Tag: Phillipines

The Philippines Keeps the Conversation Going as Podcast Popularity Rises

a graphic image showing the cover art for 8 filipino podcasts

The power of podcasts continues to grow as Filipinos both home and abroad regularly tune in to laugh, learn, and listen to a wide range of local voices. From the weekly stories of love in Barangay Love Stories and touching tales of life in Dear MOR: The Podcast to all things astrology at Charot Readings with Macoy Dubs & Show Suzuki and the intimate conversations found in skypodcast, the Philippines is a hotbed of local audio talent, and listeners can’t get enough.

Whether the topic is hugots in life or getting a quick comedy fix, Spotify podcasts in the Philippines have seen more than 60% growth in listenership over the last 12 months, with local shows leading the charge.

“We are thrilled that our growing range of Spotify podcasts entertains Filipinos and connects them to creators and content,” said Carl Zuzarte, Spotify’s Head of Studios for Southeast Asia. “This serves as a motivation for us to continuously innovate and uplift creativity in the Philippines.”  

As part of Spotify’s first Creator Mixdown in the Philippines earlier this month, a panel of creators from top Spotify-hosted shows MavLine on Me, Paano ba Ito, and Ang Walang Kwentang Podcast gathered in Manila to talk about the future of Filipino programming, the importance of championing creative local audio, and creating a community through shared experiences.

a photo of participants sitting on stage speaking at a spotify panel

“It’s important to us that our podcasts sound—and feel—like a conversation among best friends,” said Antoinette Jadaone, who cohosts Ang Walang Kwentang. “When we did the podcast, it started out as a creative outlet, and people started listening, even those we don’t know. And eventually it became a community. Even if you’re a listener, you find a friend in a podcaster.”

The panelists were also in agreement that partnering with Spotify is key to amplifying the voices of Filipino talent across the country and the world.

“I think it’s really an awesome opportunity,” shared Mavy Legaspi, cohost of MavLine on Me. “You get to see a different perspective on public figures or growing creators in the Philippines that gives us a platform to reveal more of ourselves.”

With this tremendous growth in listenership, we can expect more shows on the way as Filipino creators start sharing both their creative visions and their opinions knowing that there will be more than enough people eager to listen.

Find out what everyone’s talking about by joining Kryz and Slater as they talk about life, relationships, and family in skypodcast.

Nine Filipino Fan Favorite Podcasts Join Spotify

From comedy to relationships to career advice, there’s something for everyone with the latest addition of nine Filipino podcasts now available exclusively on Spotify.

Hosted by local creators and covering a wide range of genres, many of these shows are already regulars on the Spotify Philippines Podcasts chart. In fact, audio listening overall is a huge part of the everyday lives of Filipinos. According to a recent survey that Spotify undertook with YouGov* in the Philippines, 85% of respondents tune into some type of music or podcast content throughout the day.

Get to know the nine shows, including Adulting with Joyce Pring and Sleeping Pill with Inka, below.

Sleeping Pill with Inka

Sleeping Pill with Inka, voiced by Inka Magnaye, is an ASMR-friendly audio show that takes listeners through soothing readings of books and poems with the goal of easing anxieties and helping people fall asleep. This new type of “lullaby” will have listeners drifting on to sleep in no time.

Adulting with Joyce Pring

In Adulting with Joyce Pring, the popular Filipino television personality and host, shares tips and advice on being a 20-something-year-old. She discusses a variety of topics, from mental health and love to relationships and other life learnings.

https://open.spotify.com/show/0gkLDfCT484HuY8CspQroM?si=r6g1JN0rQ4GY8J5aURiqaw

Wake Up with Jim and Saab 

Wake Up with Jim and Saab is hosted by celebrity couple Jim Bacarro and Saab Magalona-Bacarro. The musicians talk about their adventures in marriage and experience as new parents. Their conversations cover life musings, culture, music, and everything in between.

The KoolPals

The KoolPals is a comedy podcast hosted by GB Labrador, James Caraan, and Nonong Ballinan, who engage in lighthearted discussions about various pop culture topics of the moment.

Boiling Waters PH

Boiling Waters PH is a relationship-focused podcast that covers any and everything about the dating and love world—from courtship and romance to memes and humor, nothing is off-limits in this series.

The Eve’s Drop

The Eve’s Drop is hosted by Delamar Arias, Francesca Tobias, and Gelli Victor, a trio of ladies who are known for their brutal honesty when it comes to love, life, and sex.

Ask Say 

Ask Say is hosted by Say Tioco, an influencer and body positivity advocate who shares everything life has taught her about women’s health and sexuality. Her episodes explore themes of love, relationships, career, and traveling.

Ang Walang Kwentang Podcast 

The Ang Walang Kwentang Podcast (which translates to The Nonsense Podcast in English) features conversations between popular filmmaker Antoinette Jadaone and spoken-word artist Juan Miguel Severo. The two engage in chats that are sometimes humorous and sometimes heartbreaking—but they are always honest.

Walwal Sesh

Walwal Sesh is hosted by Doc Gia, Sir Renz, and Vino. It highlights conversations about love, heartbreak, mental health, equality, and sex.

*Based on a Spotify study conducted online by YouGov Singapore Pte. Ltd. among 1,101 respondents in the Philippines in July 2020. The figures have been weighed and are representative of all Filipino adults (aged 18+).

Spotify Spotlights the Wildly Popular Pinoy Rock Scene in New Video Series

Original Pilipino Music, OPM, Pinoy Rock—call it whatever you want, there’s no denying it’s a music phenomena. The songs come in several styles, from hip-hop to pop to rock, but OPM is largely beloved for ballads that inspire deep-rooted emotion and impassioned, heartfelt singalongs. With nearly 10 billion streams, OPM is one of the world’s most popular genres—which is why Spotify is spreading the joy of this style of music with a new three-part Pinoy Rock video series.

Available on Spotify Philippines’ Facebook page, the series puts the spotlight on the Pinoy Rock scene, bringing together timeless musical acts such as Sponge Cola, Hale, and Callalily, with up-and-coming talents like This Band, December Avenue, and I Belong to the Zoo. In the videos, the artists chat about the OPM rock scene, their struggles as artists, and how they see the OPM scene changing in the next few years.

https://www.facebook.com/SpotifyPH/videos/631778550621686/

 

The series offers several insights into OPM and why its popularity only continues to grow. Sponge Cola credits the rise of Pinoy Alt Rock to the groundwork laid by bands like Eraserheads, Rivermaya, and Parokya Ni Edgar, which performed in Manila’s iconic Club Dredd during the ’90s. And today, the members of This Band describe Pinoy Alt Rock as “saktong lungkot na may galit,” or “the right balance of sadness and anger,” a sentiment that resonates across international waters. For example, This Band’s first single, “Kahit Ayaw Mo Na,” not only hit #1 on Spotify’s Philippines Top 50 and Viral charts, it even entered Spotify’s Global Viral 50 Charts in December 2018. The song now has more than 56 million streams.

https://www.facebook.com/SpotifyPH/videos/1839655472846448/

 

Technology is also a major factor in OPM’s proliferation—particularly for independent artists. Members of December Avenue say they don’t have a radio or TV presence, so they use “the tools available at our disposal, like the internet.” December Avenue was Spotify’s second-most-streamed artist in the Philippines in 2018. 

https://www.facebook.com/SpotifyPH/videos/2228896200561202/

 

And much like the video series itself, Spotify allows OPM artists to connect with their fans. “Now you can see who listens to you. I can see where they’re listening, how they’re listening, and where I’m most listened to,” says Argee Guerrero of I Belong to the Zoo. 

That deep feeling of connection, after all, is what OPM is about.

Discover the best and freshest music in OPM on Spotify’s Tatak Pinoy playlist.