My comment piece for CityAM arguing that there are not too many podcasts.
No: Who could possibly become the arbiter of pods?
There is no such thing as too many podcasts. It is all about providing choice and competition, and what gives anyone the right to put themselves forward as an arbiter of what podcasts should or should not be published?
There will always be room for the blockbuster The Rest Is… type pods alongside those which explore more niche interests that may attract only a handful of listeners. But those types of pods can be important to that small group (hands up: I run the Public Affairs in Practice podcast).
Producing a podcast isn’t always about securing a large number of listeners or generating ad revenue. It can be about fandom, showing support, connecting people and sharing new perspectives. They can be personal or professional. People and companies start podcasts to build reputations, show their expertise and win business. Which of these would be stopped?
The danger in limiting podcasts is that the market simply becomes dominated by big communications brands and celebs. Real and authentic voices would never have the chance to thrive under those conditions. Diversity would be lost or curtailed, and the variety of podcast formats reduced. Podcasts would become bland, generic, beige blancmanges.
A thriving community of pods opens opportunities for learning. It allows different formats to be explored and diverse voices empowered because they can be produced cost-effectively. Podcasts democratise communications. Taking democracy away is always dangerous and counterproductive.
If people don’t want to listen, then they won’t listen. But that does not mean they should be stopped from producing them. If anything, there should be more podcasts, not fewer.
Read the full article at CityAM.