Podcasting, whether it be professional, personal, fictional, news, you-name-it, is finally coming into its own, and TVWriter™ is going to try like the proverbial sonofabitch to report on it regulary. Here are some of the week’s most important developments.
EDITOR’S TRANSLATION: In other words, these are the articles that surprised and impressed us podcasting/audio drama/audio comedy newbies. We definitely think they’re worth checking out.
There Were Very Diverse Voices at Podcast Movement by Robin Kinnie
I was elated to receive my first invitation to speak at a national conference this year. The icing on the cake was that the conference was Podcast Movement 2019, the largest gathering of podcasters in the country. Tangia Estrada (Host, That’s What She Did Podcast and The Skin You’re In Podcast) had put together a dynamic panel of women podcasters to discuss how we can work together to continue the growth of women of color podcasters…..
Read it all at podcastbusinessjournal.com
6 Podcasts for the Drama Lover by emma dibdin
Audio dramas have been around for almost as long as radio, but the podcasting boom has inspired a renaissance. Just as streaming platforms have transformed the way in which we consume television, the on-demand nature of podcasts makes it possible to pick and choose a genre of radio play — like science fiction, sports drama or horror — and binge the entire thing rather than wait for weekly installments….
Read it all at nytimes.com
Gen Z Podcasts Are Coming Soon by podcast business journal
Brat, the Gen Z network behind hit shows like “Chicken Girls” and “Zoe Valentine,” is partnering with ART19 to create original Podcasts. Brat will release three original series, set in and around the “Brat Universe….”
Read it all at podcastbusinessjournal.com
Audible Teams Up With Big Names as Audio-Only Storytelling Expands by elaine low
Hobnobbing with the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Kate McKinnon and Yara Shahidi isn’t typically the gloss applied to the cerebral audiobook set, but Audible is putting the humble audio story through its own movie-makeover montage, inking high-profile development deals with entertainment names like “The Walking Dead” comics creator Skybound Entertainment, Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video Enterprises….
Read it all at variety.com
How Conan O’Brien and Other Top Hosts Are Tapping Into the Podcast Revolution by brent lang and todd spangler
Conan O’Brien never planned on becoming the darling of the podcasting world.
“It’s not the natural career step,” he says. “I have a talk show, and it felt like maybe you do the podcast in order to get on TV. But when my staff approached me about it, I kind of thought what the heck? What do we have to lose?”
Despite its star’s initial reservations, “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” an interview program in which the late-night comic engages in free-form chats with everyone from “Barry” creator Bill Hader to historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Caro, has become the breakout hit of the audio season. It commands more than 1 million downloads an episode — blockbuster numbers for a podcast — and has inspired O’Brien and his team to create a spinoff show with sidekick Andy Richter, as well as scripted podcasts such as “Frontier Tween,” a satire of prairie life, and “Smartr,” a startup-culture sendup….
Read it all at variety.com
The Best Podcasts Of 2019 (So Far) by Tom Nicholson
The podcasting ecosystem is rich, varied and complex, and that’s obviously a brilliant thing in itself – especially if you’re in the market for a new mattress or need an all-in-one solution for creating a beautiful website – but it can also be a bit overwhelming. There are only so many hours in the day. Pick the wrong podcast and you could ruin your whole commute.
You need a David Attenborough to point the way through the undergrowth and stop you wasting time wandering down dead ends. So to that end, here’s our running list of the best new ones that come out this year, as well as pointing up new highlights from long-running favourites….
Read it all at esquire.com
If all goes well, we’ll be back with more next week!
Which reminds us:
TVWriter™’s signature pilot writing competition, PEOPLE’S PILOT 2019 offers special discounts on fictional audio series and web series, plus special prizes in addition to the contest’s regular categories. See the deets HERE