PodMov Daily: Friday, September 13

Episode 43: Your Friday Freestyle

More at Stake: How Cultural Consultants Benefit Podcasting

Our guest article this fine Friday is an introduction to a storytelling service you may not be aware of. Elena Fernández Collins outlines the work of cultural consultants and what they can do for podcasts. Sometimes called ‘sensitivity readers,’ these professionals are “reviewers, fact-checkers, and knowledge experts that can read, listen, and comment on a creator’s work.”

The key factor is a “personal understanding and expertise in a culture or with an identity that a creator does not have.” Telling others’ stories through in-depth podcasting can involve tricky territory, which a cultural consultant can help navigate responsibly.

“A large majority of the time, you’ve hired someone for their specific experience in a marginalized group to be sure you aren’t perpetuating harmful stereotypes or propaganda,” Fernández Collins explains. “There’s more at stake than one podcast.” Learn how your show can benefit and how to get started.

Labyrinthine Licensing: The State of Music in Podcasts

Music licensing for podcasts has been one of the industry’s consistently hot topics. Clearing rights for recordings and the underlying compositions can be complicated and expensive, writes Steve Knopper for Billboard.

“Using music in a podcast is more like obtaining a synch license for video than making individual songs available online,” he explains. Rights holders have been “monitoring podcasts more aggressively for unlicensed content” — with good reason. “In most cases, the law is on the side of rights holders.”

Sometimes these struggles shake out, as in the case of the recent Spotify podcast Stay Free: The Story of The Clash. Other times, not so much, like when Ice-T couldn’t use his own song in his podcast Final Level. SoundExchange’s “one-stop music licensing” system, due in 2020, offers a potentially viable solution. However, “the idea isn’t to make licensing less expensive — just less intimidating.”

The Unmistakable Creative on Interviews, Rule Breaking, and Curiosity

Srini Rao, creator and host of Unmistakable Creative, is a bestselling author that has conducted over 700 interviews over the past several years. Podfund sat down with Rao to discuss how he approaches these conversations and what we can learn from ignoring the rules.

“I never write interview questions in advance because it forces you to listen. All I usually know is how I’m going to start and how I’m going to end,” Rao reveals. “Everybody has a story worth telling. It’s up to the interviewer to figure out what that is.”

The prolific writer and podcaster shares his productivity habits, including writing every day and avoiding social media in the mornings. If you’re an interviewer or enjoy listening to them, Srini Rao’s roadmap is a valuable resource.

This Weekend, Join The Allusionist at the London Podcast Festival

The London Podcast Festival continues with a truly phenomenal lineup of speakers and shows. The festival’s Maker Weekend has arrived, so now’s the time to secure tickets. Learn from the best in the business during intimate sessions on sound design, role-playing improv, music licensing, and more.

We, like many podcast fans, truly wish we were in London right now. Cheers to you, attendees!

Love,

Team PM

Here's what else is going on:

• All aboard: Jim McGrath of Brown University, the co-creator of Public Work, shares his experiences as a listener, creator, and collaborator. The piece details how academia and professional organizations have created spaces for training, critique, and reflection on all things podcast-related.
• Chrome base: Spreaker Studio has become the first podcasting app to be “fully compatible and designed specifically to work with Chrome OS.” The platform’s tools can be used straight from Chromebook, a feature Spreaker hopes will boost integration into educational curricula.
• Playing DJ: Ever wanted to create your own radio show, host banter and all? Seth Resler shows step-by-step how to use Spotify’s new podcast playlist feature to build a shareable set. Inserting “DJ breaks” into podcast episodes makes it possible to combine them with music and commentary.
• Sonic youth: Listenwise is an education technology tool that “brings the power of public radio into the classroom.” Its founder and CEO writes about the new season of the Student Podcast Podcast project, which “celebrates student work” and “demystifies the creation process.”