Only In It For The Money

It was, of course, always a fantasy, the idea that there was a firewall between your show and the sales side of the business. It was a NICE fantasy, the idea that creative content was pure and the sales department couldn't interfere and all was right with the world. We know how it is today, and we tell ourselves it was different back in the day, but nah. Oh, sure, I would argue with the sales manager and GM that a particular promotion wasn't good for the station, or defend hosts when they said something to which a client objected, or ty to dissuade everyone from certain endorsement deals ("you don't really want to be identified with that, do you?"). But, ultimately, whatever added to the bottom line always won. And larger decisions, from picking hosts to changing formats, were made with revenue in mind. Radio is a business. Don't like it? Okay, go to public radio and get on the air, insult a major underwriter, and see what happens. That's a business, too.

So is podcasting, and one thing I've seen and heard from people entering that part of the business is a hesitation over the business part of things. They want to believe that they can just do their show and leave the dirty work of selling ads and marketing to someone else, but that's never how it works, not really. Even the biggest shows with big staffs and corporate backing have to justify their existence if they're going to raise enough capital to continue. Podcasting is not altruism. It CAN be a hobby, but I find most people doing it because...

Because what? It's the same as radio. Like any other creative endeavor, we like to think that we do this because we simply HAVE to express ourselves and do it in this precise manner. It's like breathing or eating, we say. In our darker moments, we admit to ourselves that we do it because we have opinions and egos and want people to know what we think... but that's what social media is all about, and you do that and don't demand a salary from it. Yet every single discussion I have with podcasters seems to come back to monetization, and how to monetize, and frustration at not being monetized, and envy over how someone else has monetized, and pontification about the prospects of ever being properly monetized. People want to believe they're doing their scripted fiction podcast because audio is the proper medium for their creative instincts, but they're asking an awful lot of questions about licensing their I.P. to Netflix.

So, both radio and podcasting can be art forms, but commerce almost always plays a role, unless you're doing them purely as hobbies. You are? Awesome! I like to hear that. It's... pure, right? Pure's a good word. (I'd argue "moist" gets a bad rap, too, but we'll put that aside for another column I'll never write.) Wait, though. If someone offered you a chance to put ads on your art and make a few dollars, would you turn it down? Okay, then, you're not so pure. That's okay. Art has always been commerce. Many of the great works of art you see in the world's best museums were commissioned and funded by patrons or governments. Every TV show you've ever loved was created by a business which at some point decided that the show was a good business decision, advertisers bought ads and underwriters underwrote, money exchanged hands. Same for radio. Podcasting isn't at the fully sustainable monetization level yet, but you aren't seeing too many successful shows that aren't supported by ads, underwriting, or Patreon. All of that isn't to say that it's a crime against creativity that money is behind creative decisions. It has always, ALWAYS been exactly that way.

And while I did not intend to make this all a big, column-length plug for the panel we're doing at the All Access Audio Summit (the conference with the almost rude acronym), we will be talking about things like why you'd want to go into podcasting and how to make enough money on it to pay the bills, and this column is a reminder that there's no shame in wanting to make a decent living in radio or podcasting. I see people in radio groups on social media complaining about the low wages and status of many on-air jobs in the radio business and other posters ripping them for, well, I don't know why, something about "you only work four hours a day!" or "back when I was doing mornings in Jibip, Mississippi, I made 3 cents an hour and had to clean the bathrooms and you didn't hear ME complain on Facebook, which didn't exist at the time" or "pay your dues." It's a business. You work in that business. Whether you're on the air at a radio station or producing or making podcasts or doing whatever you're doing, for someone else or on your own, you DO deserve to make as much of a living as you can get. Which brings me back to this: You could probably make a lot more money doing something else. Why on Earth are you still choosing to do radio or podcasting?

Ohhhhhhh. Maybe you were telling the truth in the first place. You DO feel like you HAVE to do this. Yeah, me, too. Not great for the bank account, but I wouldn't have been happy any other way. Now, where did I put my mic and headphones? It might be time to get back to business.

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Whatever motivates you to do a radio show or podcast, you can find material every day at All Access' show prep column Talk Topics. Click here and/or follow the Talk Topics Twitter feed at @talktopics with every story individually linked to the appropriate item.

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Right, then, that panel at the 2021 virtual All Access Audio Summit. As I indicated, it's about the pros and cons of going into podcasting from radio, with Atlanta's Jeff and Callie Dauler and Steve Goldstein talking about everything you need to know about the transition, and it's on April 21st. Register now.

Perry Michael Simon
Vice President/Editor, News-Talk-Sports and Podcast
AllAccess.com
psimon@allaccess.com
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Twitter @pmsimon
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