Podcast Pontifications

Perhaps you’ve noticed the trend of broadcasters who no longer have access to their professional broadcast studios are producing less-than-professional results for all of us to see.

Funny. Back in the day, it was podcasters who were leaning into the reduced spit-and-polish, embracing a “rough around the edges” approach that set us apart from the broadcasters.

So now we have not only big media trying to force authenticity into their podcasts, but big broadcasters on crappy webcams and built-in microphones trying to stitch together their programs with tools we gave up years ago.

Podcasters who also notice these trends typically have one of two things to say about it.

“Our Podcast Sound Great From Home, Why Can’t Their Broadcasts?”

“Why haven’t these forced-to-stay-home broadcasters figured out how to make great cont from home? We do it all the time.”

“Are Our Podcast Episodes Too Polished?”

“Maybe we've been making episodes that are too produced? Maybe we need to expose a bit more of the process to our audience? Maybe it’s having those rough edges present what makes a podcast special?”

I'm going to dismantle both of those arguments. 

I promise you, no rational person listens to your show ONLY for the imperfections. More often than not, they're listening in spite of those foibles.

No, I don't think that you should make a less professional show. No one ever stopped listening to a podcast because the episodes sounded too good. 

These broadcast pros aren’t doing a crappy job because they don't know any better. They’re doing it on purpose.

They're putting out a much lower-quality version of their regular programming on purpose. It’s completely calculated. They want to showcase the fact that they are in their homes and not their big studios.

So the next time you see them on screen looking dorky and goofy, with bad audio as they shout at their webcam from across the room, understand that they are intentionally keeping it rough-and-tumble because they want you to miss the professional quality they made before. That way, you too are longing for a return to normalcy. 

Rather than lamenting broadcasters encroaching into our lanes, remember that they're here temporarily. They'll be out as quickly as they can, and the space will be ours once again.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that we need to be less picky about quality than we are today. Get that bad notion out of your head! if you need someone to talk you off the ledge, I am your huckleberry. Email me evo@podcastlaunch.pro before you make any silly decisions about reverting to a lower-quality show. 

Also: New podcasts are exploding right now, so there’s a very good chance someone you know is starting one. I’d appreciate it if you told that person about Podcast Pontifications. Sure, the content is quite a bit above the “how to” content they need, but getting the new crop of podcasters thinking about podcasting’s biggest questions seems a good idea, right?

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Podcast Pontifications is published by Evo Terra four times a week and is aimed at the working podcaster. The purpose of this show is to make podcasting better, not just easier.

Follow Evo on Twitter for more podcasting insights as they come.

And if you need a professional in your podcasting corner, please visit SimplerMedia.pro to see how Simpler Media Productions can help your firm. Podcasting is our only business!

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th. Abortion is a basic healthcare need for the millions of people who can become pregnant. Everyone should have the freedom to decide what’s best for themselves and their families, including when it comes to ending a pregnancy. This decision has dire consequences for individual health and safety, and could have harsh repercussions for other landmark decisions. Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health and independence of all Americans. Even if you live in a state where abortion rights are upheld, access to safe medical procedures shouldn’t be determined by location, and it shouldn't be the privilege of a small few. You can help by donating to local abortion funds. To find out where to donate for each state, visit donations4abortion.com. If you or someone you know needs help, or if you want to get more involved, here are 5 resources: 1. ShoutYourAbortion.com is a campaign to normalize abortion. 2. DontBanEquality.com is a campaign for companies to take a stand against abortion restrictions. 3. Abortion.cafe has information about where to find clinics. 4. PlanCPills.org provides early at-home abortion pills that you can keep in your medicine cabinet. 5. Choice.CRD.co has a collection of these resources and more. We encourage you to speak up! And spread the word.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
Podsights - https://podsights.com/privacy