DeepSummary
In this podcast episode, Jeff Umbro interviews Steve Wilson, Chief Strategy Officer at Q Code Media, a podcast production company known for its prestige fiction series. They discuss the process of creating fiction podcasts, from ideation to production and marketing, as well as the potential for adapting these audio stories into other mediums like TV and film. Steve shares insights from his previous experience at Apple Podcasts and his role in shaping the early days of the podcast industry.
Steve provides details on Q Code's approach to partnerships, ownership rights, and supporting creators. He emphasizes their focus on finding distinctive ideas and working with notable talent like actors and writers. The conversation also touches on strategies for visual design, cross-promotion, and monetization through subscriptions and advertising.
Throughout the interview, Steve expresses optimism about the future of podcasting and the growing interest in fiction series. He highlights the potential for audio dramas to reach new audiences and the opportunities that arise from the medium's uniqueness in allowing listeners to imagine the story's world.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Q Code Media is a podcast production company known for its high-quality, prestige fiction series featuring notable actors and creators.
- They approach fiction podcasts with a focus on distinctive ideas, high production values, and the potential for adapting these audio stories into other mediums like TV, film, and books.
- Q Code prioritizes partnerships with creators, offering different models of ownership and support based on the level of involvement and investment.
- Visual design, cross-promotion, and subscriptions are key strategies for marketing and monetizing their fiction podcasts.
- Steve Wilson expresses optimism about the future of podcasting, citing the growing audience, platform investment, and the medium's ability to capture listeners' attention.
- Q Code's CEO, Rob Hurting, brings experience in packaging stories for TV and film, which informs the company's approach to adapting their audio fiction.
- The fiction podcast space is seen as an opportunity for growth rather than competition, as there are still many listeners who have not yet experienced the genre.
- Platforms like Apple and Spotify are enhancing their podcast offerings, creating new opportunities for publishers and content creators.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “These are shows that are produced at a really high level, typically multicast and as mentioned, really high end actors. One of the exciting things that Rob, our founder, had really seen an opportunity in is frankly, taking those stories which start in audio, and then thinking about how those worlds could live in other forms, you know, the IP kind of existing in tv and film or books and some other areas.“ by Steve Wilson
- “I am optimistic very, very much so, that the fundamentals of podcasting are there. There's more audience than ever before, the platforms are investing more than ever before, and there's more of them. You know, YouTube and others are really getting involved in the space with this just being such a beloved medium, you know, and, and being so sticky, as we all know it sort of takes over people's share of ears or even how they frankly, spend their time.“ by Steve Wilson
- “We have Q code plus, which is a subscription router fiction shows, but we also operate a number of subscriptions with partners around a show level subscription tailored to the benefits of that show and that audience.“ by Steve Wilson
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Episode Information
Podcast Perspectives: a Podglomerate show about the podcast industry and the people behind it
Jeff Umbro, The Podglomerate LLC
1/10/24