"Music Podcasting is Hard." Why it’s worth the effort Part 1.
We hope your first week back has been productive and enjoyable, and that 2023 is shaping up well for you.
With the new year starting, instead of recounting PopCult's triumphs (and there are plenty -- major and minor), we think it is a good time to compile and share what we have learned about our chosen field (music-inclusive premium podcasting) over the past couple of years.
Let's talk about music audiences.
What do we know?
Well, there is a ton of research that shows that music is a crazy strong category for brand-building. For currency, let's look at a humble little company called TikTok. As music branding expert Joe Bellioti (his new book is out today) told us, "TikTok posted that 67% of people prefer to see videos from brands featuring popular or trending songs - showing how music can increase attention and relevance."
That little company built its brand on music (as, arguably, Facebook and Instagram and YouTube did previously). Joe's book outlines how and why not just music subject matter, but the music itself, is so powerful.
But the Podcast (and music) industries are largely sitting music podcasts out.
Because it's hard.
We're going to be posting on www.popcultworldwide.com and on LinkedIn in multiple parts. Starting with "what we hear" and following up with "what PopCult is doing about it" (hint: a lot).
We'll start with the top four things we hear from podcast networks who are hesitant to create and/or fund Music Podcast content. These are the challenges that our clients and partners have told us make music podcasting “hard.”
"Music Podcasts don't do well."
"Audience Building for music pods is hard."
"Musical Talent aren't good at it/are hard to manage."
"Rights and licensing are too much of a hassle/too expensive."
Add all four of those up, and that's a pretty tall hill to climb. But here is why it's worth climbing:
Music Podcasting has a massive untapped global audience
Musicians and music create an emotional bond with audiences.
Musicians command captive audiences in the millions
Most have direct relationships with their fans
Stay tuned for Part One, dropping tomorrow: "Music Podcasts Don't Do Well."