DeepSummary
Eric Newsom, the co-founder of the podcast production company Magnificent Noise and writer of the newsletter Audio Insurgent, discusses his experience and views on the podcast industry. He talks about the motivation behind his newsletter and how writing helps him process his thoughts. Newsom expresses concerns about the podcast industry's overreliance on advertising revenue and the lack of risk tolerance and vision beyond short-term ad sales.
Newsom shares his perspective on the broadcast industry, suggesting that it shifted from being in the community voice business to solely focusing on advertising, leading to its decline. He draws parallels with the podcast industry, warning against the same pitfalls and emphasizing the need for diversified revenue streams.
Regarding Magnificent Noise, Newsom explains their approach of working with passionate clients, often large institutions and media companies, to create unique and award-winning podcasts. He highlights the importance of understanding the target audience and tailoring the show's sound to their preferences.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Eric Newsom expresses concerns about the podcast industry's overreliance on advertising revenue and lack of long-term vision.
- He draws parallels between the podcast industry and the decline of the broadcast industry, which shifted focus from community engagement to solely prioritizing advertising.
- Newsom emphasizes the importance of diversifying revenue streams in the podcast industry to avoid the pitfalls faced by the broadcast industry.
- Magnificent Noise focuses on working with passionate clients, often large institutions and media companies, to create unique and award-winning podcasts.
- They prioritize understanding the target audience through collaborative persona exercises and tailor the show's sound and content to appeal to that specific audience.
- Newsom believes in being open to feedback and making significant changes to match the target audience's preferences, even if it contradicts initial assumptions.
- He advocates for not being afraid of taking risks and trying new approaches in podcast production.
- Newsom expresses frustration with companies that lay off employees due to poor decision-making by executives, who often remain unaffected.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “I get very angry when I see these companies laying off dozens or in some cases, hundreds of people because of their own shitty decision making. They brought these people on, didn't give them the right set of instructions, or give them. Give them what they needed to succeed. And who loses their job? The executives who thought it all, no, no, they're fine. In fact, sometimes they walk away great. But the people they hired, who trusted them, who believed in them, they're the ones who got hurt.“ by Eric Newsom
- “One of the things we do at magnificent noise, we do it for almost every project we do, is we actually have a little exercise at the beginning where everyone who works on it, from us, the client, whole group of people come up with Personas of who we think that audience is. And we all present them to each other, and we talk about how they're the same or different. And we tend to walk out of that room picking just one who is. It's got to be right for this person.“ by Eric Newsom
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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
11/29/23