ABSTRACT
The business of podcast producing is small compared to other media market segments. But it is growing fast, high profile, and creatively vibrant – a source of ideas, formats and talent for the wider media business. The podcast business is examined through the four phases of the media value creation model: Development, Production, Distribution and Monetisation. Development for podcast ideas is achieved at low cost by individuals or small companies. Production expenses range from zero, to small teams costing a few thousand dollars per episode, to (extremely rarely) major stars on large appearance fees. Many of the 3.2 million podcasts listed on Spotify (March 2022) are freelance-produced and owned. But there are also major podcast publishers such as Gimlet, iHeart Radio, the New York Times and the BBC. Distribution is mainly platform-agnostic. It is done both direct (e.g., from the website of French newspaper Le Figaro) and via third party providers – such as Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, RadioPublic, Amazon and YouTube. Where an exclusive deal has been struck, distribution can be platform-specific, such as some material from The Joe Rogan Experience, available only on Spotify. Monetisation is achieved in multiple ways, some of which are in an embryonic state: paid production, advertising sales, e-commerce, sponsorship sales/affiliate deals, listener donations, working as a development factory for TV/film, and selling the production business. The chapter has a section on AI technologies in podcasting. It ends with a class exercise on B2B and B2C podcast creation and marketing.
