Backstage Pass to the World

The popularity of podcasts is on the rise. Whether listeners are looking for comedy, politics, sports, or crime stories, there are podcasts for all tastes, and companies are expanding the medium by focusing on different genres and markets.

“There is money to be made in making podcasts, so a lot more podcasts are being made, so you can serve smaller audiences,” said KCRW’s “Below the Ten” podcast host David Weinberg.

Edison Research reports about 73 million people of all ages listen to podcasts regularly. The number of podcast streams per person has risen from an average of five to seven each month — just in this past year. The on-demand nature of podcasts has contributed to their popularity, because it’s easier for listeners to fit podcasts into their schedules.

“A lot of [the popularity of podcasts] is that Netflix mentality: ‘I want to watch what I want to watch, when I want to watch it’,” said KFI News Anchor Aron Bender.

Podcasts from smaller companies outnumbered podcasts from bigger companies on Time’s top podcast list this year.  Some radio stations are also trying to tap into the popularity of podcasts.

“We take our shows and we podcast those shows,” Bender said, “and do so in such a way that people can consume them, so we take out most of the commercials, if not all the commercials.”

Podcasters are not limited by time constraints or FCC regulations the way live radio is. Podcasters have complete creative control over what they talk about, but making a living from podcasting is harder than in traditional radio.

“If all you want to do is make a podcast, then it’s going to be tough,” said Weinberg. “They say – I don’t know if this is still true – that you have to have 20,000 regular listeners to get advertisers to take your call, and even at that level you’re probably not going to be making enough.”

One common mistake new podcasters make is not being focussed and consistent. With more podcasts flooding the market, podcasters have to find a niche. If podcasters don’t post new episodes consistently, tailored to fit their audience, they can lose steam and stunt their growth.

“Try to drill down and focus,” Bender said, “so you can find that niche audience, and once you have them hooked, they’re going to start telling all their friends who are probably interested in that as well, and that’s how you grow a podcast.”

Podcasters have a farther reach than traditional radio. Podcasts can be heard worldwide on the internet, while radio shows can be heard only in the region they’re located.

“Even if it’s just one person listening,” Bender said, “there’s got to be chemistry with that person, and the microphone, and the listener. They’ve got to connect somehow…Even Seinfeld — he’ll say he’s got a show about nothing, but no it’s not about nothing. You’ve got this character-driven show… [The audience] likes to hate these characters, and the choices they’re making.”

Celebrities podcasters have the advantage of a built-in audience. For non-celebrity podcasters, figuring out how to stand out is important.

“The key difference between a good and a bad podcast is editing,” Weinberg said. “Through that refining process, is how you make things really good.”

The rising popularity of podcasting has made it more viable for some podcasters to make it their full-time job.

“Now, podcasting is a cool thing to do,” Weinberg said. “I think if someone said to me ‘you’re going to get this job where you get to fly all over the world to talk to people and get paid’, I would say ‘yeah! I’ll do it’.”

Moderator: Manuel Fuentes

Producer: Ahmad Akkaoui

Anchor: Sandy Chavez

Social Media Editor: Tammera Magaña

Reporters: Ahmad Akkaoui, Sandy Chavez, Manuel Fuentes, Tammera Magaña, Mario Saucedo and Natalia Vivino