With interest in podcasting at an unprecedented high, the medium needs to hang onto that momentum in 2015. That means new listeners attracted by Serial\u2013or attracted by all the hype\u2013need to find other shows to tide them over until season two comes out, and they need to be able to find and listen to those podcasts without enduring too much hassle.<\/p>\n
Yet, if there is one big lesson to be learned from the Serial phenomenon it\u2019s that podcasts really aren\u2019t that difficult to listen to. Untold thousands\u2013if not millions\u2013of new podcast listeners managed to figure it out. So, it may not be that podcasts are such a pain to use, so much as folks need a compelling reason to seek them out. I would be very surprised if we don’t see an influx of new, interesting and innovative podcasts this coming year.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, anything that puts podcasts right in front of people\u2019s faces\u2013and in their ears\u2013will encourage more people to try them out and potentially get hooked. That\u2019s something\u00a0I\u2019m hoping for in 2015.<\/p>\n
A year ago I argued that in 2014 \u201cpodcasting must enter every room in the house,\u201d<\/a> and now podcasting is finding its way around.<\/p>\n For that I think we can thank the proliferation of Bluetooth speakers and car stereos, as well as other wireless speakers, which have made it very simple to untether smartphones from headphones. It\u2019s not like Bluetooth devices and smartphone speakers haven\u2019t been around for years. Rather, there are now so many options, and at the low end prices have come down so much that they\u2019re becoming nearly ubiquitous commodities.<\/p>\n The old download-and-sync routine for loading podcasts on your smartphone is now, thankfully, a thing of the past. As a result you can quickly look up a new podcast, start playing it on your phone and then send that audio to headphones or speakers with little effort. This might even trigger more listening parties, like those which sprouted up around the final episode of Serial.<\/p>\n Apple\u2019s decision to make its Podcasts app a pre-installed part of iOS 8 certainly helped spur along Serial mania because it meant that millions of iPhone users didn\u2019t even have to install a new app to start listening. The lack of a similar app as part of Android, then, is glaring, and represents a tiny, yet persistent speed bump in the road to wider adoption. It\u2019s certainly no big deal for most users to install a new app, but having to do so introduces just a bit more friction into the system.<\/p>\n Indeed, Deezer\u2019s acquisition of Stitcher<\/a> and Apple\u2019s purchase of Swell<\/a> may very well bring us closer to having a new platform for podcasts. I see real potential in the combination of on-demand music and on-demand talk programming in one interface. Using just one app to access all on-demand audio simplifies things for the user.<\/p>\n Particularly in the car, having a single unified app puts on-demand audio more on a par with broadcast radio. The fact that Stitcher has dashboard integrations with major auto makers like Ford and GM was likely another factor that made the platform attractive to Deezer. If Apple integrates podcast functions from Swell with iTunes Radio and Beats Music, the company will have a route into the dashboard with CarPlay.<\/p>\n Since people don\u2019t replace cars as often as smartphones, apps and operating systems, podcasting\u2019s incursion into the smart dashboard will take longer than the next twelve months. But there\u2019s still a good chance we\u2019ll see the products of the Deezer\/Stitcher and Apple\/Swell combinations in 2015.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t take any special psychic powers to predict that more money and talent will pour into podcasting in 2015. While public radio producers will continue to use the medium as a proving ground for new shows and innovative approaches, I don\u2019t hold out much hope that the commercial radio industry will make any meaningful investment in podcasting. And by investment, I mean in cultivating talent and producing new programs, not just redistributing terrestrial shows.<\/p>\n The low cost and complexity for production combined with greater public interest likely will attract more celebrities and public figures to podcasting, alongside people new to media production altogether. In turn, that should increase demand for producers who can take care of both the technical side of recording and distribution, as well as assist with development. I also think it this will catalyze the formation of more podcast networks to provide these services.<\/p>\n In 2015 we may also see the development of something more like a podcast studio. While a studio would provide production services like a network, it wouldn\u2019t necessarily brand shows under a single banner. It might, like a film studio, record label or publishing house, simply fund and facilitate the development of new podcasts in exchange for a share of revenue.<\/p>\n While some film studios and record labels do have a recognizable character, such that audiences will seek out their products, this isn\u2019t true across the board. When was the last time you heard someone say she is a fan of all Paramount movies or all Reprise records releases? In those examples the actual movie, artist or album is what people most identify with. The studio or labels\u2019 brand can be nearly irrelevant.<\/p>\n Commensurate with an all-around increase in demand, I think we\u2019ll see more full-service production services. Unlike a studio, a production company would provide services simply on a paid basis, not putting its name on the end product at all.<\/p>\n For the year ahead opportunities abound for podcasting, and in podcasting. Listen in.<\/p>\nWhat Will Result from 2014’s Acquisitions?<\/h3>\n
Growing Production, Growing the Business<\/h3>\n
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