The Problem With Podcast Conferences
/Recently Todd Cochrane (the CEO of Blubrry) posted a question on Podcastindex.social and he asked “Where are all the new podcast creators?” along with a photo showing an empty hall at Podcast Movement 2024. I want to clarify that James Cridland from Podnew.net pointed out this photo was taken prior to the event even opening, so the hall being empty is misleading. But I want to share my thoughts on why I, a lowly hobby podcaster, have not attended a single podcasting event as well as what I think may cause low attendance of “new podcast creators”.
The Schedule: Most podcast events are held in the middle of the work week. This means that in order to attend an event, us hobbyists or new podcasters, would need to take time off from our day jobs to attend.
The Podcast Economy: A few years ago there was a podcasting gold rush and millions of corporate dollars were being thrown around to acquire shows and launch new shows. Over the last few years there have been a few scandals about non-payment of guarantees due to lower than expected ad income. There has also been a skyrocketing of interest rates which makes borrowing money to launch shows much more expensive. I think that the lower than expected ad dollars and the more expensive money has led to fewer new shows launching which will also decrease the amount of new podcast creators.
The Cost: A big reason I won’t attend one of these events is the cost of it. Ignoring local transportation and food, we are already at $2,000 to attend this event. An estimate I came up with was $600 flight (round trip), $900 hotel ($300/night), $500 event ticket. Those three thing alone total $2,000 before tax, and it doesn’t account for transportation or food. That’s quite a big ask for a hobbyist or new podcaster just starting out.
When it comes to the value proposition of attending these podcast conferences, I don’t really think there is a good argument for hobbyists to attend. $2,000 + time off from work will be hard to justify unless there is INCREDIBLE information that is unavailable anywhere else. If networking is the main selling point, I understand a hobbyist maybe attending if it’s held within their city, but having to travel to the event removes any appeal for the hobbyist in my opinion (unless you are monetizing your show and earning a lot of money).
And the final question to ask is, could we be spending that money more effectively? To get the information, I could listen to any number of podcasts about podcasting, and watch YouTube videos for free. Then with the $2,000 I could get a podcast setup that will last me the entire podcasting career without ever needing to upgrade.
Clip from BSP-398: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQVCkRmVqG
Originally aired 25 AUG 2024