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I confirm that the attached assessment is all my own work and does not include any work completed by anyone other than myself and sources have been appropriately referenced.

Finlay Mander

ABSTRACT: 

In this essay I plan to explore all of the different genres available in the podcasting industry, at the time I’m writing this abstract essay, I can only think of a few basic podcast genres, such as comedy, sports, news, interviewing. Yet, I am certain that there is a much wider variety than these four I mentioned, as people are always innovating old ideas. Whilst taking an insight into what makes a good podcast, I want to discover why people listen and what the point of a podcast is, is it just for entertainment purposes? Personally, when I listen to podcasts, they are usually of the interview or talk show genre as once I find a guest or host with an interesting life experience(s), a unique career or anecdote. If I cannot find one which I am fully interested in, I find that podcasts can make for good background noise half of the time. In my opinion, the hosts or co-hosts are responsible for the level of success their podcast sees. However, I imagine that podcasts use their guest features or special episodes to not just provide content but to gain followers and notoriety, further expanding their business. I hope to find an insight into how people manage turn their podcast into a sustainable income. I will be using my research from the previous task (critical frameworks) to investigate all the various aspects of media podcasts cover. I want to further explore why podcasts have become so popular in recent years and the platforms which have allowed them to become so mainstream. I believe that its only right for me to also investigate the key formats that a podcast follows and its structure as they are becoming the ‘online radio’. For my research I want to look at some key areas which I haven’t previously mentioned. I am interested to see if some genres are more successful than others, or the top three genres currently. Another thing to look at would be to see the startup cost of a podcast and how much can be made from revenue. But like most popular things I want to take a look at the biggest names in the industry or biggest podcast shows globally. I will be using four main research methods when conducting my research for this essay. I’ll start with conducting secondary research which is when I’ll be looking at data which is already collected, for example, views from YouTube, downloads, and stream numbers to determine how popular the podcast is. Next, I will use quantitative research to see how much podcast creators earn from ad-revenue from their sponsorships or ad-reads. But I can also use quantitative research to measure the numbers a podcast pulls. I also want to use experimental research to see if certain age groups or genders have trends. For instance, if they have certain genres or podcast hosts they prefer. Then on the other hand I am going to use descriptive so that I can gather information and data on everyone.  

The Different Genres in Podcasting  

With almost everyone having access to the internet and a device in their pocket, you’ll find that nearly everyone does/has started listening to a podcast of some sort or have listened to one. Podcasts are playing a bigger role in people’s day to day lives than ever before. Since their recent increase in popularity, there have been multiple arguments made that believe that podcasts will soon replace radio shows or that they are to become the ‘online radio’ or the ‘modern radio’. It’s smart to predict that podcasts will only become more advanced, available, and influential in the upcoming years, meaning that they do stand a chance at replacing radio shows. The argument puts forward the claim that because traditional radio broadcasting has a limited airtime, they must try and appeal to as large an audience as possible in the short amount of time given, meaning that in most cases radio shows can feel unrelatable to a lot of people.Where as, with a podcast there is a lot more recording time available to the creator, allowing for a stronger connection to be built between listener and host quicker than one between radio show host and listener. Another point to be made is about how podcasts are a lot easier for people to access on the go.”Many local radio stations might have apps, but they can be unreliable… Spotify and iTunes are two of the easiest platforms people can access podcasts”. Amanda Mitchell (2019) Will Podcasts replace radio? Available at :https://easttennessean.com/2019/11/24/will-podcasts-replace-radio/ (Accessed 9th December 2020).  

So not only are podcasts easier to access than radio stations, but podcast also shows allow for a great level of detail on subject matters of all different genres and can be listened to at anytime, anywhere. This is the premise of the essay and what I will be looking at, whilst also exploring the other aspects of podcasting. 

As mentioned, podcasts can cover a variety of genres, from in-depth scientific discussions with leading figures in a field to fictional creepy stories. For instance, there are podcasts on; True Crime, Philosophy, Comedy, Education, Sports, Science/ Environment, Interview cast/Talk, Religion, History, News & and Politics, Audio dramas, Society/Culture, technology and anything else you can think of. In my research prior to the essay, I looked at which podcast genres were more successful than others. I found an article produced by Statista.com to aid me with my research. (Accessed 9th December 2020) The graph I took my information from is available here: https://imgur.com/dATgPlA. Taken from https://www.statista.com/statistics/786938/top-podcast-genres/#:~:text=In%20October%202020%2C%20it%20was,as%20sport%2C%20health%20and%20fitness. 

Statista had put a graph together showing the most success podcasting genres in the US since October 2020. Taking the collected information, I found out that the top 3 genres currently are Comedy, News & Politics and True crime. True Crime is one of the biggest and most successful genres, the podcast episodes run off of a schedule were the host(s) go into detail on true crime anecdotes. These podcasts find their success through the fact that most people have a natural want to find out why and how something happened, and these stories allow people to do this without having to experience the trauma themselves. For example, they often go in depth into the breakdown of the murderer. Most of the time, News podcasts feature a group of hosts who on either a weekly or daily routine produce episode(s) where they discuss a particular event in the world at the time or just cover local events, (depending of what podcast you tune into.) Comedic podcasts can vary, depending of a who you choose to listen to. Since most of these episodes will be based on popular topics in pop culture and the news it takes into account what you particularly view as funny or comedic, as everyone has a different view. 

One of the main reasons behind the rise in podcasts is the level of variety that they can provide. “Back in 2006 only twenty two percent of the adult population in the United States was aware of podcasts, by 2020 this figure had risen to seventy five percent.” (Amy Watson, 2020). 
It is also estimated that monthly eighty eight million adults in the United States listen to podcasts. With such a big market emerging I didn’t take long for big names in the industry to start emerging out of the cracks, for example, Dr. Death, which focuses on telling True Crime stories. Hosted by Dr. Fata. Another big name in the industry is Joe Rogan with The Joe Rogan Experience, his podcast features guest from all different fields of life/work meaning that each episode can delve into a new genre. The Dan Bongino show, a News & Politics podcasts, hosted by Dan Bongin an American commentator. Each of these three as some of the biggest names in their industry, provided by Podcastinsights (2020) Available at: https://www.podcastinsights.com/top-us-podcasts/ (Accessed 9th December 2020). 

When something goes mainstream it doesn’t stop, this same trend also goes for podcasts. One of the biggest indisputable contributors to the rise of podcast is the influence that major platforms had on the industry, such as; Apple Music, Spotify, Soundcloud, YouTube, Amazon Audible and Twitch.Tv made podcasts readily available and accessible for free instantaneously. These platforms also provided already established podcasts with new audiences and a new platform to branch out to.  

So, what makes people want to listen to podcasts?   

There are all sorts of reasons why someone might choose to listen to a podcast or incorporate them into a part of their daily routine. Podcasts aren’t only a source of entertainment for some people. By nature, all podcasts allow for multitasking and can provide good background noise. Yet podcasts can diversify themselves. For instance, whilst one podcast can prepare you for the next stage in life or career, another can be used to teach you about a specific field of study. Because podcasts can be so personal there isn’t a distinct ‘point’ to a podcast or a list of fundamentals one must follow since they can either be very advanced/sophisticated or very simple, each approach to the industry will appeal to its own demographic. So its up to someone what they decide to listen to.  

Once a podcast gains enough traction it can begin to be monetized via sponsorships/ad reads or in some cases an entire show can be brought by a platform in multi-million-dollar deals. However, in the early stages a podcast still has the opportunity to generate money. Merchandise sales can generate a decent amount of revenue, whether it’s from selling clothing, or providing courses and services. Direct support is also a way that small podcasts can start earning from their work, using monthly subscription services which will allow subscribers access to early or premium episodes not available to everyday listeners. However, most of the time when a podcast has a has a guest feature on an episode, they hope that it will benefit the podcast in the long run, they hope that these episodes will cause the podcast to gain traction resulting in them gaining new listeners and notoriety from it, further expanding their brand. When researching means of generating income from podcasting I created a mind map which ive attached in this essay: https://imgur.com/a/tjdleHi . When creating my mind map, I used both my own understanding of how a podcast can generate money as well as ideas from castos.com and their article on “How Much Money Can Podcasters Make And How Do They Do It?” Which is available here : https://castos.com/how-much-money-can-podcasters-make/ 

In conclusion “The Different Genres in Podcasting” provide the industries audience with hours upon hours of content whilst also promoting the opportunity to bring members of communities together. Each genre has its own uses, for instance one podcast can be used to keep people updated on worlds news and pop culture, through a serious manor with a high-quality network production team. Whereas another can be the complete opposite, the point of this podcast could be to make people have a laugh after a day of work or on their commute. As I stated initially, there is no fundamentals as to what a podcast must achieve as each podcast will find its own specific audience and then cater towards their needs. Even if a “recipe for success” is not followed, it will still find dedicated listeners, who feel connected to the content and create a commitment with themselves to keep tuning in each week. In essence, the finding the right genre makes it quite easy for an audience to fall into place.