Podcasters' Roundtable

Netflix is going to make movies available as an audio only experience. Will this pull people away from podcasts?

Join Ray Ortega, Dave Jackson, Elikqitie, and Lee Uehara to discuss some of the final podcasting stories of 2020.

Watch this Round: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFKgG5VGrmk

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If you created 500, three episode, podcasts, would you be the number one podcaster? This seems to be Spotify's approach with Anchor but does it work? Is it valuable? Are they really 'dominating' podcasting? 

Join Ray Ortega, Dave Jackson, Angela Connor, and Zack Jackson to music podcasts, getting your show in shape and other stories in podcasting.

Title: Spotify says it’s dominating the podcasting market because of a million-plus tiny podcasts

Main Takeaway: I'm skeptical.

url: https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/2/21755151/spotify-podcasts-anchor-stats-data-wrapped-2020

Title: Text to Podcast Company Launches 

Main Takeaway: Does a service like this make podcasting a turn-key commodity? I wonder if by selecting a narrator and having content read and turned into podcasts if there is a real connection with listeners. Is this just a way to make podcasting the new “content marketing?”  This may be okay for brands I suppose. I just think a connection with hosts being “real people” can really make a difference. Their website mentions turning ebooks into podcasts, for instance. This is not to pick on the company or the idea - I’m just talking about authenticity with podcasts. Not content being read by a nameless male or female voice.  The call-to-action on their website is “Create podcasts from any content.” Really? Is that what podcasts should become? 

URL: https://podcastbusinessjournal.com/text-to-podcast-company-launches/

Title: Apple Podcasts Names NPR’s Code Switch as It’s First Ever “Show of the Year”

Main Takeaway: A podcast that focuses on one of the toughest topics for people to discuss, RACE, is named Podcast of the Year, which I think is phenomenal. I also started a podcast this year on a tough topic such as this - racial equality in the workplace - so this is something I’m excited to see happen. Also, the idea of “Show of the Year.” It’s the first but will it become Emmy and Grammy-like? What’s the criteria? Who decided? Was there a submission period? I didn’ t know this was happening and just think it’s worth discussing.  BTW, Code Switch is a really good podcast.  

URL: https://www.npr.org/about-npr/940135424/apple-podcasts-names-nprs-code-switch-as-its-first-ever-show-of-the-year

Title:  Why Carmakers Are Getting Into Podcasts and Audio Marketing

Main Takeaway: We’ve talked a lot about advertising in podcasting, and it’s usually driven by companies inserting their ads into podcasts and paying the content creators based on the number of impressions. That sort of advertising has been around since the days of the newspaper (maybe earlier), but Hyundai and Ford are bypassing podcasters all together and making their own podcasts that are thinly veiled ads instead. Hyundai created a podcast where they interview musicians and take a “virtual audio tour” of their home city. They’re integrating all kinds of musical playlists on Spotify and visual elements on their website too. More interestingly though is Ford. They’re bringing back the Bronco and are advertising it through an 8-part “investigative” series called “Bring Back Bronco: The Untold Story”. If this sort of thing works, will companies start hiring podcast producers instead of paying for ads on established podcasts? Should we start pitching corporate podcast ideas and get some of that sweet sweet cash? 

URL: https://www.adweek.com/media/why-carmakers-podcasts-audio-marketing/

Title:  Bill Gates teaming with actor and activist Rashida Jones for new podcast, ‘Ask Big Questions’

Main Takeaway: Can we just talk about how random this podcast is? From the article, “A mutual friend suggested the two might have a lot to talk about and the podcast idea was born.” I just started listening to the first episode, but I love Rashida Jones and I’m sure it’s fabulous. I love the idea of interesting people getting together and just creating something like this that is meant to be a limited run. With the pandemic, this seems easier than ever. Who else could we introduce? Kanye and the Pope? Jeff Bezos and the Dalai Lama? Who is your dream team? 

URL: https://www.geekwire.com/2020/bill-gates-teaming-actor-activist-rashida-jones-new-podcast-ask-big-questions/

Title:  I analyzed 20 million Apple Podcasts star ratings. Here’s what I learned

Main Takeaway: If you have more than four ratings you are better than 50% of the podcast. The average rating is 4.6

URL: https://blog.pacific-content.com/i-analyzed-20-million-apple-podcasts-star-ratings-heres-what-i-learned-d1599a5d0cec

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Have you heard you can use any music you want in your 'podcast' now!? Let's talk about the catch.

Join Ray Ortega, Dave Jackson, Jordan Blair, and Bob Bender to music podcasts, getting your show in shape and other stories in podcasting.

Stories discussed on this Round

Title: Buzzsprout Adds “Locked” Tag Feature, Encourages Other Hosting Platforms to do the Same

Main Takeaway: should be added to the RSS feed on all hosting platforms to prevent podcast pirates from making ad revenue from dynamically inserted ads. (Transistor has also announced support of podcast locking.)

url: http://www.insideradio.com/podcastnewsdaily/buzzsprout-adds-locked-tag-feature-encourages-other-hosting-platforms-to-do-the-same/article_64a99b02-17a5-11eb-a6e3-4b3670ca346f.html

Title: Use This Downtime To Get Your Music Business Affairs In Order

Main Takeaway: Taking this opportunity of downtime to catch up on the business details of your show, along with fine tuning your craft, It’s a brand new and different world out there, and we’re all in unchartered waters, so there’s no better time to up your game as someone who’s entertaining others. 

URL: https://www.businesssideofmusic.com/use-this-downtime-to-get-your-music-business-affairs-in-order/

Title: Spotify Launches New Audio Experience Combining Music and Talk Content

Main Takeaway: Spotify’s new allowable podcast format seems to benefit podcasters whose topic covers music, but it all comes with quite a catch. 

URL: https://newsroom.spotify.com/2020-10-14/spotify-launches-new-audio-experience-combining-music-and-talk-content/

Title:  The Virtual Music Conference May Become the New Norm

Main Takeaway: Get used to the idea, that the virtual world may be what we’re possibly doing for the next 6 to 12 months. The live gathering is going to be slow in coming back. Such events as SXSW, NAMM Show, CRS, and other industry events are all planning on either postponing (or not continuing) their events, or taking it to an entirely virtual world. There’s a lot of solutions out there, its finding the one that’s going to work best for what you do, and attracting your audience (and keeping them).

URL: https://www.businesssideofmusic.com/136-the-virtual-music-conference-may-become-the-new-norm/

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Do you trust and value the opinion of your favorite podcast more than other media? If yes, why do you think that is? 

Join Ray Ortega, Dave Jackson, Nicole Ackermans, and Elzie D. Flenard, III to discuss what makes a podcast trustworthy. 

Watch this Round: https://youtu.be/75eyx7JcU7U

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We always want to know how to get more listeners but perhaps an even harder task is to get those who are already listening to send you feedback or interact with your podcast in any way. How do podcasters have more conversations with their listeners, how do they know who is listening?

Join Ray Ortega, Dave Jackson, Scott Orr, Steph Paige, and Kennedy to discuss getting more engagement with your listeners. 

Stories discussed on this Round

Title: 38 percent of Americans listen to podcasts to improve their mood

Main Takeaway: The value in podcasts is not just educational, what other benefits can we build in to the way we run our shows? Such as escaping their real world problems and improving their mood. What other types ‘f value’ can we give listeners? How about a sense of belonging and hope?

URL: https://podnews.net/update/deezer-mood

Title: GoodPods 

Main Takeaway: I started using this app to listen to podcasts on and am loving how they are bringing a social media element to podcasting and fixing the discoverability problem in a community focused way.

URL: GoodPods.com

Title: Top Ways to Improve Audience Engagement

Main Takeaway: Keyword in the title is Engagement. Podcasts are similar to any other form of social media, be it twitter, instagram, etc., in the way that if you are simply talking at people, interest will dwindle. But unlike other forms of social media, it can be easy to forget this, because of the nature of the platform of the podcast host/listener relationship. Engagement must be regular and continuous, both in ways throughout the podcast itself and on the platforms by which you promote the podcast. 

URL: https://blubrry.com/podcast-insider/2020/08/17/top-ways-to-improve-audience-engagement

Title:  Charging Your Guest an “Appearance Fee” on Your Podcast

Main Takeaway: Don’t do it! Guest appearances should be mutually beneficial for both the host and the guest, and when you are charging guests, it is more likely than not that the quality of the content is being sacrificed in a number of ways. 

URL: https://schoolofpodcasting.com/charging-a-guest-appearance-fee-on-your-podcast/ 

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New podcasts are entering the space at a blinding pace. There were over 300,000 new podcasts added to Apple Podcasts in just the last three months. Are most of these podcasts making it past episode 7? Is there just a bunch of podfaded shows filling up the directories? 

Join, Ray, Dave, Lee Uehara, and Kimchi Chow to discuss the impact of so many new podcasts. 

Watch this Round: https://youtu.be/jKTgtzBvKVI

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Join Ray, Dave, Danielle Desir, Derek Graziano, and Aseloka Smith to discuss podcast ownership and recent podcast news.

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The public facing image of podcasting needs to look more like the podcasters who make up the medium. 

Join Ray, Dave, Mary Nichols (DJ Fusion), and Brian Smith to talk about diversity and equality in podcasting, and a million podcasts in Apple Podcasts.

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Will tweeting your podcast episodes bring in tons of new listeners? 

Join Ray, Daniel, Dave, and Effie to talk about how twitter can and can't help you grow your podcast audience. 

Watch this Round: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prfVcG7oEYM

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We talk about the top 5 networks getting the majority of ad deals. 

Join Ray Ortega, Daniel J. Lewis, Dave Jackson, Sarb Johal, and Kayden Taylor to chat about podcast ads, how COVID is affecting podcast consumption, the importance of having an introduction at the beginning of your podcast and having your podcast on YouTube.

Watch this Round: https://youtu.be/XgNKRWIGEnE

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