PodMov Daily: Tuesday, September 29

Episode 295: Testing, One Two-sday

Podcast IP: What's at Stake for Creators in Public Media?

Public media, not just companies like Spotify and BuzzFeed, has a chance to set equitable standards for the intellectual property rights of podcasts. Julian Wyllie of Current explores what’s at stake with several creators, including Misha Euceph and Tonya Mosley, the host of Truth Be Told (KQED San Francisco).

Mosley says that many of these instances involve “the future of public media”: younger creators, people of color, and women. “The power dynamic is off in a way that doesn’t account for the world that we’re in today,” she said. Though distribution, ad revenue, and RSS feeds weren’t on her radar early on, future creators will be prepared to negotiate.

The host of NPR’s It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders also does not hold IP. “If being on the wrong side of the IP debate means that public media is missing out on young, fresh, new talent of color, then we should address that,” Sanders said. “Because I am tired of us always waiting to catch up. Let’s lead on this.”

Renay Richardson: What Else Can Your Podcast Lead To?

At last week’s Sandbox Summit Global conference, Broccoli Content CEO Renay Richardson pointed to untapped creative potential around podcasting. Stuart Dredge of Music Ally recaps the session on the evolution of podcasts, featuring thoughtful weigh-ins from experts at Acast, Music Biz, and Hook Research.

The creator of the Equality in Audio Pact, Richardson urges concept over cash. “A podcast is a platform. What are the other things it can lead to?” she asks. “People focus too much on ad revenue […] In the same way that for artists, you don’t just make your money on streams. You go and tour and sell merch. That’s what a podcast is.”

Richardson sees an opportunity for the UK music industry to innovate. “When artists and labels get into podcasting, [I hope] they are a little bit more ambitious with the ideas they want to do and create with their artists,” she said. Musicians’ ideas are the key: “That’s how we’ll start to catch up with America.”

70 Million: The Peabody-Nominated Podcast Returns

The critically-acclaimed 70 Million podcast has begun its third season. A Lantigua Williams & Co. original, it examines American criminal justice reform by reporting on the role of jails. 

70 Million focuses on what communities directly impacted by the bail system, racialized policing, and the school-to-prison pipeline are doing. This season, reporters investigate the impact of COVID-19 on those in custody, Native American approaches to punishment and rehabilitation, and lessons from Hep-C containment behind bars, among other topics.

As an open-source podcast, 70 Million empowers listeners to engage with annotated transcripts, toolkits, and other resources. Listen and learn. Subscribe to 70 Million wherever you get your podcasts.

Here's what else is going on:

• Wise words: Evo Terra explains why podcasters owe their audiences self-awareness and restraint. “Before you take to the podcast airwaves with your own hot take on a trending topic, answer these three questions to make sure your words aren’t doing more harm than good.”

• Our planet: Tomorrow is International Podcast Day. Starting this evening at 4:00 pm PT, a 24-hour live event will feature sessions representing 22 countries and territories around the world. The 14th annual People's Choice Podcast Awards will stream tomorrow at 4:00 pm PT.

• Say cheese: Alexandra Schwartz of The New Yorker examines The Happiness Lab in a wave of positivity podcasts. “Self-improvement is big in the podcast world, which makes sense for a medium that is supremely conducive to telling other people what to think and do.”

• Rounding up: Spotify for Podcasters advises creators on strategic fundraising. Oriana Leckert, senior journalism outreach lead at Kickstarter, offers tips on mapping out a crowdfunding campaign. Terrell Starr of Black Diplomats discusses follower engagement on Twitter.