>My suspicion is that podcasts are going to borrow from the music industry in the form of podcasts being something they give away in hopes of making money through merchandise, events, additional media such as books or subscriber-only episodes, or more likely, broadcaster access in the form of communities.
I primarily listen to podcasts from stand-up comedians, and this exactly what most of them do now, and I agree that it may be the best (or at least more realistic and palatable) option for everyone involved.
My favorite podcasts are the "comic hang" type. They're basically an hour or two of funny people being funny, and producing these podcasts seem to benefit the hosts and guests in a few possible ways:
1. As an avenue to gain fans who will attend live shows or buy albums and other merch (which are in turn promoted on the show)
2. As a platform to publicly work out new stand-up material in a conversational setting (giving us "civilians" a glimpse inside their creative process -- probably my favorite part)
3. As a direct revenue stream through donations/subscriptions/advertisments/sponsorships
I've been listening to comedy podcasts since probably 2007, and, unfortunately, I've seen more than a few take a nosedive in quality when point 3 becomes the priority.
'giving "civilians" a glimpse inside the creative process'
One of my favorite podcasts is Song Exploder. Artists talk about how they create a specific song, including the thought process, context, and history behind specific sounds and segments that make up the song, and then the song is played in full at the end. It covers quite a variety of genres.
I don't object to any genre wholesale, but there's only a couple that I really like listening to. But the story and creative process that is broken down in Song Exploder is completely agnostic from the genre it was produced under and is interesting enough for me to drop any other podcast I'm playing to listen regardless of the genre.
Probably my current favorite is Tuesdays With Stories[0]. It's a consistently funny show and a unique look into the lives of a couple of comedians with pretty distinct personalities as they continue to progress in their careers. I've had the chance to meet both of them and they're awesome dudes as well.
I primarily listen to podcasts from stand-up comedians, and this exactly what most of them do now, and I agree that it may be the best (or at least more realistic and palatable) option for everyone involved.
My favorite podcasts are the "comic hang" type. They're basically an hour or two of funny people being funny, and producing these podcasts seem to benefit the hosts and guests in a few possible ways:
1. As an avenue to gain fans who will attend live shows or buy albums and other merch (which are in turn promoted on the show)
2. As a platform to publicly work out new stand-up material in a conversational setting (giving us "civilians" a glimpse inside their creative process -- probably my favorite part)
3. As a direct revenue stream through donations/subscriptions/advertisments/sponsorships
I've been listening to comedy podcasts since probably 2007, and, unfortunately, I've seen more than a few take a nosedive in quality when point 3 becomes the priority.