What Canadians want in a podcast conference.
Vol. 38 - Tim Truax on building PodSummit in Calgary, plus thoughts on Apples new transcription update.
Hihi!! Happy Pod the North Tuesday, and Happy Black History Month!
There’s a lot of fascinating Black History in my home community of Brantford, Ontario. Check out the story of Brantford’s Blanche Williams, the first Black woman to be admitted to The University of Toronto and allowed the same privileges as white students.
In this issue:
Jess Schmidt reflects on Apple’s new transcription update.
PodSummit is figuring out what “Canadian podcasting” really is.
Canadian Indie: BlackLantic Weekly
True North Podcast Feature: Native Film Talk
There are currently 28 long-term drinking water advisories in effect in 26 First Nations communities across Canada.
Apple FINALLY has news about transcripts.
Podcast Producer and Accessibility Advocate, Jess Schmidt, is back with some thoughts on Apple Podcast’s recent transription updates.
Here’s Jess:
With Apple’s recent announcement that automated transcripts will be coming to the platform this spring, I have to start this out by saying that I’m glad that one of the largest distributors for podcasts is actually hopping on the transcripts bandwagon.
FINALLY!
Okay, now onto the less positive stuff…
According to everything that I’ve read about this (thanks to Stephanie Fuccio at Coffeelike Media for being the person to send me this first!) here’s how it’s going to work:
Upload your episode like usual to your hosting site.
Apple reads your RSS feed like normal and grabs your episode audio.
They generate an automated transcript and publish it shortly after.
…celebrate?
Even though it seems like Apple is making better choices than some other late-to-embrace podcast distributors (looking at you, Spotify) by offering automation opt-outs and the ability to use your own self-produced transcripts delivered via RSS feed…I’m nervous.
Apple is doing some good things in this announcement - like being very upfront about the fact that they can’t transcribe everything (lyrics, for example).
But part of what has my hackles raised is that automated transcription has, on average, an accuracy rate of somewhere between 80–95% — and that depends on a number of factors, like audio quality, speed, crosstalk, background music, number of speakers. The list of things that can make your file too difficult for accurate automated transcription is pretty long.
“But my file is really clean and automated transcription works fine for my show!” That’s great, I’m happy for you! But honestly, those shows are few and far between.
My fear is that the majority of the shows running through Apple’s automation are going to generate - pardon my French - garbage transcripts.
“But isn’t that better than no transcript at all?” Maybe.
Personally, I am convinced by This American Life’s report that transcripts improved their traffic by nearly 5% — but how many of us can honestly compare our traffic with that of the legacy that is American public radio? With other claims about SEO that say that transcripts aren’t actually as beneficial as we’ve all been told, the only real reason you’d even want a transcript is for the accessibility piece.
There was a time when YouTube rolled out automated captions for videos that were so terrible it literally spawned a new word: CRAPtions. The uproar these CRAPtions inspired, forced YouTube to reassess this tech, and, to their credit, they have improved a lot (depending on the source, that is.)
Bottom line, if a transcript is so poor that it’s not actually functional, then it’s not only not fulfilling its intended purpose - it’s showing your audience that you actually don’t care about accessibility.
Now, maybe you’re an independent podcaster reading this and are sad that I’ve pooped all over the parade because you’ve always wanted to do transcripts, but have never had the budget (money or time-wise) to invest in them. I’m sorry if that’s the case. Truly, I don’t want you to be discouraged because this “heed my warning message” is not me trying to make you feel bad. You can use the automated transcripts.
But you need to be aware that this might not be the magic bullet Apple is presenting it as.
I’m concerned that this potentially lip-service level play for accessibility (which does need to be prioritized unless we want to see a bunch more lawsuits against big media players very soon) is going to signal to the types of shows who DO have the budget and capacity for transcripts that they don’t need to worry about it.
The absolute worst-case scenario is that the art of making good transcripts becomes even more de-incentivized than it is already. Because it’s the listening audience, not Apple, who is going to suffer the most if this goes as badly as I fear it might… and I feel like this is should go without saying, but creators are supposed to care about their audience.
Best-case scenario? Apple’s automated transcriptions surprise us all and provide proper accessibility. Okay-est scenario is that if the automated transcripts aren’t great quality, it at least inspires creators to make their own proper transcripts.
Fingers crossed that Apple understands what’s at stake with this new development.
I for one will be watching them very closely. I hope that you are, too.
— Jess.
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Thoughts from the ecosystem:
PodSummit is figuring out what ‘Canadian podcasting’ really is.
Last year I met Tim Truax, an ethusiastic Calgary-based podcaster, and the new CEO of PodSummit.
PodSummit is a Canadian podcast conference that ran under Ernest Barbaric for a number of years, from 2015-2022. This year it’s returning to Calgary under Tim Truax’s keen eye, from September 20th to 21st, and I for one cannot wait to attend!
Tim and I’s communications have been pretty exciting. We both share a bit of desperation to see something fresh and new when it comes to podcast conferences — especially when it comes to seeing something tangible for Canadian podcasters to walk away with (like money and opportunity). We aren’t alone in this notion.
Tim has been spending months picking the brains of podcasters across the country, asking them what they want out of a podcast conference, and what it would take to get them out to the Stampede City.
I talked to Tim to get an idea of what he has discovered, and what something “fresh and new” really looks like.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
KL: Tell me about your history in podcasting.
TT: I've been podcasting since 2015, […] working on a podcast called The Nerd Room since 2015. It's still going strong. It's really about pop culture, and it was born out of this idea of wanting to create a community and share a love of pop culture, specifically Star Wars, Marvel, DC.
It's funny because Star Wars podcasting was enormous from 2014 to 2017, and then it fell off a cliff and it's completely different.
KL: We are a Star Wars household, and have definitely been fully immersed in this!
So now you are working on PodSummit. Give me the lay of the land. What is it?
TT: PodSummit is something that we've kickstarted because we wanted to extrapolate from The Nerd Room - from that initial desire to build the community.
I've been involved with the community of pop culture, but also podcasting, for so long. I saw this gap that existed inside of Canada, specifically with the idea that there was no collaborative focal point – especially out here in the West – where people could come together in a conference-style-event, interact and learn from one another. There's pockets of it that exist across the country.
The idea of PodSummit is to scale that up, bring everyone together, and figure out what Canadian podcasting is.
Is there a voice here? Is there an industry here? There's 40 million people in this country and we still have this podcast industry that feels like it's in its infancy; compared to the US, compared to what's going on south of us. We just get lumped in with all of it.
We're at such a pivotal time in the industry in ‘24. There's lots of conjecture around what the industry is.
I think podcasting in Canada has such a bright future. We wanted to create something that could really elevate that and amplify that.
KL: What kinds of programming will there be?
TT: What we're trying to do is make the talks, the presentations, and the interaction a lot more dynamic. We're moving away from the classic ‘Podcasting 101’. We want to integrate that in a special way, but we want to do that where it's a bit more focused on people's experiences, the future of podcasting, the innovation of podcasting.
We're talking about keynote speakers that are there to inspire, that are there to drive creativity. Bringing some of the big voices, but also the small voices to the table in Canadian podcasts. We want to [inspire] people that are aspiring [podcasters] to tell stories that maybe haven't taken that leap. We want to look at underserved communities that have huge and historic stories to tell. There's so many little avenues we want to go, but it's really about providing that fundamental network where people can come together, grow their podcasts, understand, learn, but also have some fun too.
We're going to have some live podcasts. We want to have some nice after parties. Getting outside of your comfort zone is a big goal of ours.
KL: You actually reached out to me in the fall and told me about this event. We chatted for a while about perceptions of podcast events and conferences, and what we wanted to see from them. When you first reached out to me to talk about this, where was your head at?
TT: Engaging and making connections with people specifically in the Canadian industry.
It was absolutely wild when I started reaching out to people and just putting out some feelers. One person would introduce me to the next and the next person would… I got sent to you!
As I started talking to more and more people, I started hearing the same thing over and over again. I started pitching this idea of a conference to bring people together and everyone I told about it was super excited about it.
So I knew from then that there was something here, it had to be refined, and I'm still in that process. But what it boils down to is: people want to network, people want to engage, people want to talk to each other.
There's all of these siloed podcasts, and there's all of this information, and there's all of this experience that's spread across the country. 40 million people and a handful of podcasters. Like, how is it that you and I in 10 years have never crossed paths?
That's what we want to try to take out of the mix and say, no, we should have crossed paths five, six, seven, 10 years ago, because we're both podcasting in a relatively small ecosystem.
KL: One of the things that was predicted a bunch for 2024 was the return of live events, so it seems like you're entering the space at a very nice time. And, it's early enough that we can put Google Flight Alerts for cheap Canadian flights.
But what you said about networking, I think that's usually what I get the most out of every podcast conference or event that I go to at the end of the day. When I first started podcasting, I was attending different workshops and really liked learning from folks. But there's so much information out there now that people can access on their own, the reason why you go to a conference is to network, or make a meaningful connection that will seriously bring your podcast to the next level.
A lot of the complaints that I hear about Canadian podcast events are people seeing the same thing over and over again, and the same people on stage. How are you thinking about programming?
TT: I agree. I'm being so careful about how I design all this, we're being very particular. We have engaged with a company that is actually out there actively seeking keynote speakers for us. We've given them detailed lists of who we want to see, we're willing to pay for some of the keynote speakers to come out.
We want to send a very specific message. It's not about, ‘this is my podcast and I've been very successful and this is how I was successful’, because the success of a podcast doesn't necessarily translate over to other podcasts. The speakers we're trying to bring in are really about inspiring.
I'm in the beginning stages of starting ‘the podcast pitch’. It's trying to get a few of the networks here in Canada together to essentially do a Shark Tank style podcast pitch. It's very difficult to get yourself in front of a large network or production company inside of Canada, so what we want to break down some of those barriers.
Hopefully some of the networks are willing to potentially invest some dollars, or even just their time.
KL: I’m really excited about this. Even with there being 4 million podcasts in the world, many of them are dead feeds. I think there's still lots of room for more podcasts to come out there. So many niches, and places for people to exist and create their own know-how in those spaces. I think there's still so much room to take risks.
How are you balancing finding headliners so you can sell tickets, but also having the representation that you want at PodSummit?
TT: So we're hosting in a place called The Grand in Calgary. It's a 112 year old theater – one of the oldest landmarks in Calgary.
It has two big spaces – one giant space, one medium sized space – where we're going to be running concurrent programming. It's got this wonderful mezzanine and lobby area.
What we want to do is put what we're calling ‘the Summit Stage’ inside of that lobby area, and we're going to have that set up for anybody that wants to sit and record in that environment. There'll be a signup sheet, – and we're actively looking for sponsors – we want to set people up with awesome equipment, potentially a production company, allow people to get up there and do a live podcast.
We're also looking at what we're calling our anchor podcast; a couple live shows, potentially one interview show and one dynamic duo or talking head, where we can interject fun. That will anchor the Saturday. That will lead us directly into the Saturday after party.
It's about getting outside of your comfort zone, and some of that might be jumping up on stage and delivering a podcast to a lobby full of people.
KL: What's your goal with producing the conference? How are you gonna know whether or not it's successful?
TT: If people show up. That's really all I want at the end of the day.
If we get zero sponsors – which I hope doesn't happen – it's still happening because the end goal is about bringing people together.
If I can get 100, 200, 300 people into a room, that's how I'll know it'll be successful.
I know we're probably and likely to make mistakes in this first one. This is going to be a big learning period. But this is about proving ground to say that one; people want this and need this inside of the podcasting industry in Canada, and two; that we're able to deliver on our promises.
We want to just deliver something that is high quality and that we're proud of ourselves and then gets the attention of people. It's about engaging the people and making sure the attendees have the experience that I would want to have at a conference.
KL: You hear that?! Tim is willing to go into debt for Canadian podcasting!
TT: Yeah, I've stuck my flag on that hill but I know we can execute.
What Tim is listening to these days:
Check out this Canadian Indie: BlackLantic Weekly
Upbeat perspective towards the diversity of being Black in Atlantic Canada,
Challenging common stereotypes, join BlackLantic every week with guests, segments, panels, and round tables exploring topics from all over Atlantic Canada, the East Coast, and the World.
True North Podcast Feature: Native Film Talk
Exploring Native representation in film from the perspective of a Native.
The image of the Native American in film has changed in a lot of ways, in others it has not. There have been attempts to mature from the stoic indian, noble savage, and white savior but we also see modern instanaces where those stereotypes continue to be perpetuated.
Native American representation in film is as old as the film industry itself.
What’s going on in Canada’s podcast ecosystem:
New Releases:
Jan 30, 2024 — Pacific Content has launched Pop™, a production process making original podcasts more accessible for all brands. The inaugural Pop project is with Collective Arts, a Hamilton-Toronto-based craft brewery that collaborates with emerging and seasoned artists, musicians, photographers & filmmakers (and makes some of my favourite gin smashes)!
Jan 30, 2024 — CBC News is launching seven new local news podcasts. With a focus on local community stories, the series This is… is launching in Vancouver Island, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa. Another series, Good Question…, answers listener questions from the community and is launching in Saskatchewan, Montreal and P.E.I.
You should know…
More announcements from Pacific Content:
Robyn Edgar and Mark Angly have stepped into new roles at the company as Leads of Sound Design. Congrats!!
Head of Pacific Content, Matt Mise, recently wrote about the cultural relevancy of podcasts; Podcasts Are Cool (Again?).
Events:
Fuck Buddies is celebrating one year of live shows on February 8th, with a live show at Black Sheep Irish Cocktail Bar in Toronto. The show will feature Liv and Maddy of 30 Going On 13 as special guests. Get your tickets!
For your pod:
Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast revealed the average CPM rate in January 2024 was $21.69 USD for a 60-second ad spot. That’s around $30 CAD, and in my opinion, way too low. If you have an engaged audience, CHARGE MORE.
From Podcast Marketing Magic: Mythbusting Time: Unraveling Podcast Data Analytics
Update to Apple Podcasts Connect terms of service. If you don’t have the time to read them through, PodNews helpfully summarized that there are two new clauses: 8b, which lets Apple make transcripts; and 11e, which lets Apple give certain data to companies.
Acast is blocking YouTube’s RSS Tool. According to Radio Ink, “Acast is actively seeking a resolution with YouTube to allow content passthrough in the future without re-hosting or ad interference.”
Need help marketing your podcast? Join Tink Media’s Podcast Group Therapy sessions to learn more about niche strategies like promo swaps, impactful show launches, and more genre-specific marketing.
Just Joe (enforcing open-door policy)…
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Kattie
@Podkatt (Twitter, Spotify, and Goodpods) | @ PodtheNorth (Bluesky)
