Everybody Into The Pool

Everybody thinks they can do what you do.

Most of them can't.

Doesn't matter these days.

That's the state of the business in 2023.

It's always been the case. You tell someone what you do for a living and they respond, "you know, people tell me I should have a talk show" and "hey, how hard can it be? You just talk." You might be insulted or you might laugh it off, but that's always been what people think of talk radio: open the mic, say stuff, cash your massive paycheck. You know that's not how it works, especially the massive paycheck part, but it seems easy, right? Now, those same people CAN do talk radio, in podcast form, cheaply or for free. Many do. Some, it turns out, CAN do talk radio. Most still can't. There's a lot of bad talk radio out there, both via podcasts and on broadcast radio. (Sorry, it's true.)

It doesn't help that the podcasting industry, such as it is, went all in on throwing money at celebrities to make podcasts. Celebrities -- I have some experience on this topic -- are among the folks who most fervently believe they can talk on the radio or in a podcast and be good at it. Sometimes, they are indeed very good at it. Sometimes, you give Harry and Meghan a lot of money and it doesn't work out. Spoken word content is a talent that gets taken for granted, but you know how hard it is to look at a three or four hour radio show or even a half-hour podcast and realize that you have to fill that time with content people will want to hear.

If that's what you do, and you've made it this far in your career doing it, you should be proud. It means you're a good entertainer, you're someone who people want to hear, you have a talent others think they possess but don't. The catch -- there's always a catch -- is that we've entered a weird time when making a living doing that is pretty hard. We're not monetizing podcasts the way everyone hoped, perhaps because there are so many podcasts (active and fallow) nibbling at the advertising pie, and radio is... you know. A lot of very talented talkers aren't talking on the radio or podcasts anymore, or aren't even trying.

Keep trying. There's still a consumer demand for what you do, audio entertainment, spoken word content they can consume on the go. If that's what you do well, keep at it as the monetization thing works itself out. Someone's going to hit on the formula. The measurement issues will be addressed. Advertising will grow again, or someone will figure out an alternate path to monetization. Or not, but we have to maintain optimism, right? It ain't over 'till it's over. At least we're not all pivoting to video anymore. TikTok's hard to watch while you're driving.

Anyway, now's the time to do what you do, try new ways to do it, and remember that when things shake out, it's the people who are good at this -- good communicators, smart, entertaining -- who will reign triumphant. Let's hope that pays off. It might take a while.

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And while you keep doing what you do, make sure you check all the material you'll find at All Access News-Talk-Sports' Talk Topics show prep page. Click here for that, and you can also follow the Talk Topics Twitter feed at @talktopics and find every story individually linked to the appropriate item.

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You can follow my personal Twitter account at @pmsimon, and my Instagram account (same handle, @pmsimon) as well. And I'm on Mastodon at @pmsimon@c.im.

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Okay, I'm off next week for vacation and birthday shenanigans and stuff. I trust everyone will be okay in my absence. See you July 10th.

Perry Michael Simon
Senior Vice President/Editor-in-Chief and News-Talk-Sports-Podcasting Editor
AllAccess.com
psimon@allaccess.com
Twitter @pmsimon
Mastodon @pmsimon@c.im