In the June 3 edition of industry publication Podnews, editor James Cridland reported on the rumour of "a large podcast hosting company having an all-hands meeting with the news that they'd found a buyer for the company." There's also industry rumours of at least three hosting companies either looking for buyers or open to buyer approaches. We've seen podcast hosting companies either close or be acquired before: Spotify bought Anchor and Megaphone, and Global acquired Captivate, as some examples. So with the rumour mill around more acquisitions currently red-hot, does this mean podcast hosting is in a boom & bust period? Or is it just a sign of a medium continuing to mature and take advantage of good opportunities? Join Danny and guest co-host Eric Silver, as they discuss what this means for hosting in general, and what the lay of the land might look like in 12 months time. Our guest co-host this week is Eric Silver Eric Silver is an award-winning podcast producer, game designer, and teacher based in the great state of New York. He's the Head of Development and co-founder of Multitude, an independent podcast collective and production studio in Brooklyn. He’s produced 11 podcasts that have racked up tens of millions of downloads, and developed many more, characterized by strong, original structures and thriving communities. He widely known as the Best Dungeon Master in Podcasting, running the actual play TTRPG show Join the Party for 7 years, and is a professor at Stony Brook University's Podcast Incubator @el_silvero on Instagram @el_silvero on X Eric's Website Links to interesting things from this episode PABLO TORRE FINDS OUT - YouTube Our Plant Stories podcast with Sally Flatman PABLO TORRE FINDS OUT | Substack Rumours of a large hosting company finding a buyer In & Around Podcasting is a podcast industry podcast started by Mark Asquith and Danny Brown and now hosted by Elsie Escobar and Rob Walch, continuing its mission as an industry show that belongs to the whole community. If you enjoy the show, we'd love for you to leave us a rating or review on your favourite podcast app! You can also drop us a tip at https://www.inandaroundpodcasting.com/support, too! If you're an independent creator who would like to co-host with us, please let us know via Twitter and we'll get you booked! Please tell your friends that the show is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube, plus wherever else they may listen to their podcasts. If you'd like your podcast trailer featuring in our "Wave File" segment, submit it via this quick contact form, please. The podcast is also available at In & Around Podcasting. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy