Podcasting goes bionic

Ask anyone in podcasting, and they’ll tell you that 2023 was not an easy year for the audio industry. Not by a long shot.

Major podcast players and platforms — from NPR and Pushkin Industries to Spotify, Stitcher, and Amazon Music — were plagued by massive layoffs. A long list of acclaimed and beloved shows — including Pulitzer Prize–winners and perpetually chart-topping “best podcasts of the year” — were cut or even cancelled. And let’s not forget the multi-million dollar unraveling of celebrity podcast deals.

Without a doubt, 2023 was a year of contradictions: It was the most tumultuous year in podcasting history, while simultaneously being a year of listener growth and increased ad revenue, not to mention a continued elevation of sound-rich journalism crafted by talented, hard-working audio makers (including The Podglomerate’s client New Hampshire Public Radio, whose Bear Brook podcast was called “the best true crime [podcast] I’ve ever heard” by none other than Stephen King).

After a year like 2023, where do we go from here? In 2024, my hope is for podcasting is to take a cue from ’70s pop culture icon Steve Austin and become bionic. Even though the audio industry is clearly going through its own version of a “bubble burst,” we can rebuild it. We have the technology. We have the capability to make podcasting better, stronger, and faster than it was before…not just for ourselves, but also for our listeners. Here’s how:

• We can make podcasting better by recognizing its power and its audience, rather than focusing on its bottom line. Podcast pro Sam Sanders said it best: “The conversation is all about what the people in charge of podcasting want and not enough about what listeners want. What none of us liked watching over the last several years was that it felt like the people who were getting the most power and money to make this stuff seemed to care the least about the craft.” We need to get back to making audio for the sake of bringing these sounds and stories to life. We need to take creative risks and giant audio leaps for the sake of our listeners, not our wallets.
• We can make podcasting stronger by safeguarding both the creativity and the creatives. If “Hot Strike Summer” taught us anything, it’s that ethical sustainability — not rapid growth — needs to be prioritized. Don’t be surprised as more podcast shops and public media stations continue to move toward unionization, or as revolutionary new paths for audio-focused worker-ownership co-op models begin to form to ensure that creators have the space to thrive.
• We can make podcasting faster by saving time and energy through AI tools. Let me be clear: AI cannot replace the power of people, particularly in a medium that is truly made possible by the intimacy of human thought and experience. What AI can do is help optimize our work as podcast creators, editors, marketers, and beyond. If you’re looking for a place to start, test out the AI capabilities of podcast-focused platforms like Descript for transcriptions, Listener.fm for show titles and episode summaries, or Ausha for social media post inspiration.

Despite this year’s headlines, podcasting is not about commodity. It never has been. It’s about the connection. And in 2024, we need to reframe what we do (and how we do it) to get back to that foundational element of this medium.