James Cridland on Tech and Dynamic Content Driving Podcasting's Future

03/18/22 • 52 min

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In today's episode, I chat with James Cridland, founder and editor of Podnews, the leading industry publication and newsletter.

Change, or Lack Of, in Audio?

James has a long history in the audio space, with over 20 years in radio and online business. I asked him what changes he's seen since then, and he shared why he's actually surprised at how little has changed in that time, and longer. He does see a lot of opportunity in podcasting, which can only be good news for people that love audio.

Where Next for RSS?

There's a lot of talk in the industry around the role of RSS as the default podcasting distribution method. However, as Apple Subscriptions and Spotify's changes show, there seems to be a move away from this method. James predicts where he sees RSS going beyond just delivering audio, especially with the work the Podcasting 2.0 community is doing.

Why Transcripts Need to Improve

One of the areas where James feels there's a big opportunity to stand RSS apart from what some platforms are doing is in the transcript space. There's a change for app developers to really make this a more interactive medium, as well as podcast hosts, through transcripts. But the problem is we're not close enough with accuracy, at least with the automated transcript services, and this is something that drastically needs to improve, not least for accessibility.

Respecting What Creators Want

While larger podcast platforms may be looking to wrestle some control from podcasters, James shares why he's so supportive of what the Podcasting 2.0 community are doing when it comes to namespaces, and that's respecting what creators want, as opposed to platforms dictating what they should want.

We should be pressurizing companies a little bit more to respect what creators are doing.

How Culture Differences Impact Advertising on Podcasting

As someone who grew up in the UK, lives in Australia, but works with several companies in North America, James has a unique perspective as to how the different cultural approach in these places impacts podcast listening behaviour. This carries through to how ads are seen in podcasting, and why there's a reticence on the behalf of some podcasters when it comes to asking listeners for money.

Podcasters Should Get Their Hands Dirty with Code

Since Podnews is a daily publication, and it's all put together by James himself, he's had to learn how to automate the process as much as possible. This has resulted in him coding things from scratch, so feeds and stories can be pulled automatically by tags and filters. It's one of the things James feels creators can improve at - understanding the tech behind the medium.

What Big Money Means for the Podcasting Industry

With so many big money acquisitions and what looks like a consolidation of apps and platforms in the space, James shared his take on whether this was a good or bad thing for the industry.

The Problem With the Term Indie Podcaster

With the recent Ambie Awards nominations drawing ire because of an indie podcast nomination not actually being indie, there's a lot of chatter online around what defines indie podcasting. For James, though, it's the wrong conversation as this immediately devalues what podcasters are doing, and instills an excuse mindset that we don't really need.

I don't feel we should be backing indie podcasters into some form of protected silo or anything else.

Why Advertisers Need to Get Better with AdTech

James shared an example of how he heard the same ad eight times while listening to a podcast, and how that's a perfect example of where a lot of advertisers are missing the boat when it comes to adtech. Given the tools advertisers have when it comes to DAI and SAI, there really should be better quality control, and James advises how that can be done.

Key points:

02:28 The Biggest Changes in Media Broadcasting from 2004 to 2022

04:01 The Impact of RSS on the Podcasting Industry

05:59 The Benefits of Podcast Transcript Tags

10:53 The Importance of Transcripts for Podcasts

11:58 The Differences in Advertising Acceptance Between Countries

16:30 The Impact of Advertising and Listener Support on the Podcast Industry

19:50 The Process of Publishing a Daily Newsletter and Podcast Episode

30:59 The Future of Podcasting: An Industry on the Rise

38:46 The Impact of 'Indie' on Podcasting

41:55 The Benefits of Dynamic Programmatic Advertising

Connect with James:

Contact me: danny@dannybrown....

In today's episode, I chat with James Cridland, founder and editor of Podnews, the leading industry publication and newsletter.

Change, or Lack Of, in Audio?

Where Next for RSS?

Why Transcripts Need to Improve

Respecting What Creators Want

We should be pressurizing companies a little bit more to respect what creators are doing.

How Culture Differences Impact Advertising on Podcasting

Podcasters Should Get Their Hands Dirty with Code

What Big Money Means for the Podcasting Industry

With so many big money acquisitions and what looks like a consolidation of apps and platforms in the space, James shared his take on whether this was a good or bad thing for the industry.

The Problem With the Term Indie Podcaster

I don't feel we should be backing indie podcasters into some form of protected silo or anything else.

Why Advertisers Need to Get Better with AdTech

Key points:

02:28 The Biggest Changes in Media Broadcasting from 2004 to 2022

04:01 The Impact of RSS on the Podcasting Industry

05:59 The Benefits of Podcast Transcript Tags

10:53 The Importance of Transcripts for Podcasts

11:58 The Differences in Advertising Acceptance Between Countries

16:30 The Impact of Advertising and Listener Support on the Podcast Industry

19:50 The Process of Publishing a Daily Newsletter and Podcast Episode

30:59 The Future of Podcasting: An Industry on the Rise

38:46 The Impact of 'Indie' on Podcasting

41:55 The Benefits of Dynamic Programmatic Advertising

Connect with James:

Contact me: danny@dannybrown....

Previous Episode

Evo Terra on Podcasting in 2005 to Where Podcasting Goes Next

In this episode, I chat with Evo Terra, host of Podcast Pontifications and founder of Simpler Media. Evo has been podcasting since 2004, so you can be sure he's brought the goods when it comes to the podcasting industry today.

Evo Knows Podcasting

Apart from his highly regarded show, Podcast Pontifications, Evo has also launched several other podcasts since starting way back in 2004. This includes personal projects and those for clients - in fact, when you put them all together, it comes to over 1,000 podcast. It's safe to say Evo knows what he's talking about when it comes to podcasting.

The Journey to Diversity in Podcasting

One of the podcasts Evo is involved in is Three Clips from Castos. What's cool about this show is its goal to share some of the more creative approaches being taken when it comes to podcasting. On top of that Evo shares how he's stepping back from hosting the show so more diverse voices can lead it, something that - thankfully - seems to be happening more in the podcasting space.

The Changing Face of Production and Consumption

Having been podcasting for 17 years now, Evo's seen a lot of changes in the industry, especially when it comes to how we create and consume podcasts. From being a very insular space only for tech heads to being able to create a podcast with just your phone, the industry makes it super easy for anyone to start a podcast. No more downloading mp3 files to CD to listen back to!

The Argument for and Against RSS Feeds

One thing that's remained consistent with podcasting over the years is the delivery system - the old and trusted RSS feed. However, while that's the de facto method of podcast delivery at the moment, there's a lot of talk and development about either making the RSS feed more interactive, or replacing it altogether. Evo talks on why RSS needs to change, and who he's betting on to make that happen.

The Argument for Super Niche

One of the ways Evo sees podcasting in the future is for podcast apps and listeners to become super niche, as opposed to a one size catch all. He offers the example of Apollo, where they only publish fiction podcasts. This limits the podcasts on the app - but also makes sure it's laser focused on the audience they want to attract. It's this kind of nicheness that Evo feels could benefit podcasting moving forward.

How Evo Helped Early Adopters to Podcasting

As well as a hugely respected podcaster, Evo is also a published author, and was one of the original co-authors of Podcasting For Dummies (I have a copy of it in my wife's library!). So he's been a huge influence on a generation of podcasters from the early days, possibly without them realizing it.

Radio - The Grandfather of Podcasting

A lot of podcasters, for whatever reason, seem to talk down when it comes to radio. Which is surprising, given how without radio, whether terrestrial or internet, there might be no podcasting industry today. Indeed, this is how Evo got started, and without his experiences there he admits he probably wouldn't be where he is today.

What Podcasting Needs to Do to Improve

As a podcasting veteran, Evo has pretty much seen it all when it comes to tools technology, and more. This includes the ease in which new podcasters can get started. However, with this ease comes a downside, and that's podcasters that may not know the benefit of audio optimization, editing, and more. Here. Evo shares why - despite podcasting becoming mainstream - there's a big need for education for these new podcasters, to help them and their show be the best it can be for their listeners.

Every innovation has made podcasting easier. But I'm not convinced most of them make it any better.

The Importance of Education

For many new podcasters, they take inspiration from the big shows they listen to - a Serial, for example, or a Joe Rogan. The problem, as Evo shares, is that because of their audience size, they can get away with just throwing an episode out minus editing. This isn't the case for new podcasters - so how much should the industry do to make a standard when it comes to sound, as well as educating podcasters the importance of the basics?

The Validation of Podcasting

In the last few months and years, podcasting has seen a huge influx of money enter the space. Most of that has come from Spotify buying exclusive rights to certain podcasts. While that may upset some listeners, Evo sees this as validation of our industry as a serious medium, as well as allowing creators to experiment and do things they might not be able to elsewhere.

Why Indie Podcasters Need to Be Better

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Next Episode

Arielle Nissenblatt on Community, Podcast Taxonomy, and Diversity

1 Recommendations

This week, I chat with Arielle Nissenblatt, founder of the Earbuds Podcast Collective newsletter, Community Manager at SquadCast, and whole lot more.

On Why Quality Control is Important

Arielle's newsletter, Earbuds Podcast Collective, celebrated its five year anniversary this year. The newsletter sees a subscriber/podcaster curate five different podcasts around a specific topic, and has brought many interesting shows to the table. While it's a smooth process today, it wasn't always the case as Arielle shares.

Community is a Learning Process

Arielle is extremely well-known for the sense of community she brings to her interactions, as well as the community she helps foster around the brands she represents. While it comes naturally for her, Arielle also believes it can be learned, whether from those you follow online or even classes.

At the End of the Day, We're All Just People

As a leader in the community space, Arielle knows what it takes to be a good community member, and what it means to be a not so good one. Despite what some podcasters might believe, sharing nothing but your links across multiple social media channels is not the way to get people to listen. But even then, there may be a different person behind the keyboard than the one behaviour might suggest, so it's important to always keep an open mind.

Why We Need Podcast Taxonomy

As the podcasting space grows, and more people come on board (including larger production companies), it's becoming clear that there can be a lot of people that put a show together, outside of the name on the artwork. To recognize these people and the important work they do, the Podcast Taxonomy was created, of which Arielle is part of. She explains what this means for creators of all skill sets, and how it's also being used to address pay inequality in podcasting.

We're Addressing Diversity, But We Can Always Do Better

The podcasting space has been questioned over the last couple of years around the topic of diversity, or lack of. As Arielle herself pointed out earlier in the episode, too many "best of" lists are all centred around white men. While there have been movements and conversations to redress this, it's still only a small splash in a bigger pool of conversation and action. Arielle shares her thoughts on what she believes we can be doing to be better.

Key points:

00:00 Arielle Nissenblatt on Earbuds Collective, Podcast Taxonomy, and More

06:37 The Power of Community: An Interview with Arielle Pardes

09:29 Community Management: A Cross-Sectional Approach

18:01 The Squad Cast Community: From Feedback to Feature Development

22:52 Podcast Taxonomy: An International Initiative to Standardize Roles and Credits

27:56 Inclusion in the Podcasting Industry

31:00 Women in Podcasting: The Work is Not Over

33:29 How to Make Your Podcast More Inclusive

36:02 The Importance of Listening to Podcasts Outside of Your Comfort Zone

Connect with Arielle:

Contact me: [email protected]

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Pod Chat - James Cridland on Tech and Dynamic Content Driving Podcasting's Future

Transcript

James: 00:00:00

And at the end of the day, the most amazing thing about podcasting, and it's the thing that I think we forget quite a lot, is that it's such a level playing field. You are in the same this podcast is in the same podcast directories and the same podcast apps as some of the biggest podcasts out there as Smartness and this American Life and The New York Times Daily. You are in that same directory. You're in that same podcast app. You can't say that about