors from over 40 countries descending on London.
Eurowaves is partnering up with The Podcast Show to bring European podcasters together! Catch me there speaking on the European market and holding dedicated moments in the Internationally Gallery Lounge. If you’re planning on going, reply to this email and let’s grab a coffee!
Use the Eurowaves discount code: EW10 for 10% off on your tickets!
When? May 21-22.
The Audio Drama Indie Awards is a volunteer-run award show designed to help highlight Hidden Gems in audio drama – the new, the undiscovered, and the underpraised. Submissions will be curated by volunteer judges and winners will be chosen by popular vote among the finalists.
When? Enter by mid-May.
International Journalism Festival (Perugia, Italy)
The biggest annual media event in Europe. The 2024 festival had 220 sessions and 612 speakers in the 5-day programme. Please note that the English-language part of the festival programme will be concentrated April 10-12. On Sunday, 13 April there will be only Italian-language events.
When? April 9-13.
This is not such a problem if those producing podcasts call on professional translators with experience of podcasting. I speak French, Spanish, Italian and German plus have produced podcasts in German and French. There is a fee to be paid for this professional service. Relying on AI alone is not a good idea as the result will sound stilted, unnatural and there will probably be mistakes. My advice - consult a language/podcast professional such as me and pay a reasonable fee for the translation/adaptation service. A translation of this kind is a highly skilled job.
I think this is a major issue, in particular if your podcast is NOT in English. I mean - I am Italian, and my podcasts are in Italian, and I know this would be a great limit, if I wanted to target the European market. I agree with Julian that AI is not enough. Actually I tried my hand at it: I dubbed 2 seasons of a podcast using Rask.ai, cloning my own voice and using synthetic voices for my guests. It was a time-consuming process, because I had to edit all the translations and have them checked by an English mother tongue (they were awful), but in the end, it was quicker and cheaper than hiring a professional native dubber. I would have LOVED to hire a dubber: but my client didn't have any budget left and, most of all, we didn't have time. As for the result, it's acceptable, but still far, far away from what a human being can do. In my opinion, AI is still too "young" to use it on a regular basis. It could be acceptable if you need to translate a podcast for a practical reason, though - in my case, the podcast was a kind of audioguide for an exhibition, and we wanted to make it available for foreign visitors, too.
well, if you are curious, here's the link to the AI-translated show: https://open.spotify.com/show/0qK3VLFyttHTraGnZSt0gM?si=6ff5d968490b4f71
I'd love to read your comments about it!