Podcasting: The Liberation Tool for Urban Radio Personalities

Podcasting. What is it all about? I am going to make the case for this method of communicating with our audiences again.

A podcast is a digital medium that consists of an episodic series of audio, video, digital radio.
A program (as of music or talk) made available in digital format for automatic download over the Internet.

Some people believe that it is the future and some people scoff at the notion that Podcasting is the future. Put me on the record for one that believes that it is The #1 Medium that will revolutionize our radio industry. The power is in your ability to deliver compelling content that will drive audiences to YOU. This is what we have always done in preparing our morning shows to enterain them for 4 hours a day 5 days a week.  It has already been done before with our success in terrestrial radio. Why not in the digital space where you can have even more people than ever consuming your media.  The Internet has no ceiling.

BJ Murphy and Keith Richards reunite to form the Keith and BJ Show in August of 2014 to form  Podcast and Internet  radiobrand. BJ and Keith  formed the Breakfast Brothers morning show on Power 98 in Charlotte NC in 1995 and gained   industryattention during their time short time together. The show broke up in 1997, but they had longed to get back together  and finish what they started and it seems  the magic and chemistry between these two hard working personalities is still alive and well and ready to conquer again.

This time you don't need a tower or a program director standing over you. You are your own boss!
In other words, a new way for people to hear what you have to say without the approval of a corporate radio entity telling you what you can and cannot talk about. I love it! You must work hard to solve the distribution delimna, (Americans own 4 digital devices on average, and spends 60 hours a week consuming content) that you will face in getting the show heard by as many people possible, but after that has been achieved you are on your way to unlimited possibilities. 

"To me Podcasting is a liberation tool for Urban radio personalities who have been locked out of mainstream media. This is your way to get back in the mainstream, in a powerful way". BJ Murphy

I want to give you an example of how in one episode of a podcast  me and my partner Keith Richards produced on the former Mayor of Charlotte Patrick Cannon being  arrested ( Mayor Cannon Arrested on Corruption Charges) corruption charges in 2014. We did a podcast talking about why the black community was silent while the mainstream media was eating his flesh alive on TV, Radio and News print. The Black media was silent. We recorded a show where I said the Black leadership in Charlotte were cowardly in not defending of his character. Yes he was wrong for taking bribes, but we felt as a friend whom we have known since 1995, there needed to be some balance given as they were assasinating his character. So in doing this podcast show,( https://soundcloud.com/the-keith-and-bj-show/defense-of-patrick-cannon-podcast) the print media did a story on us, and we were invited to be on the news talk station (1110 WBT) with their most popular host and given a platform. We had the phone ringing off the hook that morning on  the Keith larson show! 

We were featured on the Charlotte observer website for atleast 2 months because of the comments.

Here is the media that was produced from that one episode.

Charlotte blacks called "cowards" by Keith and BJ Show
www.qcitymetro.com/.../charlotte_blacks_called_cowards_for_not_defe...



Sep 15, 2014 - In this Observer file photo, Charlotte radio personality BJ Murphy, right,... radio DJs have accused Charlotte's black community of abandoning  ...

 http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article9165584.html

WBT 1110 radio host rants about my not coming on his show
http://www.wbt.com/keith-larson/2014/10/16/keith-talks-about-text-from-bj-murphy





We were featured on the front page of the Charlotte observer Business section on .. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/small-business/article9151082.html

As you can see, one little show produced all that. We did more in that one podcast show than all the Black media put together did during the time that this was a hot story in Charlotte. We recorded that show in a conference room on my iphone 4s by the way. Edited on my Adobe audition and sent it out. That's it!
I left corporate radio back in April of 2014 to seek independence from corporate control to continue doing what I love to do most, and that is engaging the audience and giving them the opportunity to have an unbridled conversation about how they feel about the events of the day. There is too much going on to be watered down today. The city's where we live and use to have a voice, are in need of this kind of dialogue. Since you and I have been locked out of the positions that gave us a platform, we have to seek another medium to get our voices back out in the public, and I submit to you that "Podcasting" is the future. I submit to you that it is the 'NOW" of our generation. it is not the only way, but a Powerful Way.
Let me present to you if you don't know, what Norm Pattiz is doing with his new company called Podcast One. Back in the 70's he started Westwood One as a syndicator in the infancy stages of what is now huge today. Now you have to ask why a man in his 70's is so excited about this medim, that he would devote so much energy to developing it. Read what he has said about the Podcasting  becoming a 100 Million dollar Industry. 
Fberuary 2015 Article (Credit Inside Radio)

The Inside Radio Q&A with Norm Pattiz

Inside Radio Q&A: Norm Pattiz

More than three decades after creating a new model of syndication with the launch of Westwood One, Norm Pattiz has become the biggest evangelizer of podcasting.  Three years ago he launched PodcastOne to serve as a portal for advertising-supporting podcasts.  Today there are about 200 podcasts under its umbrella, including several with a broadcast radio heritage. Inside Radio caught up with Pattiz to discuss the state of podcasting.

Inside Radio: There’s a lot of buzz in the media about podcasting lately.  Do you feel the conversation is changing?Norm Pattiz: People are becoming aware because podcasts are more popular and the increase in business from advertisers and the growth of the overall medium.  And it’s all sort of coming together at an inflection point.   The phenomenon of public radio’s “Serial” has brought a lot of attention to the medium.

IR: It seems “Serial” is reflecting the growth, and isn’t the cause of it.NP: Yes, what it’s done is point a spotlight on podcasting and when you do that it’s impossible not to look at us and a few others.  CBS Radio has now come into the mix with Play.it which I think has helped legitimize the medium.  To build demand and interest in podcasting, especially as an advertising vehicle, we always knew that it would have to attract other players for it to really grow.  If we’re the only significant player, it’s not going to get as much attention as quickly.   This isn’t all that different from what we did 35 years ago when we founded Westwood One.  The game plan and growth strategy are strikingly similar.

IR: How so?
NP: Syndicated radio was not a very big deal when we started Westwood One in 1977.  The only syndicated programs of note were things like “American Top 40” and the “King Biscuit Flower Hour.”  Back then AT40 was sold to radio stations for cash – there was no barter syndication business until we created one.  Westwood One started with one program, a 24-hour special called “The Sound of Motown”that had four advertisers that I had relationships with from the television business.   At its peak Westwood One was grossing nearly $600 million a year and had a market cap of about $4 billion.  That’s quite a story.  When we go in and talk to people about PodcastOne and our plan for evangelizing and creating demand among advertisers, it looks almost identical.  Even to the point that the revenue figures in the first, second and third years are almost identical.

IR: You’ve called podcasting “a savior of radio.” Do you consider podcasting part of radio? NP: I’ve been a cheerleader for radio ever since I’ve been in it. I’m disappointed in some of the directions it has wound up going in.  But when a business becomes as mature as radio has become, it’s not surprising to see it consolidating.  But that generally turns out to be not good for media companies that are in competition from digital.   I view podcasting as being the next incarnation of radio.  I view it as “a savior” – I didn’t say I view it as “the savior” – it’s part of an overall switch from the broadcasting medium to the digital medium.  Radio isn’t going away, it will always exist.  But the growth of radio is going to come in different areas.  The radio business should embrace digital rather than trying to compete with it or fight against it.  That’s a fool’s errand.

IR: Some radio shows have signed with PodcastOne.  Will you add more?
NP: I think more and more traditional radio shows are looking at the medium and wanting to get into it.  We have great success with programs like Dan Patrick, Rich Eisen, “Loveline,” Laura Ingraham, and Clark Howard.  Those shows do very well for us because they have been successful radio shows.   In some cases if they start to see their audience dip down a little bit due to circumstances beyond their control, they have to find other ways to connect with their audience.  Doing that on-demand so that their audience can consume their shows at their convenience is a big plus.

IR: Are all radio shows possible podcasts?NP: For a podcast to be successful on a national basis you can’t just take a local radio show that does well in one market and assume it’s going to do well nationally.  A national radio show with a national footprint can promote the podcast.  In the case of a show like “Loveline” for instance, it delivers way more audience as a podcast than it does as a radio network because it’s been around for more than 30 years and a lot of its fans have grown up and they don’t want to listen to it at 11pm.  If they had the opportunity to listen whenever they wanted, they’d still listen to it.  And they do.  We have about 200 podcasts and only 10 are repurposed radio shows.  But keep in mind those are five day a week radio shows. We have a ton of inventory.

IR: Are you running into any resistance from broadcast radio?NP: Quite candidly, we had long conversations with CBS about working together and we were moving toward doing something together.  That wound up falling apart when they decided to do something on their own.  So they’re doing that.  But there’s a whole lot more to being successful as a podcaster than having digital technology.  I can promise you that the resources we are putting into podcasting are significantly higher than CBS is going to put into podcasting.

IR: Is there an upside to having CBS Radio’s Play.it in the market?
NP: Even though they are now a competitor, having them in the game is good for us and very good for the podcasting because it makes the business more credible to the advertising community and it will help us drive demand.  It’s just like when Westwood One started creating competition in syndicated radio, the space got much bigger as Westwood One got bigger.

IR: It seems as though ‘podcasting’ is no longer a dirty word?NP: Absolutely.  The reason people said it a few years ago was because podcasting, when it first started, was very difficult to consume.  You had to download it to a computer and then download to an iPod.  And there weren’t nearly as many compelling programs.  But that’s all changed.  So the people who thought of podcasting as a negative were involved with it early on.  Fortunately, there were only a few of them.  Right now podcast doesn’t mean you have to put it on an iPod, it means programming on-demand.  And on-demand programming, which is hugely successful in video, will be equally successful in audio.

IR: Has advertisers’ view changed as well?NP: Totally. The only advertisers that used the medium aggressively before we got into this game were direct response advertisers.  They’ve always recognized the incredible connection between the host or the subject matter and their ability to drive consumers to their products. They’ve known that for a long time.  Imagine these are all the P1 listeners who have to perform a positive act to even listen to the show.   So if you get P1 listeners performing positive acts and you get audiences in the hundreds of thousands, and millions in some cases, that is a very valuable audience. It is not a background medium, it’s a foreground medium and direct response advertisers have recognized that from the jump.   We’ve realized there are limitations on the growth of the industry if you just depend on DR advertisers, so we’re going to Madison Avenue. 

IR: How’s podcasting being received there?NP: What we’ve found is Madison Avenue was looking for a player that had the size, scope, bandwidth and critical mass so they could look at it as something they might use.  They don’t want to talk with 250,000 backyard podcasters, they want to talk to a company that has the resources to supply them with the information that they need to be able to buy the medium. In our first year we had six national brand advertisers.  The following year we had 36.  And this year we’ll double that.

IR: How do podcast CPMs compare with streaming radio?
NP: It’s different.  You get a much larger audience with podcasting than with streaming radio.  If you look at the CPMs that direct response advertisers are paying, it’s very high because they don’t care about the size of the audience.  They only care about their cost per lead.  Those CPMs can be huge; in the $30 to $50 range.  You will find that it’s certainly higher than radio, but it has to be competitive with other mediums.  So CPMs in the $8 to $10 range are much more commonplace.

IR: Now in year three, is PodcastOne profitable?NP: It’s pretty early in, but we are in the black.  And there are a number of areas in podcasting that we haven’t mined yet because we have been so focused on building an opportunity for advertisers. With the size of our audience, we’re going to build out the platform so we’re able to get into ecommerce, and we’re able to provide subscription opportunities to offer access to programming that’s not generally available with an ad model.  There are a number of things we can do to build this company.  I suspect that we’ll get started in that stuff sooner rather than later. 

IR: Do you use dynamic ad insertion?
NP: I believe NPR and PodcastOne are the only ones who can currently do dynamic ad insertion.  [CBS Radio’s Play.it uses dynamic ad insertion, as does AdLarge Media.] Ours allows us to do way more things than just dark tag commercials or regionalize.  Our deal with the Associated Press to create news reports uses dynamic insertion.  So when someone consumes one of our podcasts, at the time they download it we pull the latest newscast from AP and plug it into the end of one of our shows.   We put it at the end of the show so it doesn’t interfere with content and then we promote it.  It has two effects: it gives us another spot to sell and it also extends the listening through the end of the program.  Our tests show we retain about 80% of our audience through the end of the newscast.

IR: What is the size of your audience, and how to you measure it?NP: In its raw form, we measure downloads.  But advertisers don’t buy downloads, they buy impressions.  So we have a solution that is widely accepted that converts downloads into impressions and we’re looking at about 100 million impressions a month.  That’s a very big audience. 

IR: Webcasters use unique users, why not use that metric?NP: The closest measure in radio would be cume and advertisers don’t buy cume, they buy impressions.  So we’re more interested in the impressions being generated than we are in how many uniques that we have.

IR: You had a run-in recently with Stitcher telling them to take down PodcastOne content.  Tell us about that.NP: We’re on a variety of different platforms because we’re platform agnostic.  We don’t care who carries the show as long as we are the only ones who can carry the ad inventory pre, post and inside the show.  We love that it’s on iTunes and other platforms.   We had a dust up with Stitcher because they, like other digital platforms, feel like if they have the technology to steal your programming that it’s okay.  Nobody had ever called them on it because potentially it’s very expensive to do that.  But we felt it was absolutely necessary and it would be letting others in the business that have technology platforms that can grab programming based on subject matter without the rights to that programming. We let them know that was something we were not going to stand for or any company should stand for.

IR: As podcasting grows, do you have any sense of how big it could become?NP: In terms of overall listening, it’s already pretty big.  There is research that says 30% of Americans have listened to a podcast.  And there’s no question that it’s growing significantly.  So it will keep growing.  But the number that it delivers right now is sufficient to be able to go out and build a business and an industry.  Back when we built Westwood One, there were no metrics, no projections, and no historical references when we got into the syndication business.  We’re an eight-figure business right now. We’re in the early stages, and I think this could be very quickly a $100 million industry.

IR: It that mostly from national marketers?NP: We have 35 years of relationships with clients in the national radio business, and we’re not going to walk away from those.  So we have had great success going to traditional buyers to help them promote a digital solution for their clients and in some ways defend their positions against the digital departments in their own agencies.   That doesn’t mean we don’t do business with the digital departments because often times they’re brought in.  But as a growing business if we can grab a little share here and there, we can build a nice little business that can show consistent growth over the next several years despite market conditions.

IR: From working in TV to starting a radio network, you’ve already had two full careers. Why not just take in easy?NP: I tried golf and was really lousy.  I have a lot of outside interests that keep me really busy. But what I’m doing right now with PodcastOne is pure joy. It reminds me of the early days of Westwood One, which was the most fun I ever had in my life.  I’m way better at managing a company of 25 to 50 people than a company of 3,000.  Now I’m getting back to what I love best about the medium, which is the content.  It isn’t restricted by radio formats or consolidation because all I am doing is going direct to the consumer who is already interested in either the personality or subject matter.

Here are a series of articles by major magazines talking about the Podcast industry.

Joyride Looks To Monetize In-Car Podcasts

1. All Access Music Group-Dec 29, 2014

   JOYRIDE allows users to search over 100,000 different podcast shows in a variety of categories, and is seeking to convince podcast listeners to ...

1. Here's The Future Of Podcasting

   Forbes-Nov 19, 2014

   Jordan Harbinger launched his popular show The Art of Charm in 2007, making him an elder in the rapidly-expanding podcast community.

2. Podcast to build more audience with this unique audio podcasting ...

   MENAFN.COM-Dec 2, 2014

   Audello reviews show that Josh Audello podcasting platform is fast starting to be very popular! What is this podcast software all about?

3. The new radio stars: welcome to the podcast age

   The Verge-Nov 28, 2014

   a podcast, called StartUp. It offers an intimate, funny, and occasionally deeply awkward look at what it takes to start a company. The podcast ...

How NPR Is Preparing for "The Year of the Podcast"

Washingtonian.com (blog)-Dec 30, 2014

“We've become a huge, massive force in podcasting, and, I think it's fair to say, without even realizing it,” Nuzum says. The network published ...

Serial' is small. PodcastOne is building a podcasting empire ...

Fortune-Dec 18, 2014

The podcast series, which investigates a 15-year-old murder case, has averaged 3.1 million listeners each week. More notably, it's become an ...

Serial fans in Melbourne share finale in sell-out group podcasting ...
ABC Online-Dec 19, 2014

What 'Serial'-mania says about the growing popularity of podcasts

PBS NewsHour-Dec 11, 2014

A weekly podcast has riveted millions with its exploration of a true crime story and its questions about whether the man at its center is guilty or ...

How Podcasts Give Listeners New Ways to Talk About Depression ...

Slate Magazine-Dec 14, 2014

Today I'm healthy and happy, but I still hear that sentiment pretty regularly—on podcasts. The medium has made astounding progress in ...

Should Your Company Start a Podcast?

blogs.hbr.org (blog)-Dec 9, 2014

If you haven't heard, podcasting is having a moment. As podcastsmove from niche to mainstream and more hits seem likely, the medium may ...

2014 – The Year in Podcasting

Radio Survivor-Dec 24, 2014

When I wrote my first “year in podcasting” post some twelve months ago I didn't anticipate that we would end 2014 with nearly every local, ...

4 Reasons Why Podcasting is a Cross-Channel Content Powerhouse

1. EContent (press release)-Dec 22, 2014

   Podcasting is all the rage right now. And no, not because Tim Ferriss, Gary Vaynerchuk, Brian Clark, and Pat Flynn are doing it (and have been ...

1. Slate Goes All Out for Special Podcasting Issue

   Radio Survivor-Dec 16, 2014

   Slate jumps to the head of the pack for mainstream podcasting coverage with a “special issue” this week, featuring eight articles dedicated to ...

For Auckland mates, podcasting not the worst idea after all

Stuff.co.nz-Dec 13, 2014

"A podcast is probably not going to give you the weather, time or traffic because it's not localised," explains McEwan. "And these little things ...

An extraordinary new era of podcasting is upon us

Mail & Guardian Online-Dec 11, 2014

The iPod not only revolutionised music storage, it introduced a new platform for journalism in the form of podcasts such as M&G's Extraordinary ...

What's Behind the Great Podcast Renaissance?

New York Magazine-Oct 31, 2014

Another reason that podcasts may be growing is that the economics are compelling. Pro

A whodunit and the future of audio

Hindu Business Line-Dec 24, 2014

A weekly podcast featuring the real-life story of Min Lee is making waves across the globe. 'Serial', a spinoff of US National Public Radio's This ...

Serial Host Sarah Koenig Says She Set Out To Report, Not Exonerate
WBUR-Dec 23, 2014

Podcast One is building a podcasting empire.....http://fortune.com/2014/12/18/serial-is-small-podcastone-is-building-a-podcasting-empire/

More to come about Podcasting. Study these articles and see where you fit, in the grand scheme of the new media.


One last thing to look at is the metrics on how to make money or should I say one of the ways.

So what exactly are these “Industry Standards” for Podcast Sponsorships anyhow?

A 15-second Pre-Roll commands $18 per 1000 CPMs (listens).

A 60-second Mid-Roll commands $25 per 1000 CPMs (listens).

For ease of math purposes, let’s say your podcast averages 10,000 listens per episode.

18 x 10 (for the 10,000 listens) = $180 is the cost to the sponsor for a Pre-Roll.

25 x 10 (for the 10,000 listens) = $250 is the cost to the sponsor for a Mid-Roll.

Therefore, your 10,000 per episode podcast would cost a sponsor $430 for a Pre-Roll/Mid-Roll combo.

Let’s say you allow 2 sponsors per episode, now you are making $860 per episode.

4 episodes a month: $3,440

8 episodes a month: $6,880

30 episodes a month: $25,800 (now you can see why I love doing a daily show :-)

The above model is only the “industry standard”, and I have structured deals with both higher and lower CPMs; however, most of my deals are at this CPM rate.

Complete article found here: ( Complete artice can be found here on Sponsorship. Very exciting stuff!)

http://www.fastcompany.com/3041522/pod-power

MORE TO COME ON THIS SUBJECT...Please leave a comment below or on twitter @bjmurphyshow or email bjmurphyshow@gmail.com