Mr. Cundill Goes to Washington

Sounding Off About...

• The Podcast Movement Redux

• Sharon Taylor from Triton Digital Sounds Off

• Best Thing I Heard This Week

• The Voiceover Stuff

I went to Washington, DC last week. I did not get to hit everything as I was there for Podcast Movement at National Harbor in Maryland. I got to walk sights at night with the host of Journey into Yoga’s Avery Rich, and the head of the Women in Media Podcast Network’s Sarah Burke. The touristic takeaway is you need a solid three days of touring if you want to see everything in Washington, DC.

The Podcast Movement Redux

On to the Podcast part. Here are the notes I jotted down. Some are reminders of things I already know but have forgotten; others are fresh takeaways:

1. There are so many podcasters wasting the aesthetic aspect of their show. Get some artwork, get some sound design and make sure it looks good. If you don’t look good… YOU don’t look good.

2. Research is more important than ever. With all the data available and all the ways to collect data, you have more intel than ever on your audience. The key to growing your audience is knowing your audience.

3. When someone says you need 10,000 downloads a month before getting ads, they are talking about their advertisers. Not your podcast. Podcasting is about building communities: You don’t need a mass audience, you need the RIGHT audience.

4. There are still lots of ways to make money. Subscriptions, Patreon, affiliate marketing, direct ads, programmatic ads… and more. Which one is right for you? Could be all, some, or none. Ask your audience.

5. Video is a helpful marketing tool for your show. Tom Webster from Sounds Profitable said that if you cannot create a video product as strong as your audio - maybe don’t. Also Tom has a new book out about podcasting. It is not a how-to; it is about the relationship with your audience. Get it.

6. There is an awful lot of free advice out there. This newsletter included. Many people I saw in session have offered up the same advice on podcasts (like mine) or in their promotional material. If you want to learn lota - sign up for the free stuff.

7. Podcast Movement isn’t what it used to be. Peak Podcast Movement was in 2018 in Philadelphia. All that VC money floating about, apps claiming they would become the Netflix of Podcasting, and someone renting out Reading Market for a dance party. Today, Podcasting is a little more focused these days, and just as complex.

   

   Dave Jackson from Podpage, Avery Rich from Journey Into Yoga, and Me. (Courtesy: Dave Jackson’s Facebook)

8. There were fewer people and fewer exhibitors at the event. We are not sure if that’s location, economy, or price. But I do have a theory about why there are less creators at PM. There are fewer people making content. Only 306,074 podcasts have released episodes in the last 30 days. I say “only” because in 2020/2021 it was more than double that. Alas that it good news if you are starting a show! So book a call with me and let’s start your show.

9. Credit where Credit is due. There was an issue with the noise at PM23 in Denver. My good friend Jag from Jag in Detroit loved these headphones that people got to use for the sessions to cut down on all the ambient noise in the exhibition hall. You can catch Jag’s takeaways from Podcast Movement here.

   

10. You are not really podcasting anymore. You are doing a show. The bar is now super high. So make sure that you are making the best quality show.

Sharon Taylor from Triton Digital Sounds Off

This is Sharon Taylor from Triton Digital. Back in 2017 Fred Jacob was kind enough to invite me to a “Broadcaster’s Meet Podcasters” dinner at Roy’s in Anaheim, before PM17. I was seated beside Gregr, the morning show host at 107.7 The End in Seattle, and Sharon Taylor, (then) CEO of OMNY. We all had such a good time talking about what we did in media. At the end of the night, Gregr agreed to appear on the show, and Sharon allowed me to start a show that would later become You May Also Like, on OMNY Studio. It was not long after that, I found many of the OMNY tools to be helpful in building out a network that would become what we have today. The foundation for the company is built on kindness and generosity. Which is a long way from when Matt & Jake offered to jet the Bush Twins to come party with us on Whyte Avenue in 2001.

Sharon now works for Triton Digital which is based out of Montreal, and we talked about the city, podcasting, Canadian podcasting, and you will not be bored.

STOP IT!

Stop thinking you are going to buy a Shure MV-7 Mic. It has been discontinued. What you are now looking for is the Shure MV-7+ which I have not tested. Let me know if it is any good.

Best Thing I Heard This Week…

Kolter Bouchard joined Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast, opening up about his time at Corus Toronto, their eventual parting of the ways, and working to overcome bitterness. We also get in to why he thinks radio talent is uniquely positioned for success in the content creator space, in an episode called, Kolter Bouchard's Reinvention

The Voiceover Stuff