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You must be familiar by now: Its been acrummyyearfor thepodcastworld.
No one can tell the story of what happened better than those who went through it, though.
), we also gave respondents the optional opportunity to talk about the year and whats ahead.
In this iteration, they were asked:
1.
Its been an exceptionally difficult year for the podcast world.
How would you describe what happened?
What do you anticipate, or hope, next year is going to bring?
Some respondents agreed to be named.
Others stuck to anonymity.
Taken together, I think they represent a decent snapshot of this moment in time from the ground up.
How would you describe what happened in podcasting this year?
An executive:I think 2023 for podcasting was what 2000 was for the dot-com business.
The tide of Hollywood people, VCs, tech companies, and drunken platforms is finally receding.
Whats left is a very strong business that will start to grow again.
Martin Austwick, independent musician and audiomaker:Just a load of terrible bullshit.
Lots of people lost their jobs, freelancers struggling to find work.
The terrible idiots are probably doing fine.
These behaviors are largely at the heels of for-profit companies being extractive of the medium.
Also podcast ads are terrible and no one likes them.
An independent publisher:It was a market-correction year.
So now everyone else is left to pick up the pieces.
Christine Laskowski, creator and host ofT&J:Lukas Matssonis real, yall.
Maybe put out more listener surveys?)
Podcasting was unique because it never had a plan.
An editor:I have no clue what happened this year.
I just want chicken Alfredo andhealth care, honey.
And now we know which emperors have no clothes.
An agent:This is a matter of bad management more than issues with business fundamentals.
Julie Carli, an audio journalist:Ive called 2023 The Year of the Butthole because its all shit.
Boom-time money dried up and distributors got scared.
Thats resulted in brutal, successive lay-offs and a preference for always-on shows.
John Shields, director of podcasts atTheEconomist:Im less gloomy than most.
Ian Wheeler, publisher at Talkhouse:Weve had an absolutely amazing year.
Those places arent buying shows anywhere near the clip they were.
Many of us are also affected by the buyers nervousness, for sure.
Were counting on you.
What do you anticipate, or hope, next year is going to bring?
An independent publisher:I do think 2024 will be a bounce-back/rebuilding year.
A host:This year is going to be difficult.
I dont think the lay-offs or show cancellations are over.
If podcasting ever has a golden age, I hope it hasnt happened yet.
What I hope for next year is that we seenewbreakout shows.
More people will go the Patreon route.
That money will become as scarce as the ad money is now.
People will have a go at get into film.
The film world is also struggling.
The rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer.
I personally am hoping to go the rich-spouse route.
A narrative producer:Hahah we are all fucked.
Hard to imagine anyone having a good year.
Avery Trufelman, creator ofArticles of Interest:I think I hope more people will venture to go indie.
Its not the easiest way, but its so worth it.
At least, thats what I hope next year could bring.
An independent producer:Im hopeful that were going to see a collectively owned podcast company launch in 2024.
I am very invested in an anti-corporate version of the podcast future.
We can weather this storm through a foundation of community reliance, similar to the independent art economy.
Reporters and producers that cut tape, engineers, writers, etc.
A host:I think as the podcast platforms become more extractive and unpredictable (hi, Spotify!
), YouTube becomes more alluring.
And theres so much audience there.
But it also costs something real in terms of the ability to manipulate and create great audio and experiences.
I couldnt do what I am now doing there at a quality level Id find acceptable.
But does that mean Im leaving a ton of audience on the table?
Its a hard question, I think.
Right now, its just so crowded.
An executive:I hope we can stop telling the same stories over and over again about the industry.
Now that the bright lights of capital are dimmed, lets inject some new ideas into the system.
Erica Heilman, creator ofRumbleStrip:I have conflicted feelings about the podcasting industry.
The rapid influx of money yielded some awesome new podcasts, but it also buried podcastings origin story.
In the beginning, podcasters were making shit just because we could.
There were a lot of terrible podcasts, but at least they were all surprising.
So after the awful collapse of this industry, I hope people decide to just make stuff anyway.
People hate it when I say that.
They say, Well, I need to make a living.
And I mean,of course.
I dont have any smart answers for that, or useful ones.
At the moment, this industry is imploding.
Therearenta lot of jobs, and we need to figure out how to proceed together.
But in the meantime, I hope you just make stuff anyway.
Because theres nobody on the planet who can make a podcast exactly like you would.
