Episodes

In March of 2023 the podcast agency Maximum Fun announced the company would convert to a worker-owned model. At the same time, Maximum Fun’s founder, Jesse Thorn, would be stepping down as CEO after nearly 20 years at the company (though would still work at MaxFun). In this episode, I'm checking in with current CEO Bikram Chatterji to see how things are going. Bikram and I discuss why the company made this move, what it means to be a worker-owner, and the implications that the new model has on Maximum Fun’s business and Culture. For more from Maximum Fun you can visit their website maximumfun.org. Between March 18 and March 29, 2024 they are running their annual listener fund drive. If you’re interested in donating you can visit maximumfun.org/join. You can find Bikram on LinkedIn or Twitter @chattbot I’m on all the socials @JeffUmbro If you want to learn more about Maximum Fun and other cooperatives in podcasting: Maximum Fun’s website: https://maximumfun.org/co-op/…

Since the launch of Up and Vanished Season 1 in 2016, Tenderfoot TV has steadily grown into one of the most important companies in the podcast industry. To explain how Tenderfoot TV got to where it is today, CEO Donald Albright joins me to talk about Tenderfoot’s unique approach to podcast marketing, how they leveraged the success of Up and Vanished to develop partnerships across the industry, and how they’re measuring success in 2024. You can find more from Tenderfoot TV at their website tenderfoot.tv and check out the Season 4 of Up and Vanished wherever you get your podcasts. Donald is on LinkedIn and Twitter @dalbright03. I’m on all the socials @JeffUmbro The Podglomerate offers production, distribution, and monetization services for dozens of new and industry-leading podcasts. Whether you’re just beginning or a seasoned podcaster, we offer what you need. To find more about The Podglomerate: Show Page: https://listen.podglomerate.com/show/podcast-perspectives/…

Chris Peterson is betting big on the podcast industry in 2024. The ex-iHeart executive founded DWNLOAD Media, a podcast roll-up aimed at buying and operationalizing existing podcast companies to compete with the giants in the space. He’s currently in the early stages of development, pitching investors and audio companies on the idea. To promote his venture, Chris recently released the 2024 DWNLOAD Report, a white paper arguing that podcasting is undervalued and will continue to grow. Chris and I dive deep into the arguments he makes in the report, clarifying why he’s so bullish on podcasting, and how DWNLOAD media would help create a sustainable and thriving industry.

Today I’m chatting with Dusty Weis, Founder and President of the B2B podcast production company Podcamp Media. Podcamp is a small but mighty firm based in Wisconsin. They largely works with companies, brands, and trade associations also based in the Midwest. Dusty does for brands what typically takes a whole team – from conceptualizing to producing shows for his clients. Dusty's background is in radio, where he began his career as a journalist and producer. He saw firsthand how the industry weathered the enormous contraction caused by the 2008 crash. Dusty walks me through his history in the radio industry and what podcasters can learn from it. We also chat about why he moved into B2B podcasting, his approach to production, and how he leverages his original show Lead Balloon to bring in new business.

The antiquated radio drama is making a comeback, now rebranded as “fiction podcasts,” and agencies like QCODE Media are leading the way in making these shows marquee programming. Their production is up there with the best, the artwork has the iconic look of an HBO original, and they’ve cast A-list Hollywood stars like Rami Malek, Kerry Washington, and Matthew McConaughey, to name a few.

Today we’re shifting our focus away from podcasts and toward its sister industry: audiobooks. While the explosive growth of podcasting has dominated headlines in the audio world, the audiobooks market has slowly and steadily grown alongside it. Today, the international audiobook industry can claim $5 billion in revenue, while podcasting boasts around $2 billion.

Music and podcasting, in many ways, are a natural combo. Today, they’re often even consumed on the same platform. The music podcast subgenre is brimming with opportunity for interesting new collaborations, formats, and technologies. The result: this niche within podcasting is producing some of the most innovative projects out there.

2023 has been a tough year for a lot of people in the podcast industry. Years of investment in the space looks to be slowing down, and dozens of companies are reeling because of it. It’s clear to most that the business side of podcasting will have to be more intentional moving forward. To discuss this transition, I’m speaking with Jenna Weiss-Berman, Head of Podcasts at Audacy. Jenna has seen it all in podcasting, from her beginnings in public radio, to co-founding the wildly successful Pineapple Street Studios, and now working as the Head of Podcasts at one of the largest global audio distributors. Her voice carries a lot of weight in the industry.

Like the rest of the world, podcasting is becoming a global business. However here in the Anglophone world, we don’t hear much about what’s going on in other podcasting markets like LATAM, India, China, let alone create content to serve these markets. Folks like Lory Martinez, founder and CEO of Studio Ochenta, are here to help bridge that gap. Studio Ochenta is a multilingual podcast agency currently operating in 27 languages, both creating original series and working with clients on adaptations.

Eric Nuzum has been on the front lines of the audio industry for more than 20 years. He was the man who helped NPR move into the podcast space, before heading to Audible to lead their original podcast development. Today, he is a co-founder of Magnificent Noise, a boutique production agency for huge brands. On top of his production and consulting work, he also writes about the audio industry in his newsletter, The Audio Insurgent.

How do you reach your target audience? While this is a challenge for all podcasters, it’s especially important in the branded podcast space, where it’s often not always obvious who your listener is, let alone how to make a show they’d want to listen to. Quill and CoHost founder and CEO Fatima Zaidi is tackling this challenge. Quill is a branded podcast agency that produces, distributes and markets shows for Fortune 500 companies. CoHost is a podcast hosting platform (and recently a prefix) that provides analytics specifically designed for brands.

In 2020 Bryan Barletta founded Sounds Profitable – a company committed to setting the course of the audio business by creating free educational materials, research, and connecting different players in the industry. Today I’m chatting with Bryan about what they’ve been up to recently, what exactly the “future of the audio business” should look like, and relevant changes in Apple Podcasts from iOS 17.

Lemonada Media launched as a brand new podcast network with just one show in 2019. Just four years later, they've grown into a network of nearly 50 podcasts known for pumping out audio hits – Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Last Day, Believe Her, and more. Keen observers will also notice their innovative partnerships, like the Lemonada Book Club made in collaboration with Apple Books.

In 2021 HubSpot made a surprising move to acquire The Hustle, a newsletter along with the My First Million podcast. The Hustle and MFM eventually became the base of what today is the HubSpot Podcast Network, an audio unit within HubSpot aimed at funneling sales towards their other more lucrative products. The network has greatly expanded over the last two years, today boasting dozens of shows and millions of monthly downloads.

This year the podcasting giant iHeartMedia launched a new division called Ruby, which works exclusively to create and amplify podcasts for brands. To understand why iHeart made this move and what Ruby is up to, today I’m chatting with Ruby’s Director of Audience Development, Amber Smith.

Evan Shapiro writes the newsletter “Media War and Peace” where he maps out the state of the media industry using data visualization models. He’s also a professor at NYU and used to work in podcast and television development at IFC Sundance and NBC Universal’s Seeso.

In 2017 after stints at SiriusXM and Audacy, Chris Colbert founded his own podcast agency, DCP Entertainment. DCP defines itself as a media platform for underrepresented voices, including people of color, women, the LGBTQ+ community, and other overlooked communities. Fast forward to today and DCP works with some of the biggest brands in the world, including State Farm, Dell, Acast, and creates some of the largest shows in the industry.

Is the podcast industry at the end of an era? The beginning of a new one? Or are we just seeing the natural ups and downs of a developing market? Today’s episode collects a panel of industry experts to weigh in on this discourse by taking a step back and looking at the entire podcast industry through its past, present, and future. The panel includes: Amrita Khalid, reporter at The Verge and writer at Hot Pod, one of the largest newsletters covering the audio industry. Alex Goldman, formerly a producer and co-host of Gimlet’s Reply All, now a freelancer spending a lot of time thinking and writing about the state of the industry. Rachael King, CEO and founder of Pod People, a full-service podcast production agency.

The Washington Post’s Lillian Cunningham produced, wrote, and hosted one of the Washington Post’s first podcasts: Presidential, a series about the history of the American presidents. Despite the show being Lillian and The Post’s first audio project, it was an immediate hit. Since then, Lillian has gone on to produce and host three more narrative series for The Post, including Constitutional, Moonrise, and most recently Field Trip, a series about the messy past and uncertain future of America’s national parks.

In 2017 Russell Weissman joined All Things Comedy as an early employee, and was recently promoted to COO. He’s been a key figure in guiding the company’s growth. Today All Things Comedy is one of the largest podcast networks in the world, and by any measure can be considered a media company that spans well beyond podcasting. And yet! They still maintain the original indie / co-op foundation the company was founded on.

Back in 2017 Bradley Davis and a small team founded Podchaser, a company that has since become a leading database for podcast discovery – it’s widely been called the “IMDB of podcasting.”

Recently there’s been a lot of chatter around the public radio in podcasting discourse. Joining Jeff to break it all down is Rebecca Lavoie, Director of On-Demand Audio at New Hampshire Public Radio. Rebecca has been with NHPR for 10 years, but is also familiar with the commercial side of the industry through her work with Netflix and Partners in Crime Media, the audio company she runs with her husband.

For many, “B2B podcasting” conjures up some bleak images: 45-minute pitches on a vaguely defined product, buzzword-filled conversations in an exec-filled Zoom call, or the dreaded infomercial-style podcast. Here to change that is today’s guest, Harry Morton. In 2017, Harry founded Lower Street Media, a podcast services company for enterprise companies, agencies and startups. Lower Street produces award-winning podcasts for brands of all sizes.

While most podcasters rely on advertising to fund their operations, a successful strategy isn’t always guaranteed. In recent years many podcasters have tried to focus on alternative revenue streams, such as premium subscription feeds.