More Podcasts ≠ Better Podcasts


Asa podcaster — and, particularly, a podcast who writes (a lot) about podcasting — I’m marketed a tonne of products. Some come my way via Twitter, just coincidentally, and some slide into my inbox in the form of press releases or other solicitations. “Hey Nick, really enjoyed your blog about how much you loathe podcasting… would you be interested in beta testing and writing about our new product??” Anyway, there is one common thread to these products that I feel a moral obligation to condemn. They all have the same expressed purpose: to make it easier, and quicker, to produce podcasts. Whether we’re talking Descript, Zencastr, the RodeCaster, or every new AI launch, the impact of the product is the same. Let’s streamline processes, so you can make more podcast. More, more, more. The question of whether we need more podcasts is a contentious one in our industry. Apple has over 2 million registered podcasts currently in operation, and the number of accessible audio-shows is likely even higher. That’s split between a global podcast audience somewhere around 400 million, which means, if listeners were split equitably, each show would have 200 listeners. Of course, all podcasts are equal but some are far, far more equal than others. Many shows have 100 listeners or 10 listeners or 1 listener; and other shows have 1 million listeners or 100,000 listeners or 10,000 listeners. The industry has already experienced a silent stratification between the audience haves and have nots.