In the time since the word podcast became common parlance the audio medium has gone through several distinct stages.
The first, What is this podcast thing?, really started gaining traction in Australia around 2017, with the pioneering true crime podcast Serial debuting in 2014 and ABC Conversations (which I’ll come back to later) way back in 2005.
The second, How do I make one?, we can track back to the pandemic where people had time, at home, for creative and connective ideas.
The third, as we emerged somewhat back into normal life, was how can I make mine better? Independent podcast and audio production companies sprung up to assist with the process.
The fourth, where we are now, was articulated perfectly by Kellie Riordan (pictured), the former managing editor of ABC Audio Studios who stepped out on her own to set up the audio and podcast consultancy business Deadset Studios around the time of the How Do I Make One stage.
She called it What is the Story Worth?
This is a multi-pronged question as it asks the podcast creator whether they are offering something that meets a need, be it hearing someone walking in similar shoes to yours, like Deadset Studio’s most recent Hold The Moment, by people living with dementia. Or, for the true crime fan, a deep dive into a case they’ve only seen surface headlines about, like news.com.au’s investigation of the William Tyrell case.
It also asks whether embarking on a story telling adventure is worth you and your station, your family and/or your colleagues’ time?
Then there are additional questions of how much time?
How long should it be?
And who for?
Kellie, Deadset Studios and Insightfully recently released the second PodPoll answering some of these questions from a consumer point of view. She will speak about insights from PodPoll at the upcoming CBAA Conference.
I first encountered Kellie while she was still with the ABC. In those heady early days of podcasts they had invited people to submit ideas that could be workshopped into series. The ABC thought they might get 300 submissions, but they ended up with around 1500.
As the founding producer of ABC’s Conversations, Australia’s most downloaded podcast, Kellie has the capacity to see the route through a wild and overgrown bushland plot to a clearly delineated finish line. She can tell when something needs fertilizer, or a thorough prune.
She can also tell when someone’s language has been overly influenced by gardening programs.
The broad appeal of podcasts means there’s still plenty of space for the niche. Niche is the playground of community radio, like the musical acts, history and genres covered in 4ZZZ Brisbane’s From A to Triple Zed or 2Dry FM’s Water Watch Radio examination of the Wilcannia Weir Project, both of which have really impressed Kellie.
The latter podcast contributed to the project being paused, which is tremendously significant to Wilcannia, with hopefully far-reaching tributaries to other communities fighting different land and water battles.
The intersection of niche and broad appeal, time, worth and story will be part of what Kellie will bring to the CBAA conference, as well as PodPoll 24 results showing the overall stickiness of podcasting.
Kellie, as you can hear above, is still so enthused over what is still to come, and Deadset Studio’s role in assisting others to navigate the podcast process.
I am too.
Kellie Riordan is speaking at the upcoming CBAA Conference, on Friday October 18, about PodPoll 2024 Insights, Strategies and Success Stories.