Episode 35 of the Richard Dally podcast where I bring you a UK perspective on the latest news and developments from the world of podcasting and Internet Radio.
A new podcasting studio opens in Cork, Ireland. An interview discussing ESPN’s strategy for podcasting. A live podcasting event in London in April and a reminder that the closing date for entries for the British Podcast Awards 2019 is rapidly approaching.
Websites and articles mentioned in the show:
Rebel Base Media’s podcasting studio in Sheffield – https://rebelbasemedia.io/studio/
Cork’s First commercial Podcast studio at Republic of Work – http://RepublicOfWork.com
Why ESPN is all in on podcasts – https://www.amplifimedia.com/blogstein/2019/2/15/t9miikzzwsj6ytuddcdftjztd9a0n5
Politics Live podcasting event in London – https://www.podcastlive.com.
The British Podcast Awards 2019 – https://www.britishpodcastawards.com
Transcript
Another new Podcast Studio, ESPN’s podcasting strategy, Politics Live and the British Podcast Awards 2019
Welcome to episode 35. I’m your host Richard Dally. Each week I curate and discuss the latest news in podcasting and Internet Radio with a focus on the smaller podcaster, radio host and DJ.
First a quick update on Rebel Base Media’s podcasting studio that I mentioned last week. Since I recorded that episode they have announced that they are offering the opportunity to get free recording sessions until June 2019. I recommend you visit their website at https://rebelbasemedia.io/studio/ for more details. They even have an online booking system that shows you the slots when the studio is available for booking.
Talking of recording studios, a new studio has opened in Cork in Ireland. This studio has been launched by a company called REPUBLIC OF WORK. This is another broadcast quality studio, It’s actually used by two national radio stations as well. The studio is available for hire by businesses and individuals and as well as the recording facilities, REPUBLIC OF WORK can also provide a range of production and editing services by their team, who all have radio backgrounds.
For more information on Podcasting at REPUBLIC OF WORK you can visit RepublicOfWork.com.
Are you into sports? If you follow any American sports, like American Football or Golf, you will have heard commentary from ESPN . I’ve always felt that their broadcasters bring an extra level of skill and professionalism – I assume they get proper training before being allowed behind the microphone and probably get on-going coaching to help them improve as well.
I came across an interesting interview this week. Steve Goldstein of Amplifi Media interviewed Truag Keller who heads the ESPN Audio office. They discussed how ESPN has gone all in on podcasting.
ESPN puts out 11 time-shifted podcasts and 40 original podcasts. Last year they saw a 16% increase in listens and their biggest podcast is getting downloaded about 7 or 8 million times a month!
You can read the full interview on the Amplifi Media blog – I’ll put a link in the show-notes. The interview discusses why ESPN see podcasting as such an important part of their strategy and what their vision is for the future.
It’s a good read with some interesting insights into a how a broadcast business can embrace podcasting. They have definitely embraced the differences between radio and TV broadcasts and podcasts – podcasting allows the broadcasters to be more personal and go deeper into the topics being discussed.
Podcasting can be more niched down than broadcast shows as it is easier for them to focus on a specific audience demographic. You can have several podcasts on a similar topic but aimed at different audiences – that’s just not possible on TV or Radio where you can only broadcast one show at a time.
Interestingly, the average ESPN podcast listener age is 33. Traug notes that this is some 13 years younger than the audience for ESPN Radio.
Goldstein and Traug also discussed the question of whether podcasts take listeners away from radio. ESPN has found that the more platforms and places a show or broadcaster can be found the better. I definitely agree with this – be everywhere is a good approach so you can raise your profile as high as possible.
If you’re in London on 7th April a new group is organising their first event. Podcast Live has been set up to create live events, where podcasters can host live versions of their shows in front of an audience and where podcast fans can see podcasts being created live and can interact with the hosts and guests.
The Podcast Live team describe themselves as a bunch of podcast fans. They all have radio and podcasting backgrounds at major companies in the industry and include Matt Deegan – a co-creator of the British Podcast Awards and the Next Radio conference and John Myers, the former CEO of GMG Radio.
The first event they are organising is called Politics Live and it’s taking place on Sunday 7th April 2019 at The Light in Euston in London. Tickets start from £15 to attend an individual session or £40 for an all day ticket.
There are expected to be at least 10 podcasts taking part including Remainiacs, The Times Red Box Podcast, How I Found My Voice, The Delingpod and For The Many.
Other themed events are being planned for the future and they’ll apparently include topics such as sport, lifestyle and wellness.
For more information and to buy tickets, go to https://www.podcastlive.com.
I mentioned the British Podcast Awards and there are only a couple of days left to submit podcasts for the 2019 awards. The closing date for entries is the 1st of March so if you want to enter your podcast you don’t have much time.
This is the third year of the Awards which aim to showcase the best british podcasts of the year.
All types of podcast producers are invited to enter and there are plenty of different categories to allow different genres to be recognised. In fact, there are 15 categories and three special awards, as well as the Podcast of the Year which is chosen from the winners of each of the main 15 categories.
For more details about entering and about the awards night itself, which is on 18th May in London visit https://www.britishpodcastawards.com
Now, I don’t know many people who still maintain a Pro account on Soundcloud – I cancelled mine a while ago now but if you do have one, Soundcloud has just announced that they have introduced a distribution tool which allows creators to have their uploads pushed to other music and digital services,
Some of the platforms supported are Amazon Music, Apple Music, Instagram, Spotify, Tencent, and YouTube Music.
This might well be useful for anyone posting original content on Soundcloud. You must have zero copyright strikes and at least 1,000 monetizable track plays per month in the markets where the listen, subscription and advertising programs are available. That means the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. If you’re in one of these countries then take a look and see if this could be useful for you – I can certainly see the Instragram integration being potentially useful.
Finally for this week, a quick update on my new radio show. Not a lot to report to be honest. I have been spending some time considering the format and looking at sources of material for the storytelling parts of the show. Hopefully I’ll have more progress to report next time!
