Podcasting: The Radio of Generation Z in Spain

Miscelánea sobre el entorno audiovisual en 2014, 2014

The emergence and popularization of streaming songs has blurred the influence of traditional music radio, formerly the primary vehicle for prescribing artists, albums and pop music genres thanks to its symbiotic relationship with the recording industry. Regardless of its nature, digital music platforms have become powerful tools for discovering and experiencing the pop universe. The impact of streaming music platforms requires a complete renovation of narrative, production and marketing strategies in order for radio to maintain its appeal among its younger listeners, essential to the future of the medium. This paper describes the contemporary setting of this music radio specialization and suggests some initiatives that the Spanish radio industry could undertake to maintain social, cultural and economic relevance of its music programming.

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 2006

The Apple iPod has not only become a ‘must have’ style accessory for the ‘wirefree’ generation but has also revolutionized the way we consume music. At the time of writing, (November 2005) the revolution has already started in the audio world, and has been going for the last 18 months. ‘Podcasting’ allows anyone with a PC to create a ‘radio’ programme and distribute it freely, through the internet to the portable MP3 players of subscribers around the world. Podcasting not only removes global barriers to reception but, at a stroke, removes key factors impeding the growth of internet radio: its portability, its intimacy and its accessibility. This is a scenario where audiences are producers, where the technology we already have assumes new roles and where audiences, cut off from traditional media, rediscover their voices.

Radio Journal:International Studies in Broadcast & Audio Media, 2020

In 2018, the BBC announced plans to replace their long-established ‘iPlayer Radio’ service with a new platform called BBC Sounds. The new service was promoted as a single space where listeners can consume BBC radio, music and podcasts, creating a single point of interaction between audiences and content. This is, however, far more than an exercise in reframing public service radio content in a new app; it is also a practical application of these policies through the commissioning of content made for online, specifically, younger, audiences. This shift happens not only at a time where traditional broadcasters are exploring ways to re-engage younger listeners but as commentators search for the ‘Netflix of Podcasts’ This article explores the manner in which the BBC Sounds project is a response to current trends in the radio industry and to which it recognizes podcasting as an audio medium that is distinct from but institutionally connected to radio.

2016

In 2008, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) proposed some guidelines to radio broadcasters designed to activate the recovery of younger listeners. They did this after observing that radio’s penetration among the youngest sectors was in decline. According to this report, the key to halting this decrease was to join forces with the Internet, since the latter accounted for the main lack of interest in radio among this particular demographic, especially as far as music radio was concerned. The main focus of the guidelines was therefore on the online environment. What was recommended was that attention should be paid to website development and promotion with particular emphasis on the issue of interactivity. However, taking these steps might not in itself be enough to halt young people’s loss of interest in radio. Understanding and interpreting this disaffection also requires the use of methodological research tools— including the study of quantitative data provided by audience measur...

The Radio Journal. International Studies in Broadcast and Audio Media, vol. 5, N. 1, 2007, pp. 9-18 (ISSN 1476-4504), 2007

"Is podcasting the future of radio? Is podcasting that missing link connecting radio and the Net that Internet radio stations were not able to establish? Is podcasting a revolutionary or a transitory cultural trend? Furthermore, is podcasting a way towards a more democratic audio media system or is it rather a new tool in the hands of the multinational recording industry? This article will explore these questions, providing an historical framework to the introduction of digital sound (from 1991 to 2007) and related social practices, distinguishing four main phases: the birth of the popular use of digital music; Web radio; Music for free; the iPod and Podcasting."

Communication ¬ Society, 2021

This article identifies the peculiarities of audio consumption (radio, music and podcast) by Colombian adolescents and youth on their screen devices, especially the smartphone. The irruption in the digital ecosystem of radio and sound platforms redefines the industry's relationship with new audiences. The body of research, classified into three age groups (puberty-10 to 14 years-, middle-15 to 19 years-, and full-20 to 24 years-), is made up of students in basic secondary education and university students who were consulted through a quantitative methodology (700 surveys) and a qualitative one (8 focus groups with 48 participants), which made it possible to recognize the routines and the sound agenda of the subjects of study. The results of the research outline the profile of the Colombian audio consumer, whose habits of listening to the radio alternate times of attention to the broadcast on air with the consumption of apps, websites and music distribution platforms, which evidences their digital skills and the creation of a menu that combines music, sports and entertainment content. It is a media diet built on the mediation of technological devices and the influence of family and virtual communities. The sound component is the backbone of the relationship between industry and listener, but visual and iconographic elements are added to reinforce the bonds with brand, media and producer, regardless of where audio meets audience.

Participations - Journal of Audience & Reception Studies, 2021

According to a Voxnest report, 2019 was ‘the year of the podcast in Brazil’ (2019, p. 4). The audio solutions provider reveals data on the increasing production and consumption of podcasts in Brazil in 2019 and how it continues to grow in 2020, despite the pandemic (Voxnest, 2020). This is the premise for this article, where we seek to conduct an study to understand how and why Brazilians listen to podcasts. By reviewing data obtained in a survey conducted on 566 listeners at the beginning of 2020, we aim on the one hand to uncover the possibility of a connection between radio listeners and podcast consumers and/or the emergence of new listening practices that seek to complement or replace radio consumption (Llinares, Fox & Berry, 2018). On the other hand, we want to assess podcast listening motivations, looking for an approach that not only considers consumption numbers, but that explores the main reasons to choose podcasts, why they are listened to and what topics listeners are looking for. Finally, this article aims at studying the reception and engagement with podcasts in the Brazilian context, which is little approached in this area. The study’s main findings reveal that podcasts complement radio listening, thus highlighting the continuous relation between radio and podcasting. The results also show how podcast listeners search for content they don’t find on the traditional media. We conclude that, although there are many podcasts available in the Brazilian Portuguese language, listeners point to a lack of offer diversification. We can also highlight that social media play an increasingly important role in the discovery of new podcasts by listeners.

El Profesional de la información

In recent decades, speech-based radio stations in Spain, whose programmes have been aimed at the general public, have transformed their on-demand content broadcasting strategy by incorporating audio processes in the form of podcasts, followed by transmission through websites, aggregators and applications. The overall objective of this article is to provide a detailed account of the evolution and scope of the podcast as an on-demand distribution channel for speech-based Spanish radio broadcasters, and to reveal how this format is changing the approaches taken by the most prominent national radio stations [Cadena SER, COPE, Onda Cero, and Radio Nacional de España (RNE)], with special emphasis on prime-time morning shows. The methodology employed combines quantitative and qualitative techniques along with an analysis of the content uploaded to the website of these morning programmes, which are part of the weekly programming cycle, together with semi-structured interviews using closed-e...

El profesional de la información, 2022

Fifteen years after the term was coined, the podcast is now consolidated as a sound format with a specific identity within the digital media ecosystem. The practice of podcasting is none other than radio, but one encompassing diverse production on both expressive and thematic levels whose properties (mobility, narrative fragmentation, and the integration of multiple devices) and personalized consumption generate a very different listener attitude compared with traditional radio. After an initial period of independent amateurism strongly conditioned by the technologies available, the podcast has achieved significant global popular recognition, as well as an increasingly important professional dimension thanks to the emergence and spread of new distribution platforms (podcast networks) designed to serve as alternatives to the dominant feeds (such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iVoox, and Spotify) that rely on different catalogs and business models. This investigation identifies, describes, and systematically orders the main management and marketing models for podcasts on these platforms on the basis of a comparative analysis of fourteen of them, two in each of the eight countries in Europe, North America, and Latin America where this format is most widespread: Acast (Sweden); Podimo (Denmark); Binge Audio and Majelan (France); Podimo Spain and Podium Podcast (Spain); PodcastOne and Luminary (USA); Convoy Network and Puentes (Mexico); Posta and Parque Podcast (Argentina); and Pia Podcast and Podway (Colombia). The study measures and compares the offerings of each of the studied platforms using different quantitative and qualitative variables (age, territorial reach, content categories, dominant genres, funding, and consumption). The objective is to start to draw up a global map of the main operators in the podcasting industry, and to identify the production trends and marketing strategies of a format with increasing impact and demand, destined to become the future heir of broadcast radio.

Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast & Audio Media

When evaluating any new medium or technology we often turn to the familiar as a point of reference. Podcasting was no different, drawing obvious comparisons with radio. While there are traits within all podcasts that are radiogenic, one must also consider whether such distinctions are beneficial to the medium. Indeed, one might argue that when one considers the manner in which podcasts are created and consumed then there is an increasing sense in which podcasting can present itself as a distinct medium. While it is true to suggest that as an adaptable medium radio has simply evolved and podcasting is its latest iteration. In doing so, we might fail to appreciate the unique values that exist. In this article, I suggest that by considering podcasts on their term we might begin to uncover new truths about a medium in change.