Are Canada’s podcast powerhouses on the same page?
Are Canada’s podcast powerhouses on the same page?
Vol. 9 - Canada's podcast networks and studios talk 2022 & 2023.
Hihi!! Welcome to the last Pod the North Tuesday of 2022! It’s a bit of a different format for this one.
It’s that time of year where the internet is a flurry with “best podcasts” lists and year-in-review blogs. And what at year 2022 has been for the podcasting landscape!
While it’s felt like most podcasting companies have spent the year trying to make the next “blockbuster”, Signal Hill Insights, Ashley Carman and more have curated some great recaps of what exactly happened this year in the North American and global landscape. Buzzsprout also released a great 2022 summary video to check out.
But as tempting as it is to talk about Joe Rogan, Podcast Movement and AI, I’m here to talk about Canadian podcasting.
Luckily, Signal Hill Insights has released their Canadian Podcast Listener 2022 Report (a free download!) in partnership with The Podcast Exchange, and released their top 3 learnings from 2022 on their blog.
One of the fortunate things about doing research is that we often get a chance to set these short-term business issues aside and focus on the opportunities provided by the most important player in all of this: the listener. After all, their reality – how and why they listen – will determine the future of the industry.
Jeff Vidler, President & Founder at Signal Hill Insights
Signal Hill Insights’ research highlighted a couple of notable things for Canadian podcasting that I wanted to point out:
More than half of Canadians have officially listened to a podcast. Does this mean more opportunity to focus on Canadian audiences?
Spotify is growing in popularity as a go-to podcast listening app. Tough news for podcast discovery considering Spotify only really promotes their own shows.
People are coming to podcasts to learn something new, but staying for entertainment. Seems like the door is wide open for experimentation and creativity!
Video is a thing despite many of our reservations — especially with YouTube becoming a leading listening platform. Even though most listeners from Youtube are consuming audio-only anyway.
Cross-promotion on other podcasts is still the leading form of podcast discovery, along direct word-of-mouth communication. Like all the times you relentlessly demanded that your friends to listen to Normal Gossip or Bone Valley.
So the research and the stats are there, but are Canada’s podcasting powerhouses on the same page?
I reached out to 20 of Canada’s podcast networks and studios and 12 of them are sharing their insights from 2022 and what they’re thinking about as we head into 2023.
Responses have been edited and condensed for brevity.
UPDATE: There are now 31 long-term drinking water advisories in effect in 27 First Nations communities across Canada, again. Chippewas of the Thames First Nation has been added to the list as of December 14, 2022.
What's one thing you learned from podcasting in 2022?
Amplify Podcast Network (Stacey Copeland, Supervisor Producer / Project Manager): Play and experimentation are crucial to creating new ways of thinking and making space for different voices.
CANADALAND (Jesse Brown, Publisher/Host): Hot new shows come and go, but most listening occurs on regular feeds. So we'll continue to put out new series but we'll also air them on our main feeds.
Cited Media (Gordon Katic, Director): What you are taught as professional radio/podcast producers does not really capture how our audiences think, or what they expect. Audiences are also much smarter than we think they are, and I am afraid many podcasters run away from complex or abstract ideas because they think it won’t work, when in fact it will.
CBC Podcasts (Arif Noorani, Director & Tanya Springer, Senior Manager): The appetite for stories that are reflecting of the moment is not just here, it's global.
Frequency Podcast Network (Jordan Heath-Rawlings, Executive Producer): It’s getting harder and harder to launch a brand new show from nothing. With the major platforms pushing their own subscription deals or exclusives, there’s even less real estate for organic discovery available.
The Globe and Mail Newsroom (Kasia Mychajlowycz, Senior Producer): Your audience is listening! We did two live Twitter Spaces that also drew a new audience, and did great when we put them on our feed.
Globe Content Studio (Kiran Rana, Executive Producer): This November, we launched Ahead Of The Game. Producing a show that was tied to a live event was a new challenge for our small team, especially since so much of the work we do in our other shows is in seasons planned in the months prior. It’s also reinforced the importance of having a team that’s not only experts in a topic, but genuinely enjoy it.
Harbinger Media Network (Andre Goulet, Executive Director): Interest in [podcasting] is still expanding. In an era of rising fascism and bigotry, platforming progressive, left-wing and socialist values has never been more important and that really drives how we approach developing our content and coverage.
Lead Podcasting (Amanda Cupido): Lead Podcasting has expanded its French podcast production and developed connections with industry peers in Quebec -- where the podcast scene is alive and well! We're excited to learn about developing podcasts in other languages/markets.
Pilgrim Content (Tobin Dalrymple): Stop sleeping on paid podcast marketing. For a modest budget you can easily multiply your baseline audience – and they stick around for good.
Quill (Fatima Zaidi, Founder CEO): The need for more robust data and analytics [was] confirmed. With the current economic landscape, it's more important than ever for podcasters to understand ROI.
SONAR NETWORK (Marianna Miniotis): Audiences [are] returning more and more to live events, so we've been doing lots of live shows. We also learned that podcast production services are in huge demand!
Vocal Fry Studios (Katie Jensen, Principal): Earlier this year, I had a feeling that the podcast bubble was about to burst. It feels like we’re at that point right now. Alex Blumberg has left Gimlet, whose catalogue has been gutted by Spotify. Celebrity podcasts clog the Apple Podcast charts. Algorithmic transcript video editors are sprouting in Silicon Valley like weeds. Organic growth is impossible. Independent and small podcasters need to rally hard to mobilize their communities or pay top dollar to get attention.
What can podcast lovers look foward to coming out of your network/studio in 2023?
Amplify Podcast Network: Our inaugural open call for pitches and an experimental audio/zine Manifesto are cued up for the new year. Plus, keep your ears perked for our first run of peer-reviewed scholarly podcasts later in the year. More Amplified chats too, of course. 2023 is going to be big for Amplify!
CANADALAND: Our investigations. We're discovering some shocking stuff. I'd love to tease it, but can't breathe a word until the reporting is done. Stay tuned.
Cited Media: Darts and Letters is going a little more local, and we plan to tell a few stories about radical left intellectual, radical social movements, and radical schools in Toronto especially, and maybe some other Canadian cities.
CBC Podcasts: Aside from The Heart and Sherman, you’ve got PlayME coming back, Let's Make a Rom-Com from the same makers as Let's Make a Sci-Fi. Secret Life of Canada returns back for their fifth season. Another one called Love, Janessa we are making with Antica — it is [Catfish] on steroids.
Frequency Podcast Network: New seasons of award winning shows such as Island Crime and Heaven Bent, a couple of secret projects I can’t tell you about or I would get in trouble, and some exciting news about expanding The Big Story, Canada’s first daily news podcast, in some interesting new directions as it heads towards it’s fifth (FITH!!) anniversary next June.
The Globe and Mail - Newsroom: Thanks to the success of our daily news podcast The Decibel, The Globe will be making more podcasts!
Globe Content Studio: Our award-winning personal finance podcast, Stress Test, is back where we’ll continue to delve into the issues impacting the wallets of Gen Z and millennials, [and] a third season of City Space, our urban-planning podcast that looks at how to make our cities better.
Harbinger Media Network: Dozens of new episodes featuring in-depth, hard-hitting interviews, panels and conversations every month from Canada's #1 progressive podcast network plus new shows from Newfoundland-based investigative journalist Justin Brake, content partnerships with Fernwood Publishing in Halifax, Briarpatch Magazine in Regina and more.
Lead Podcasting: Launching the third season of The Forefront - a podcast that explores ideas for cities in Canada. We are also producing/releasing several other shows including Borders and Belonging (a TMU/Open Democracy podcast that debunks migration myths), Dignity and Joy (a podcast about food security in Canada from FoodShare) and a new show in collaboration with Heritage Canada and The Walrus Lab about Canadian historical milestones.
Pilgrim Content: We are working on our first original series – it’s a true crime show starring fantasy fiction authors and a cartel of scammers based overseas. Think Game of Thrones meets Serial meets Tiger King. It’s going to be awesome.
Quill: The release of new seasons focused on conversations about technology, personal stories of health and wellness, and interviews with business leaders from across industries like financial services, marketing, medicine, and a slate of brand-new shows.
SONAR NETWORK: We've got new podcasts joining the roster in early 2023 as well as new seasons from fan favs like The Dubious Book of Famous Deeds (hosted by Second City's Paul Bates) and Bites and Bits! We will likely be at FanExpo again doing more live shows!
Vocal Fry Studios: A brand new season of Playing With Marbles for Brain Canada about youth mental health, including anxiety, depression, OCD, and more. Also a new season of Building Good for Chandos Construction, a B Certified construction company that has big picture conversations about how to build the world into a better place. Plus, we’ll debut our first original podcast! We’ll keep publishing Vocal Fridays, our weekly spicy industry newsletter.
What is your network/studio’s goal for 2023?
Amplify Podcast Network: Build our community through the launch of our first run of peer-reviewed podcasts and a new call for pitches to our Sustain and Resonate streams. Support us by subscribing to our newsletter, following us on Twitter (while we’re still there), and spreading the good word to academic podcasters!
CANADALAND: We're deepening our investment into climate coverage, Indigenous issues, and accountability journalism. Our goal is to tell the stories others in Canada won't touch. We can only do that if people support us.
Cited Media: Continue growing our audience and developing our editorial focus and voice as a radical podcast that’s in and around academia, but not exclusive to academics. The best way you can support is by subscribing to Darts and Letters and sharing it with a friend. If you really like us, check us out on Patreon.
CBC Podcasts: To work together with people, individuals or different companies. Creating this scaffolding around shared projects.
Frequency Podcast Network: Find the best Canadian storytelling and bring it to a Canadian audience. If the world wants to listen as well, that’s fantastic. If there’s an indie podcast that deserves a wider audience, or a Canadian story that needs to be made, bring it to us and let’s see what we can do. You can always pitch us at hello@frequencypodcastnetwork.com. That’s not a catch-all mailbox. We all read whatever gets sent there!
The Globe and Mail - Newsroom: Please give The Decibel a listen. To stay in touch about our upcoming true crime podcast, sign up here to be notified when the trailer and episodes drop.
Harbinger Media Network: Harbinger's cumulative audience every month is an honestly pretty amazing 80,000 listeners but our goal in the new year is to bring the network's high-quality shows to more listeners across the country and around the world, centering conversations on marginalized voices and values that are under-represented in mainstream media.
Lead Podcasting: Lead Podcasting was previously running two 5-person cohorts of its Accelerator Program per year, but will be shifting to running it once per year (in spring 2023) with 10 spots. Take a look at the program, you walk away with the first season of your show fully produced and launched all within 10 weeks!
Pilgrim Content: Keep telling awesome stories. If anyone has inspiring guests or show ideas, drop us a line!
Quill: To push the audio industry forward through the content we produce and the tools we create. People can support this goal by engaging with our content such as reports, blogs, or newsletters, and participating in our yearly virtual Quill Podcast Awards (happening in Spring of 2023)!
SONAR NETWORK: To support local podcasters who have unique voices and to try to help them find success because we believe in their work. Give our shows a listen or check out our Apple Channel and sign up for a couple of bucks to hear lots of premium/bonus content! Subscriptions go right to our producers and hosts!
Vocal Fry Studios: We aim to hold space for the conversations we want to see in podcasting: both in the audio content we make and the dialogue. Subscribe to our newsletter!
What podcast made an impact on your team in 2022?
Amplify Podcast Network: Sandy and Nora Talk Politics: Just listen.
CANADALAND: Mother Country Radicals: Zayd Dohrn was born underground - his parents were radicals and counter-culture outlaws, on the run from the FBI.
Cited Media: Know Your Enemy: A leftist's guide to the conservative movement, one podcast episode at a time.
CBC Podcasts: Bone Valley: In 1987, 18-year-old Michelle Schofield was found dead in a phosphate pit in Florida. Jeremy Scott has since confessed to Michelle’s murder. Yet Leo Schofield remains behind bars. [Check out their list of the best podcasts of 2022]
Frequency: Africville Forever: In 1969, the last home in the Black community of Africville was flattened. The bulldozer was hired by a city that had schemed to claim this valuable land for generations.
The Globe and Mail - Newsroom: Stolen: Connie Walker unearths how her family's story fits into one of Canada's darkest chapters: the residential school system.
Globe Content Studio: WorkLife: Inside the minds of some of the world’s most unusual professionals to discover the keys to a better work life.
Harbinger Media Network: The Breach: Expose and explore abuses of power in our government.
Lead Podcasting: Heavyweight: Jonathan Goldstein has road trips, thorny reunions, and difficult conversations as he backpedals his way into the past like a therapist with a time machine.
Pilgrim Content: Your Complex Brain: Explore the myths, mysteries, and medical breakthroughs of the most complex and powerful organ in your body – your brain.
Quill: Expedia's Powering Travel: Hospitality industry leaders share how they’re building, innovating, and evolving their travel businesses for the future.
SONAR NETWORK: Belief It Or Not: Explore movements, sects, or interesting things about the world of religion.
Vocal Fry Studios: Maintenance Phase: Debunking the junk science behind health fads, wellness scams and nonsensical nutrition advice.
Plus this:
Pacific Content released their 2023 Podcast Industry Forecast on their blog. Read it here.
If you have thoughts or questions about this newsletter, please share them with me! Leave a comment or reply to the newsletter email.
Thanks for supporting Pod the North, I’ll be back in your inbox next year!
Kattie | @PodKatt
(Find me on Twitter or Post!)