Audience

Some of the best, most diverse, and talented audio creators alive make their living creating audio fiction. Shows like Welcome to Nightvale, Limetown, and Alice isn’t Dead, just to name a few, weave complex story arcs, colorful characters, and of course, great production value for listeners. We’re all lucky these shows exist. 

Northwoods Baseball Sleep Radio is firmly in the realm of audio fiction. But unlike most audio fiction, there are no supernatural elements, heroes, villains, or any traditional story arc. In this podcast series, each episode is presented as a full-length minor league baseball broadcast. The teams, the players, the sponsors, all of it is made up. The catch? There is none. It’s just nine innings of fictional baseball.

Created by a podcaster known only as Mr. King, Sleep Baseball is a work of fiction that feels very much like it’s a real broadcast. And if that seems boring, it’s the point. This “boring” show is resonating with listeners. Fans of the show support it through Patreon and merch sales. It’s even been written up in The New Yorker. 

In this episode, Stuart and “Mr. King” chat about the inspiration for making the show, the process of producing fake baseball broadcasts, and how listener support makes a project of this size financially viable.

Links

Full Episodes and Merch:  sleepbaseball.com

A piece on Sleep Baseball in the New Yorker:  newyorker.com/culture/rabbit-holes/the-rapture-of-listening-to-a-fake-baseball-game

Connect your Podcast to Stripe with Castos:  castos.com/integrations/stripe/

***Between the time of this recording and the publishing date, legendary baseball broadcaster Vin Scully passed away. Read more HERE 

Stuart and Matt gather to discuss a few stories from the world of audio.

Pod Voices

In light of the recent Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe Vs. Wade podcasters are uniting to support women’s right and pro choice policies. If you’re a podcaster who feels called to speak out, Arielle Nissenblatt has a website for how podcasters can spread awareness and link to resources. 

 podvoices.help

White Noise in Podcasting

Ashley Carmen from Bloomberg reports that some podcasters are making $18,000 per month by producing white noise. 

bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-01/how-to-make-money-on-spotify-a-white-noise-podcast-could-bring-you-big-bucks

From Edison Research

Some insight into advertising and podcasting

edisonresearch.com/how-many-shows-must-one-buy-to-reach-the-majority-of-podcast-listeners-in-the-u-s/

Headliner Strikes back at Descript: editeddy.com/signup

Some Comments from Spotify

Johan Seidefors talks about why he sees scripted podcasts as being a big part of podcasting’s future: 

https://twitter.com/RadiodaysEurope/status/1526508588268658688

More commentary from Spotify’s Investor Day 2022: https://newsroom.spotify.com/2022-06-08/investor-day-2022/

Indie Rock and Podcasting 

Singer Songwriter eef Barzelay also know as Clem Snide presents “A Life in Song”: https://linktr.ee/alifeinsong

Matt Reviews the Rodecaster Pro II: castos.com/rodecaster-pro-2-review/

On this episode of the Audience podcast, we’re diving into the archives to show you an older but important episode of the 3 Clips Podcast called, “Making a Living in Podcasting.” This episode was hosted by the 3 Clips original host, Jay Acunzo with business partners Kinsey Grant and Josh Kaplan as guests. 

3 Clips is a show that focuses on the craft of podcasting. It showcases specific podcasts in each episode and breaks down their processes, three clips at a time. 

In this episode, Jay talks with Kinsey and Grant about what it takes to turn your podcasting passion into a successful career. Instead of dissecting their podcast and the process they use to create the show, Jay talks with them about their passion and career and how they’ve melded those things together. 

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to Castos.com/podcast. Interested in private podcasting? Check out Castos’ private podcasting service at https://academy.castos.com/private/. And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at castos.com/subscribe.

Today you’ll learn about:

• Individual strengths and weaknesses as podcasters
• The myth of the solo creator
• The development of the Thinking is Cool podcast
• How they leveraged their brand for sponsorships
• Showcasing ad content and sponsors through various mediums (including podcasting)
• Finding a healthy balance between selling everything to being too discriminatory with ads
• Disagreements with partners
• • Strengths and weaknesses as partners
• Vetting creative (behind the scenes) people and building a great team
• Self-worth as a podcaster and putting your ambitions into perspective