We’re Audio People Now…
Forget the line between Radio and Podcasts
I’m back after a brief Radio Days Munich related hiatus.
If you’ve never been to Radio Days, it’s well worth a visit by the way, and despite the name, they have expanded to look at Radio, Podcasts and Audio.
Next year’s event is in Athens, and it happens in early March.
The event is technically two days, but the Sunday features Summits, which this year focused on AI, Podcasting and Youth.
I was speaking as part of the “Ask the Expert” Podcast panel, expertly hosted by James Cridland, and featuring Brett Spencer, Joanne Sweeney and Arielle Nissenblatt.
Arielle in particular is a force of nature when it comes to podcasts and her passion and advocacy is truly remarkable.
There were 1500 attendees at this year’s event in Munich, and the event had a brilliant, excited energy about it which I haven’t seen in a while.
Radio vs Podcasts
There’s been an ongoing debate in the comment section of the newsletter about young people and how much or how little they listen to radio. And it was extremely useful to see the presentation from the EBU’s Media Intelligence Service (MIS) which gave some really clear and consistent numbers from across Europe
Matthieu Rawolle gave an excellent presentation comparing the impact of podcasting on audiences across Europe, and it’s clear to see that whether it’s radio or podcasts, audio has a strong future.
I think that we find ourselves sitting on one side, or the other of the audio fence – we’re “radio people”, we’re “podcast people”, but we need to take a step aback and become “Audio People”.
One of the most useful presentations for a radio person, was probably James Cridland’s whistlestop guide through the AI tools that podcasters are already using.
I was sitting watching him work, and thinking with my podcast brain, when it occurred to me, that almost all of the clever stuff he was showing us would work perfectly well in radio too.
And that got me thinking on a much broader level.
Firstly, from a Radio point of view…
We obsess about radio and whether or not people are still committed to us, even as Weekly Reach numbers are at all time highs, particularly in Ireland and the UK.
We worry about the potential loss of younger audiences, although when I look at five year trends, it doesn’t appear to be dramatically affecting the 20 – 24 audience profile.
We feel that podcasts are a threat at some level, concerned that they’re trying to “eat our lunch” in terms of revenue, but frankly, the money in podcasting is nowhere near the kind of revenue that radio is consistently turning over year after year.
From a Podcast Point of View…
Well, things can look bleak at times in the world of podcasting.
We’re under pressure from the tech platforms who used to be our friends, between the change in Apple’s download statistics and the gradual retreat of some of the big players who poured money into production and deals for individual podcasts, it can look a little grim.
Not only that, but advertising remains at a pretty low rate for podcasting, with only a small number of shows accessing top tier sponsorships, and programmatic and campaign advertising CPMs insufficient to make podcasting a proper business for many.
Equally as an Independent podcast producer, the rise of big budget Dadcasts, from the likes of Goalhanger and newspaper groups, has soaked up a lot of audience and a lot of talent budget.
Oh, and don’t forget we may see the BBC begin to compete for a slice of the relatively small commercial revenue too.
So, it sounds bad at times.
Don’t Despair…
That’s where Radio Days was really useful. It reminded me that the reason we’re all doing this, is we love audio, we have a passion for it, a love of listening to it, making it and talking about it.
And the audience loves audio too.
Remember, the current Generation Alpha, who are zooming up behind Generation Z and the now almost elderly Millennials are absolutely soaked in audio.
Their social platforms churn out short form audio / video content, they send each other voicenotes, they have smart speakers in their bedrooms, and they are genuinely enthused by podcast and audio content.
However they find out, however they make it, audio is firmly in their world, and we make audio!
That optimism is matched by the consistently rising audiences for podcasting, even as we struggle with the economics of making it.
And if Radio remains stubbornly Linear in it’s approach for now, that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way.
Think Differently in Audio
That’s the other thing that struck me at Radio Days – that with my Radio hat on, I can see that we as radio people tend to make podcasts that are reflective of our own on air output.
So we’ll recycle and repurpose content, do best of shows, or weekly shows which are based on our existing content, but we’re not really engaging with podcasting in that way.
We have incredible talent on air – and we should really think about what we’re asking them to do on Podcasts.
Take this podcast for example – it features the hosts of the Q107 morning show in Toronto, but it’s not about the morning show, instead it’s about “Bad Parenting”.
It’s a really good example of how to use your radio talent differently, and thanks to my newfound friend and fellow panellist Alison Broddle from the CBC for introducing me to it
And of course, we need to think from a radio point of view about the talent in podcasting.
Where can you find hosts who understand audio, who have good chemistry and experience of presenting a regular show?
Maybe, just maybe, you should spend more time listening to podcasts!
This has been the 38th official edition of the RAudio Newsletter.
Apart from writing newsletters, I also consult to radio stations and podcasts, so if you have a question, or a project you need help on, drop me an email – liamathompson@gmail.com
You can also send feedback, questions or potential topics – you can also get me on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/liamthompsonconsulting/ or on Twitter @Maxliam
Wow! Thank you for the kind words. Great to meet you!