Podcast Ga Ga

Listened to an excellent bit of radio all about the future of podcasting and how established radio presenters (in this case Danny Baker) are branching out on their own and bumping their 40-min long, super-popular podcasts up the Wippit podcast download chart.

In this interview broadcast on Radio Five Live early this morning (you can Listen Again), Danny Baker explains how as podcast downloads surge, the production facilitators behind them are going to start charging listeners for this premium content. Some of the other commentators interviewed about this issue didn't believe internet users would bother to pay for podcasts when there's so much free content out there ready and waiting. The discussion's well worth a listen. (As is the Melcrum podcast series!)

Soundtrack to the blog: It's got to be "Radio Ga Ga" - Queen.

Comments

[Judy Gombita]

The vast majority of people won't pay for podcasts, premium content or not. Especially the Millennials, who think it is their god-given right to download copyrighted music for free. (This was discussed at great length during the "Always-On Generation" panel at the mesh conference. They were prepared to pay $1 for a customized ring tone, but that was about it...the rest of social media was expected to be free.)

And Annie, Radio Ga-Ga is my all-time favourite Queen track (drove my Sunday spin class instructor crazy telling him to play it each week, that is until I got my own set of Queen's Greatest Hits)...will probably end up seeing We Will Rock You (http://www.wewillrockyou.ca/) because it's one of the songs...visit the Toronto Cast page to hear its version (should be first up).

[Annie Waite]

Hi Judy,

I sort of agree, but I think on the whole the sort of people who feel passionately about music, if they have the money to spend on music, will - whether it's on the web or otherwise. And the same goes for content from the 'personalities' they admire. If they've become fond of a particular type of free content like podcasts, which then gets a price tag, the hardcore I believe will stump up the cash in order to get their mits on the content they enjoy/find useful, despite the cost. This could be for a number of reasons - maybe some will do so for ethical reasons, because they believe the people behind the podcasts should be rewarded adequately for their time, perhaps? And although this is likely to be a fairly small majority to start with, once/if it gradually becomes the norm (as a couple of people on that radio programme suggested) then won't the majority start falling in line? Meaning that insipid, commercial, more accessible stations that rarely take risks with their programming will have to radically rethink their ways of working in order to keep up with the money being made on the 'alternative' side of the tracks.

But don't worry, I imagine the Melcrum podcasts are likely to be free to download for the foreseeable future!

[Judy Gombita]

Just to be clear, it was the *panel* members who said that it was unlikely (or at best rare) that they would voluntarily pay any sum of consequence for products or services that originated on the web (including songs and films). They were unashamedly explicit that they expected the Internet to be a free zone.

The full name of the session was, "The Always-On Generation - What Do Youth Do with the Web?", Kimia Ghomeshi talks with Laila Adassi, Adam MacIssac, Erica Sum and Hugh Switzer.

At the same time, I'll point out that several of the panelists worked (paid or volunteer) for TakingITGlobal.org, "an online community that connects youth to find inspiration, access information, get involved, and take action in their local and global communities. It's the world's most popular online community for young people interested in making a difference, with hundreds of thousands of unique visitors each month."

Interesting contrast, the ethics of unashamedly downloading copyrighted material, while at the same time trying to make a positive difference in the world. (Also interesting that they were quick to admit that it was the youth in developing countries who glommed the most to TakingITGlobal's mandate and promoted their local causes/fundraising efforts. The western world's youth were much harder to recruit and keep interested....)

If you go back to Chris Anderson's The Long Tail effect, sure a (small) percentage of ardent fans might be willing to pay for targeted, first-rate content...but it will be a very small base, I guarantee it. (No fortunes will be made on that business model.)

Personally, I can't see paying for a podcast when I have publicly funded stations such as CBC Radio researching and producing first-rate information shows covering the topics I'm interested in. Last Sunday a new series began, "White Coats, Black Art" on the status of doctors/patients/the Canadian medical profession. Informative, fascinating, timely, relevant...and free.

Even if you don't charge for the Melcrum podcasts, it might be an interesting exercise to put an estimated "value" on them. ;-)

Cheers,
Judy