I was lucky enough to attend the first Podcast Movement Evolutions in Los Angeles in 2020 (before the world went sideways).
It was a great event & an awesome opportunity to network with some new people and share lots of great ideas. I even got to meet one of my "idols", Drew Ackerman who hosts the "Sleep With Me" podcast (a podcast guaranteed to put anyone right to sleep!).
Being that it was the first year of the event, some of the panels & conference sessions seemed a little disorganized and it did seem like the demand was a little higher than anticipated; some sessions were crammed to capacity with people being left out.
I also made the mistake of "underselling" myself and buying a lower track pass than I should have, so I did feel like I was already beyond the skillset of some of the panels I was in.
The next PM Evolutions is in Las Vegas and being that I do a Vegas podcast, I fully plan on attending. I'm also planning on saving up to attend PM23 in Denver next summer and can't wait to meet more people!
Thanks for your ongoing dialogue here! It's really great to hear that Canadian indie voice!
Re - PM22 Dallas: entirely in agreement with my friend Roger/JAR....and with you...it is a lot of money for an indie. Flight/Hotel/Food/Play...those are a lot of dollars beyond the PM Fee. I would object to thinking the PM fee is high...it is not by any comparison to other majors like Canadian Music Week, which is double the cost and only one day and no 'tracks'.
PM is costly, but it really does offer indie tracks, which include sessions from 101 style all the way up to monetizing. It does come with some responsibilities on the attendees part, as Roger said, you have to go in prepared and ready to work your brand. You must engage!
I'd be happy to take on an advisory role for any indie creators (hosts/producers) thinking about attending the next PM...and with that I'd say to forget PM Evolutions as that is even more targeted to 'professionals' (read: people that get paid by someone/somehow to work in podcasting from 9to5 type of thing). Think about PM 23 Denver....it's in August so there's plenty of time to save up slowly. First tip - buy an early bird ticket now (the super duper early bird is $299 USD, but it comes with a virtual package incase you can't make it live). It may even be refundable, read the small print. Anyhow...happy to talk to anyone to help with their podcast journey!
Great stuff as always! Hoping to see PodCamp return soon, the Toronto one was always good.
It does seem a lot of the big events are turning into corporate-focused events. Possibly a sign of the current podcasting landscape, or maybe just a way to recoup costs.
Would love to see a very hands-on type conference, with deep dive tracks and sessions. Basically a mix of the big events and PodCamp, where the budget is there to bring in supremely talented people to educate, but avoid the usual 10,000 foot overview sessions you can find anywhere.
I miss PodCamp too, and I think what they really did well was marketing themselves as an un-conference. That really lead to a lot of hands-on and tangible workshops. I remember one year Hindenburg ran a basic editing workshop, Jorge Lee did a really detailed talk about sponsorship models for indies, and Anthony Marco did a talk where he was super honest about DIY podcasts. The whole thing was gritty and intimate in the best way and we definitely need more of that!
I was lucky enough to attend the first Podcast Movement Evolutions in Los Angeles in 2020 (before the world went sideways).
It was a great event & an awesome opportunity to network with some new people and share lots of great ideas. I even got to meet one of my "idols", Drew Ackerman who hosts the "Sleep With Me" podcast (a podcast guaranteed to put anyone right to sleep!).
Being that it was the first year of the event, some of the panels & conference sessions seemed a little disorganized and it did seem like the demand was a little higher than anticipated; some sessions were crammed to capacity with people being left out.
I also made the mistake of "underselling" myself and buying a lower track pass than I should have, so I did feel like I was already beyond the skillset of some of the panels I was in.
The next PM Evolutions is in Las Vegas and being that I do a Vegas podcast, I fully plan on attending. I'm also planning on saving up to attend PM23 in Denver next summer and can't wait to meet more people!
Hi Kattie!
Thanks for your ongoing dialogue here! It's really great to hear that Canadian indie voice!
Re - PM22 Dallas: entirely in agreement with my friend Roger/JAR....and with you...it is a lot of money for an indie. Flight/Hotel/Food/Play...those are a lot of dollars beyond the PM Fee. I would object to thinking the PM fee is high...it is not by any comparison to other majors like Canadian Music Week, which is double the cost and only one day and no 'tracks'.
PM is costly, but it really does offer indie tracks, which include sessions from 101 style all the way up to monetizing. It does come with some responsibilities on the attendees part, as Roger said, you have to go in prepared and ready to work your brand. You must engage!
I'd be happy to take on an advisory role for any indie creators (hosts/producers) thinking about attending the next PM...and with that I'd say to forget PM Evolutions as that is even more targeted to 'professionals' (read: people that get paid by someone/somehow to work in podcasting from 9to5 type of thing). Think about PM 23 Denver....it's in August so there's plenty of time to save up slowly. First tip - buy an early bird ticket now (the super duper early bird is $299 USD, but it comes with a virtual package incase you can't make it live). It may even be refundable, read the small print. Anyhow...happy to talk to anyone to help with their podcast journey!
THANKS AGAIN KATTIE!
Bob Kane
bob@advertisecast.com
Great stuff as always! Hoping to see PodCamp return soon, the Toronto one was always good.
It does seem a lot of the big events are turning into corporate-focused events. Possibly a sign of the current podcasting landscape, or maybe just a way to recoup costs.
Would love to see a very hands-on type conference, with deep dive tracks and sessions. Basically a mix of the big events and PodCamp, where the budget is there to bring in supremely talented people to educate, but avoid the usual 10,000 foot overview sessions you can find anywhere.
Thank you for this Danny, you're the best!!
I miss PodCamp too, and I think what they really did well was marketing themselves as an un-conference. That really lead to a lot of hands-on and tangible workshops. I remember one year Hindenburg ran a basic editing workshop, Jorge Lee did a really detailed talk about sponsorship models for indies, and Anthony Marco did a talk where he was super honest about DIY podcasts. The whole thing was gritty and intimate in the best way and we definitely need more of that!