Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Dear Christian broadcasters and media personalities,

First, I want to say Merry Christmas!

Second, I want to say thank you for putting up with me for the past year; it has been an honor to participate in the CCM Perspectives for All Access. It’s amazing to me how All Access was one of the first trade rags I knew about when I started my radio career twenty years ago. A lot has changed, and sadly, most of the other trade rags are long gone, but All Access remains. I think it is a testament to Joel Denver and his staff, and to Todd Stach who has worked tirelessly to bring the beautiful world of the CCM genre and its people to the greater radio world.

Looking back at this past year, I have written a lot about podcasting, and my hope is that, as a radio professional, you are starting to see the importance of this medium. Whether it is to talk about things you can’t talk about on the radio; time shifting audio for the listener’s convenience; or unlocking new revenue potential – the truth is, podcasting is now a norm when it comes to your digital audio.

If you are not podcasting, you are behind the times and losing audience. Period.

Now, I say this as an ex-radio jock and announcer and as former MD and APD. Do not get me wrong, I bleed radio. Living in the boonies, I have the gift of tuning into Family Radio in Ukiah, BrokenFM out of Santa Rosa, and on satellite, The Message on SXM (Ironically, KLOVE is hard to hear even though they first went on air just 30 miles south of me :-)). Music, and worship music in more recent years, is a huge love language for me and it’s a way for me to introduce Jesus to my children. No doubt for you and your listeners. But, do I listen to podcasts too? Yes, as a matter of fact I do. Do I listen in the car? Yes I do. I listen to podcasts when I am on the road for long road trips as it helps to pass the time and I don’t have to worry about station signals going in and out.

This is my “use case,” and I do not think it’s a fringe one. If anything, at 45 years young, all my friends are listening to podcasts more than I am! Now, do you think that the generations behind me are more apt to listen to the radio or a podcast?

As you begin to work on your 2023 budgets and strategize next year I want to emphasize that if podcasting is not on there, it needs to be. Really, for the sake of your radio station and to keep relevant with your listeners, please devote resources to this medium. It can change lives.

People find Jesus through podcasts, and people discover music too! I know I want to hear in-depth band interviews. I want to hear the story behind Rattle! I bet other people would too.

Last thing. Podcasting is not expensive, and it’s not hard. If you want to talk strategy or just bounce ideas off the wall, feel free to reach out to me anytime at matt@soundstack.com. I promise to not try to sell you something; I just love talking about Jesus, radio, and podcasting.

Matt Kellogg is VP of Sales & Business Development at SoundStack, which simplifies audio through the development of platform-agnostic technology for creators and advertisers.