PodMov Daily: Wednesday, March 16

Episode 609: Your Midweek Update

Virtual Live Podcasts Are (Still) Raking in Profits

In this climate of Zoom fatigue, interactive virtual podcasts are doing surprisingly well. Aria Bracci of Hot Pod looks into Moment House, a company that has been live-streaming podcast recordings for about a year. Huge payouts (averaging six figures for creators) come from tickets, merch, tips, and meet-and-greets.

Any podcaster can use the platform, though of course these numbers are from big names like the McElroys (My Brother, My Brother and Me) and cult hits like Morbid: A True Crime Podcast. Bracci calls Moment House “a natural extension” of common paywalled perks for podcasts, like bonus content and Discord chats.

The company has done 56 livestreams so far, pulling in a combined 140,000 paying fans. In a way, these offer more engagement than a live show: “Moments have included interactive trivia with audience members and a live merch fundraiser where hosts made a drinking game out of the milestones reached.”

Why Is Podcasting’s ‘Churn Rate’ So Low?

Most of us have access to more content than we could ever consume. With streaming services alone, it’s easy to watch dozens if not hundreds of shows and movies per year. Podcast listening behavior, though, is different. Why do people “consume far, far fewer podcast titles in comparison”? Evo Terra has a theory.

“Those other forms have all adapted to provide their consumers a ‘get this and then get this when you’re done’ content fountain,” Terra writes in Podcast Pontifications. Podcasting has a low ‘churn rate’ because it was built to engage us over an endless period of time – episodic, ongoing shows have no marked conclusion.

Podcast listeners maintain very limited ‘shelf space,’ as Amplifi Media CEO Steve Goldstein puts it. Though we listen to hundreds of episodes a year, Terra says, our go-to shows rarely change. “It's generally accepted that you can count the number of podcasts titles the average person is actively listening to on one hand.”

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Here's what else is going on:

• California dream: The PM Evolutions event platform and mobile app are now live. With just a week left to go, all attendees are encouraged to set up their profiles and explore the schedule. Also in today’s update, speaker submissions for PM 2022 in Dallas (August 23-26) are now open.

• In sync: Next Tuesday at 12:00 pm ET is “Radio Boot Camp: How to Figure Out Your Sound.” PRX’s Jocelyn Gonzales will lead the workshop with a hands-on audio mood board process, teaching how to express your show’s values in sound. $100 registration, use code MUSIC for 10% off.

• Looped in: What is The Infinite Dial, exactly? Edison Research has a helpful FAQ for podcasting’s ‘annual state of the union.’ The latest will be presented one week from today at PM Evolutions. No ticket, no problem: Register for the free livestream to learn more about your American listeners.

• Kids’ menu: WBUR’s “Mega Awesome Super Huge Wicked Fun Podcast Playdate” will return to Boston in-person on April 23 and 24. The festival will feature live performances from children’s podcasts Circle Round, Brains On, But Why? and Story Pirates. Tickets are $25 or $12 for virtual.