Sony Music Announces Robust Slate Of Podcasts

 Remember a few years ago, when the biggest podcast companies were Gimlet and the non-profit National Public Radio? 

The three-day IAB podcast Upfronts cemented the idea that the "mom and pop podcasts" will be dwarfed by the corporate giants -- at least in the number of podcasts being launched.

That development, however, does not preclude high quality podcasting and innovative programming by the "new and big kids on the block."

Witness Sony Music Entertainment that announced its podcast plans that include both quality shows and clever programming.

Sony Music Entertainment (SME) unveiled a robust slate of new original podcast titles and announced the official return of several high-profile series from some of its leading global creative partners during the 2021 IAB Podcast Upfront. 

 

The company, whose podcast monthly downloads have grown more than 200% year over year (in April 2021), showcased several of its chart-topping podcasts from the past year, many of which will return for new seasons starting this summer. SME also previewed a range of upcoming projects from its creative partners around the world while highlighting core genres including kids and family, emerging audiences, true crime and entertainment superfans.

In the presentation, SME previewed several upcoming true-crime series from veteran investigative journalists, including two-time Pulitzer Prize winner John Carreyrou, who will debut “Bad Blood: The Final Chapter,” a new podcast with Three Uncanny Four following the upcoming trial of Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes. 

Trevor Aaronson and Vanessa Grigoriadis of Campside Media, will debut “Chameleon: High Rollers,” the second season of hit podcast series “Chameleon,” in June. 

The company also previewed season two returns of chart-topping podcast series “Smoke Screen” and “Power,” which will return with new seasons soon. Other new shows from SME’s creative partners around the world will debut in coming months across a range of genres, including politics, culture, history, entertainment and more.

 Highlights from the presentation included appearances from sixteen-time GRAMMY-winning artist, songwriter and producer Kirk Franklin who announced the return of “Good Words with Kirk Franklin.” Model, activist and entrepreneur Leomie Anderson also previewed her new podcast “Role Model,” and Emmy Award winning and Academy Award nominated storyteller, filmmaker and podcaster Marc Smerling discussed his upcoming project, “Firebug,” and the power of true-crime storytelling.  

Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas also shared details about their media company Tinkercast, noting the kids and family genre as one of the fastest-growing podcasting sectors.

“Sony Music has always strived to be a creator-first company and we’ve been proud to build our podcasting efforts with that same philosophy,” said Emily Rasekh, SVP, Podcast Business Development and Operations, Sony Music Entertainment. 

While a lot of legacy podcasters from the early days may root for the "big dogs" to fail, it's clear from the three-day IAB Podcast Upfronts that many of the ivory tower companies like SME have, in some cases, discovered podcast gold with some of their new shows.

What remains to be seen is whether the corporate giants can infuse narrative excellence, an incipient curiosity for the untold tales, a desire to reach a diverse audience, and a sense of responsibility to the podcast space, so it's not "junked up" with the same formulaic pablum that infects broadcast TV. What podcasting does not need is the audio equivalent of NCIS franchises, the Dick Wolf stable of cloned shows, reality TV shows where romance exists in a fishbowl, and wrestling seems more authentic than any scripted shows.