Why Aren't Indie Podcasters Major Players In Awards And Festivals

 Adolescence is a painful time for any of us. If you were the football QB or beauty queen, more power to you, as long as you didn't abuse those who weren't born with those optimal genes. Anyway, as an adolescent there were often parties to which we were not invited. 

As an adult, I still see an entire group that has yet to get invites to parties, which, in this case, means podcast awards and festivals. Don't believe me? Check out the award recipients, speakers, and judges in the prominent award ceremonies and at festivals.

The Golden Globe Award nominees were just announced, and, for the first time, podcasts were included in the awards process. What podcasts were nominated? Any Independent podcasts nominated? 

The nominees are Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, Call Her Daddy, Good Hang with Amy Poehler, The Mel Robbins Podcast, SmartLess, and Up First (NPR). Choosing only high-profile podcasts already signals that, going forward, the Golden Globes will ignore quality independent podcasts. Does any passionate podcast listener truly believe that those nominated podcasts can compare to indie shows like Organized Money, Shifting Terrain, Face Off, Desi Dreamers, or Echoes In The First Person? 

Let's look at On Air Fest, held in February in Brooklyn, NY. I went one year, and the festival is well-organized, informative, and fun. Yet, just read the sponsors and partners for On Air Fest 2026:  iHeartPodcasts, ESPN 30 for 30 Podcasts, CNN, Pushkin Industries, WNYC, Futuro Media, Bloomberg, Audible, and The Ambies. 

Is there any way that an independent podcast can be part of the sponsorship process without being priced out by ESPN, Audible (Amazon), or Bloomberg? Why not a sliding scale for sponsorship so that smaller yet substantially relevant organizations like Open To Debate.Org, Mercury Podcast Network, Tink Media, RSS.Com, and Next Chapter Podcasts could participate?

Why is it that podcast festivals have become branding exercises for large companies implementing their strategy to control podcasting?

Here is the initial festival line-up for on Air Fest: Bestselling author Roxane Gay, host of The Don Lemon Show, Don Lemon, the hosts of Radiolab, Latif Nasser & Lulu Miller, a live show of the Heavyweight podcast live with host and humorist Jonathan Goldstein, Audie Cornish, host of The Assignment live, a special event from Futuro Media’s dual English/Spanish-language podcast La Brega focused on their season three launch, and more. ESPN 30 for 30 Podcasts will also return with special stage programming about sports storytelling, as well as a program giving creators the chance to pitch ESPN’s content executives directly.

In fairness, there are some things to like there. Audie Cornish is a gem, Futuro Media adds to podcasting's diversity and most intelligent voices, and Jonathan Goldstein has been resurrected by Pushkin after Spotify tossed him into the discard pile in one of its many short-sighted cost-cutting moves.  

Why aren't key independent podcast voices speaking at the festival? I can think of at least 100 indie podcasters who would be brilliant speakers -- Jenn Trepeck and Traci DeForge to discuss the Podcast Professionals Association, Liam Heffernan to lay out his plans for his Mercury Podcast Network, which actively promotes indie podcasts; Claire Waite Brown and Sam Sethi to discuss TrueFans and how this new ecosystem can support the entire podcast industry, but most especially independent podcasts. 

There are indie podcasters who were well-known radio DJs like Freddy Cruz of Your Mic and Forrest Kelly of the Best Five Minute Wine Podcast who know to keep a party lively. 

The bottom line on festivals like On Air Fest is this: I get that you need big names to attract people and sell tickets. However, at a minimum, sprinkle in some prominent independent podcasters into the program like Danny Brown, Melissa Thom, Tania Mohammad, Ronald Pruett of the Heritage Radio Network, Matt Stoller, Ned Donovan, and Demetrius Bagley, executive director of the Black Podcasting Awards.

Let's turn to awards. There's progress here. The Ambies has included a category for Independent Podcasts and best host since 2022. Yet, the iHeart Podcast Awards still seem like the red carpet for celebrities, as do the Signal Awards.

This state of affairs is one reason why we started the Ear Worthy Awards, because awards should not go to the podcasters with the most social media followers, or highest media visibility.

A positive narrative comes from the Black Podcasting Awards, which recently held its awards ceremony at the historic Motor House’s Black Box Theater in Baltimore. During the event, 45 awards were bestowed on 29 podcasts, five podcasters, and one network. The salient point is that most of the podcasts were independent. Executive Director Demetrius Bagley and his team are astute, in that the entry fee is low enough so that indie podcasters can afford to make a submission.

When it comes to podcasting, the United Kingdom is far superior to the U.S. landscape (Sorry, America First cultists). One significant way is that there is an entire system for independent podcasts only.

The third edition of the Independent Podcast Awards took place this October at Kings Place in Kings Cross, London. These awards were launched for those podcasts that are truly free of corporate ties. 

Listen to the award trustees: "We’re taking things back to those who create their content in their backrooms, in their spare time and without the pressures of upsetting their sponsors along the way. If you create a podcast but don’t think you have a chance of winning an award against some of the bigger players out there, then this is the place for you and your show."

I know Em McGowan, an 2024 Ear Worthy Award winner for Verbal Diorama, and she's been a driving force in the awards process.  

Is there some reason, other than lack of will or motivation, that the U.S. doesn't have a version of that award?

To be clear, there are other awards offered by organizations where independent podcasts win that recognition. For example, The Women Who Podcast Awards were announced this August by the Women Who Podcast Magazine. Reviewing the list of award winners, the women who won are independent podcasters for the most part. There are too many winners to list, but I'll mention three because of their connection to Ear Worthy: Grief and Light -- Nina Rodriguez, Salad with a Side of Fries -- Jenn Trepeck, and Multispective -- Jennica Sadhwani. 

Recently, the NYC Podcast Awards were just announced, and the organization has a fresh and exciting perspective: "While podcasting has exploded globally, many exceptional creators—particularly from underrepresented communities—remain overlooked by traditional industry recognition."

The award organizers continue: "Founded in 2025 by Silver Sound, an Emmy-winning production company based in Manhattan, we created these awards to bridge that gap. We believe New York City, as a global crossroads of culture and media, is uniquely positioned to celebrate the full spectrum of audio storytelling talent. We welcome entries from podcasters and audio creators globally—you don't need to be based in New York City to participate. Our mission is to recognize excellence wherever it originates."

There are also non-podcasting organizations where independent podcasts seem to be able to win awards without a Spotify or Amazon to finance and support them. 

 For example, recently, Creativity Found by Claire Waite Brown won an award for the best Pro-Ageing Podcast from the Advantages of Age Awards in London.

I understand that the most visible and popular podcasts drain all the oxygen out of the conversation about podcasting. People not familiar with podcasting assume (wrongly, by the way) that it's Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Alex Cooper, Dateline, Crime Lab, and Bill Simmons who account for the sizable majority of podcast downloads and listens every day. 

While podcast numbers are admittedly fuzzy, there are about 400,000 podcasts that have produced and released an episode in the last three months. I don't need a data analysis to tell me that 99.9% of those podcasts are independent. And, make no mistake, indie podcasts are a force in the industry. For example, an indie podcast like the Best Five Minute Wine Podcast just passed one million downloads. 

Those 99.9% are responsible for more than 90% of all listens in the podcasting industry. Could podcasting survive if indie podcasts suddenly went away, and podcasting listens dropped by 90%? 

What would podcasting be like if only the "chosen ones" remained? What if podcasting morphed into a playground, in which only celebrities could either resurrect themselves or enhance their already thriving careers? 

Whether Spotify, iHeart, SiriusXM, or Amazon wants to admit it, they need independent podcasting. As partners in the podcasting industry, independent podcasters should play a more prominent role in awards, festivals, and garner more non-podcasting media attention. 

In 2026, the Ear Worthy Awards will be making a concerted effort to hold an in-person award ceremony. We are looking into either MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which holds 81,000 people, or the Burger King in Glassboro, New Jersey, which has a special discount for parties of 20 or more. 

 

 

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