05/07/2024
The Good Tape team is thrilled to announce that we’ve begun working on our second issue on the theme of celebrity in podcasting. We encourage pitches about, well, celebrities, but also ones that interrogate the issues surrounding wealth, notoriety, parasocial dynamics and what it means to be “famous” in audio.
Our industry has undergone tremendous growth in recent years. While there is reason for optimism, many rightly feel unclear where they fit as competing interests shift the focus from a growth mindset to one of deliberate profitability.
During the height of the pandemic, when Hollywood productions shut down, many A-list celebrities flocked to our medium to pass the time and remain connected to their fans—a few of these shows were instant successes, while (many) others either failed to capture an audience or never escaped development. Podcast networks were seemingly signing mega deals with marquee talent every week.
Toward the end of 2022 and throughout 2023, the impact of steep interest rates and global forces precipitated a soft ad market and forced a new approach to the business of podcasting. Media buyers were stewards of much tighter budgets and the patience for good faith napkin math grew tired.
While we remain one of the fastest growing digital mediums, when speaking with audio makers in the field, there’s another story to tell: mass layoffs and hiring freezes have impacted companies of all sizes and ushered in the over-reliance on a common new formula: investing in the expensive always-on video chat show hosted by well-known celebrities. But what does this mean for independent creators with small audiences? How do we keep pushing creative boundaries? And how has the culture of Hollywood impacted what used to be an outsider medium?
We’re sure there are countless ideas that will help contextualize our current moment. Please send any writing or art pitches for the Celebrity Issue to pitches[@]goodtape.com by May 31st.
