Only a handful of the “elite podcasters” actually make money for their unique content. Although sponsors often pay a “cost per listener” to advertise on these podcasts, the main emphasis is on how large their audience is. But whose fault is it that this is the dynamic that is being looked at?

One reason many sponsors give as to why they only sponsor the elite is that it takes too long to sponsor small and medium-sized podcasts. This is why they often set the minimum number of listeners to 50,000 or possibly 10,000 downloads PER EPISODE!

But whose fault is it? We can basically identify four different areas in the podcast industry that we can look at to answer this question.

1. The sponsors.

2. Podcast hosting/listening platforms.

3. The podcasters themselves.

4. The media/sponsoring companies.

Is it the sponsor’s fault? Not really. However, it is true that it takes them a lot of time and resources to research, find, contact and negotiate prices with many podcasters. Smaller podcasters can have a great relationship and a very high trust factor with their audiences. Since many know their listeners in real life (or listeners have actively found their podcast), they are often ignored by major sponsors.

But the focus for larger companies is often on “return on investment” (ROI). The traditional podcaster simply won’t produce the ROI these companies are looking for.

Is it the podcast platforms? Well, they’re very much to blame for the discovery part. So yes, in a way, it’s the platform companies’ fault. They make it harder for some podcasts to grow and tend to keep elite money makers at the top of their search results. It almost looks like an old monarchy type society, where the rules are rigged to keep the elite in power. But that doesn’t really give us the information about “whose fault is it?”

So is it the fault of the podcasters themselves? That’s a big burden for individual podcasters. We really can’t expect millions upon thousands of podcasters to be able to find sponsors who want to sponsor just one small podcast. That will not work in most cases. Also, it would take too long for podcasters to raise enough money for the time factor to pay off in reaching sponsors. The “ROI” for individual podcasters would be missing.

Is it the fault of the sponsoring media/companies? In my opinion, they are the real culprits. As podcasting began to grow, so did the interest in profiting from the work of podcasters. But the companies that were interested seemed to have the idea that the same model used for radio would translate to podcasting. But there is also a problem with that theory.

The problem is that podcasting is not radio!

That’s why podcasting is growing so fast! Podcasters don’t need to pay to be on an individual radio station at any given time. In reality, they can be on many different listening platforms, at the same time, listened to anytime, anywhere by anyone, on demand.

Podcasters don’t need to have a media empire helping them produce or create their content. it really is podcasting “by the people, for the people”.

We see many companies whose sole focus is on the biggest and most popular podcasts. They use the old outdated radio model as their patronage guide. Not only with the podcasts that they have on their platforms, but also with the dynamic ad system that they insist on using.

Dynamic advertising is where ads change over time, automatically. No podcaster input. It’s all handled by enterprise-level software.

Podcasters lose a key characteristic strength when they accept dynamic ad insertions. The most popular (and most responsive) advertisement for podcasters is one in which the host reads the ad during the recording process. This is done “pre-roll, mid-roll or post-roll”.

Holding on to an old model could be why some of these companies lose tens of millions of dollars each year in advertising costs every year. This is also why they are very particular about only dealing with the biggest and most well-known podcasts.

Podcasting is really about the creators. It could be called “grassroots journalism.” This is a new medium, with millions upon thousands of podcasters, that needs a new model to generate ad revenue.

Podcasting started as an amateur platform where everyone could create and publish their own content. You didn’t need an editor-in-chief or a media publishing giant telling you what to do, what to talk about, or how to promote your podcast.

Today, people all over the world record, edit, and publish their own content. Your listeners can listen to your programs whenever and wherever they want. Truly, citizen journalism in the audio space was created by podcasters and has grown exponentially.

I liked podcasts today where FM radio was in the early 1980s. FM radio was “available” (usually in elevators or doctor’s offices) but not widely distributed or listened to. Just as FM radio became a “standard feature” on new cars (rather than a “special order”), the ability to listen to podcasts is now becoming a “standard feature” on new cars as well. Almost all new cars have a USB port and the ability to listen to podcasts through the car stereo system!

To answer the original question, “Is podcasting going to replace radio?” the answer is “NO.”

However, podcasting will take a BIG market segment away from traditional radio. In fact, it has already started. That is why many smaller radio stations have gone out of business. It’s also evident in recently released podcast viewership statistics! Podcast listening is growing exponentially!

There’s a great example, using an “old saying”. It is something similar to this:

“When is the best time to plant a tree? Answer: “Twenty years ago.”

“When is the second best time to plant a tree?” Answer: “Today!“

Regarding podcasting,When was the best time to start a podcast?

Answer: “Five or six years ago!”

“When is the next best time to start a podcast?” Answer: “THIS DAY!”

If you’ve ever considered starting a podcast, now would be the perfect time for you to do so. The exponential growth curve is rising. For the foreseeable future, it will continue to grow and the dominance of podcasts will only increase. Jump into podcasting today and “catch the wave!”