The international press is abuzz around CEO of Luminary Matt Sacks’ announcement to set up his start-up which he dubs the ‘Netflix of podcasts’. The medium is a relief from a visually-saturated world and has begun slowly finding its niche in the Indian market as well. More often, we are asked ‘have you listened to this podcast’ as much as we are asked if we’ve seen a trending movie or listened to a hot track.
Dating back to the 1980s, podcasts were known as ‘audio-blogging’. It was only in 2004 that The Guardian’s Ben Hammersley coined the term ‘podcasts’ — way more catchier. In 2008, podcasts in a video format became more popular, thanks to YouTube.
Hear the empowerment
In a panel discussion at the City Scripts Festival, hosted by the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bengaluru, communications manager and RJ at Radio Active CR 90.4 MHz Shruti Sharada spoke about Gender Jalebi, a podcast that addresses gender issues. “The conversations have expanded further to address sensitive subjects such as sexual abuse, for which a podcast is ideal, as there is no compulsion to go live and it still gives you anonymity, making it easier to talk about difficult subjects.”
Shruti Sharada
- Bijay elaborates that 90 to 95% of podcasts out there are audio only, explaining:
- “This is also because there are fewer logistics involved in doing an audio podcast versus a video podcast. This is a medium for camera-shy people.”
- “In countries similar to India, where people are still not very comfortable showing their face, this medium fits in perfectly.”
- “The people who prefer podcasts are there because this medium doesn’t need dedicated time to consume content. As a matter of fact, India is among the top countries where the largest number of people use YouTube to consume audio content.”
- “I don’t see video podcasts growing at the scale of audio podcasts because video podcasts need to compete with Netflix, YouTube and others. But audio podcasts barely have competition. Most of the top podcasts are ‘audio-only’ and it is a well-tapped platform in the US and in China as well.”
She adds that the medium is accessible and non-intrusive. “I find it empowering. You can edit and elaborate more, as it is a free medium... Podcasts are going beyond music to include different subjects, such as travel stories and political views. There is no constraint in terms of format. It feels as though you are listening to a conversation between friends.” She adds, though, that the only drawback of the podcast is to find a subject that will work.
‘As a secondary activity’
Elaborating on the advantages of podcasts, Bijay Gautam, podcast coach and consultant and host of The Inspiring Talk podcast, says, “Most content platforms are video-based, be it YouTube, Facebook or Instagram. Listening to podcasts could be a secondary activity. In fact, a lot of podcast listeners say they are usually multitasking while listening to podcasts. They could be driving, cooking, cleaning, commuting or working out. It is the best medium to make the most of your unproductive time. Podcasts allow creators to paint pictures in the listeners’ minds, enabling imagination in the listener’s head, which visual mediums cannot offer.” According to a 2018 report by Infinite Dial, 22% of those surveyed said they listen to podcasts during their commute.
One can argue that consumption of audio is much more straightforward than video in terms of access and/or speed. “One of the biggest draws of podcasting for the creator has been that it is a DIY medium with a low barrier to entry,” Saif Omar of The Musafir Stories points out, “But with video, the time and effort required is much higher, which may well be a reason as to why video podcasts haven’t taken off.” He concludes that as things stand, the status quo may prevail for longer, unless there is a drastic change in the way podcasts are consumed.
Neural effects
In most cases, podcasts make it possible to consume information passively and don’t require the user to be glued to their phone screen at all times — and Saif nods to this. “In addition to the ability to multi-task while listening to a podcast, they consume a lot less mobile data compared to video, and are not constricted by the device screen size.”
We guess you can say podcasts are comparable to radio sans ads, and there have been scientific studies on the more vivid forms of radio and podcasts. In a 2010 study by Emma Rodero titled ‘See It on a Radio Story: Sound Effects and Shots to Evoked Imagery and Attention on Audio Fiction’, the findings concluded that “the inclusion of descriptive sound effects and especially of sound shots in a fictional radio drama increases mental imagery and that a relationship exists between this increase and the degree of listener attention.”
New York-based animator Danny Casale, aka Coolman Coffeedan, who was in Bengaluru for the Under 25 Summit, says that ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) — primarily meant for relaxation — explains why it is such a huge craze among young adults in America. “You either love it or hate it. There is something very human about the magic of sound. There are so many categories as well, and that is why people have begun gravitating towards ASMR audio.”
Danny Casale
As entertainment formats vacillate between audio, visual, both, or none of the aforementioned, podcasts are remarkably malleable, keeping up with the preferences of audiences. In fact, as technology gets smarter and more autonomous with data mining, cookies and Artificial Intelligence, our social media and voice assistants (Siri, Alexa and Cortana to name a few) openly offer us what we may like. We’ve heard people say ‘power to the podcast’ — do you see why?
