Think about reviews and recommendations for the movie industry. There are about 125 movies released every year, and about 7,000 movie review podcasts, with thousands more online reviewers. In essence, there are too many reviewers chasing too little product. How many reviews can you read about Deadpool & Wolverine?
Now, think about podcasting. There are arguably about 40,000 active podcasts. More than 80 percent of them are independent podcasts, which means they don't have a Mother Ship like Amazon, Spotify, or iHeart to financially and logistically support them.
Numbers are admittedly sketchy on this, but there are a few thousand -- maybe-- podcast recommendation podcasts, online publications or video shows. In essence, there are not enough podcast reviewers chasing a "googol" of excellent podcasts. (Note: A googol is 10 to the power of 100, 10¹⁰⁰).
As a podcast reviewer and recommendation publication, I can recommend some superb podcast recommendation crews such as Bingeworthy, BlkPodNews, Great Pods, Into The Podverse, Podstack, Podcast The Newsletter, and Feed the Queue.
You can't go wrong with recommendations from any of these sources. What I also admire is that these recommenders focus on independent podcasts that are often lost in the category 5 hurricane winds that define podcast discoverability.
Feed The Queue is a podcast recommendation show that just started its fourth season. It is produced by Tink Media, one of the outstanding podcast marketing companies in the space. Tink is run by Lauren Passell, one of the most well-known and highly respected people in the industry.
While the mention of a charcuterie board made me wish for some brie, there's nothing cheesy about this podcast. Every episode highlights a podcast that becomes ear-worthy right after listening to Feed the Queue and luxuriating in the podcasts they recommend. Feed The Queue is like Consumer Reports or Wirecutter for podcasts.
I readily confess that I have liked every podcast the show has recommended. My favorites include, Beef, Digital Folkore, Rumble Strip, Skyline Drive, and The Nocturnists. Beef with Bridget Todd was a particular favorite of mine.
One of my favorite episodes -- November 17, 2023 -- featured one of my favorite podcasts, 6 Degrees Of Cats by Amanda B. On the episode, host Andreea and 6 Degrees podcaster Amanda discuss her background and bio, how she crafted her unique sound design for the show, and how she baked in history, culture, and science into a podcast about cats. During the episode, host and guest restrained themselves on cat puns, and the clip of the episode Andreea played was delightful.
I must note that 6 Degrees Of Cats was the July 2024 winner of the Ear Worthy Award for Best Pet Podcast.
The Feed The Queue podcast has gone through several iterations as it begins its fourth season, and that is a good thing. Podcasts that don't change, don't last, unless you count PodQuiz and its infernal yet charming conformity.
The Welcome to Season 4 episode was just released on September 10th. The intro music by Aakshi Sinha is pleasantly unique and acoustically quirky. Joni Mitchell, eat your heart out.
The co-hosts of this episode are Devin Andrade and Andreea Coscai. On the debut episode of season four, the co-hosts added a new element to the show, with each co-host asking three questions: How did you discover your love of audio? What is one of your favorite podcasts? If you had a budget of one million dollars, what podcast would you produce?
It's a light-bulb moment because those three questions elicit more personal information about the co-hosts but stick closely to the podcast discovery theme.
Apparently, different people from Tink Media will co-host the show, and with the talented people there like Wil Williams, quality will not be diminished at all.
Podcast discoverability continues to be the equivalent to a cold that will not go away. Podcasters, podcast listeners, and industry people know that there are thousands of exceptional podcasts just waiting to be discovered.
However, needle meet haystack. Until a comprehensive, coordinated, and collaborative system of podcast discoverability is implemented (and even after), podcast discovery shows like Feed The Queue are essential for people searching for the next great listen.
Finally, as enthusiastic supporters of independent podcasts, I salute Tink Media for their commitment to the people who started podcasting and remain the heart and soul of the industry -- independent podcasters.
It may be breakfast or lunchtime when you read this, so Feed The Queue and devour a great podcast. Try Conspiracy, She Wrote. This way, you can find out where in Ohio those immigrants are apparently eating all the dogs and cats in the town. Run, Scruffy, run.
.png)
Comments
Post a Comment
Thank You for your input and feedback. If you requested a response, we will do so as soon as possible.