Artwork for podcast Podcast Pontifications
From Free Podcast To Exclusive Podcast & Back Again
Episode 4713th October 2021 • Podcast Pontifications • Evo Terra
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Evo Terra:

Some once-exclusive podcasters are challenging the notion

Evo Terra:

that you can never go home again.

Evo Terra:

They assume their audience will be happy to see them.

Evo Terra:

But reality may not line up with those assumptions.

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Evo Terra:

Hello, and welcome to another Podcast Pontifications with me, Evo Terra.

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We're starting to see movement in the exclusive side of podcasting again.

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But this time, it's not just shows moving toward exclusivity.

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We're also seeing shows moving out of exclusivity deals with some single

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platform, and, once again, becoming widely distributed on all the platforms.

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Now, while that's more than a little concerning for those exclusive platforms

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- Is that business model really working out?

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- it's quite exciting to podcast listeners and podcasters alike.

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It's exciting to listeners because they can now freely enjoy

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what was, for at least a time, exclusive and perhaps off limits.

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And it's exciting to podcasters because maybe exclusive doesn't mean forever.

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Podcasters who've gone exclusive are now realizing that, hey, they

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can always go back to free, right?

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Either at the end of the exclusive period they signed up for, or by

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breaking, or better yet renegotiating, their contact on that exclusivity.

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Part of the calculus that exiting an exclusive agreement looks like - I think

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the podcaster makes three different assumptions about their audience and

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what's going to happen when they go back to wide distribution for their show.

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Assumption number one is "Well, the listeners followed me here," wherever

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that happens to be, "and they're going to stay with me," whether that's here on

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that exclusive platform or somewhere else.

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And that assumption is probably true.

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I can't fault much of that.

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I do think that some of the existing audience who were listening while the show

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was exclusive are going to be able and quite happy to switch to a different app.

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Some will be.

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And as long as you're still on that app that you moved people to when you

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went exclusive, podcaster, they'll be happy to listen there, too.

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But that only assumes that exclusive app you were on still has your show listed.

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It might not.

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What happens if that app itself is exclusive and only exclusive

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shows can be on that app?

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Will your listeners follow you off?

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Well, hang on, that exclusive app might be, to those listeners,

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a much better experience.

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It's curated content.

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It's better than the other apps that are out there.

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They may have found that app works really well for them.

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And, by the way, I think it's way too early to discount tightly curated

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apps that list a much smaller set of podcasts that are able to present

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a better listener experience.

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I know we've had a lot of very early failures on this, but I think those

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are lessons learned for the next wave of podcast apps coming out.

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So that's assumption number one.

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Assumption two is "Well, the listeners that I lost when I went

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exclusive," a year ago, two years ago, "they'll all come back to me."

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Are you sure about that?

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Some grudges are really hard to get over.

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There are loads of vitriol that you can see in various online forums every

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time a show announces going exclusive.

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And while I agree with Dave that Twitter is not real life, I know that

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listeners are spoiled for choice already.

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Many of them, not long after the podcast they used to love to listen to

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goes exclusive, choose not to switch to that app, even if it's a free app.

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Many of them will move on and they'll fill the void that you and your podcast

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left with another host of another podcast.

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The more niche your show is the better your chances of

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gaining those listeners back.

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But I want you to think for a minute about all the podcasts that you

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used to listen to five years ago that are still being produced and

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you don't listen to them right now.

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It's still great content, but you've moved on.

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You just don't have the time to listen to those shows that you previously did.

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Now, you can mitigate this by keeping in contact with your listeners while

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you're exclusive, obviously, and then emailing them and saying, "Hey,

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I'm back to free distribution!"

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But, of course, that assumes that you already have their email and you

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have that relationship with them.

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Also, you need to realize that many of them were very pissed off at you when

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you moved and have unsubscribed from that email, and your social accounts.

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So, no, I don't think you can bet on the fact that your listeners that you

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abandoned will be happy to see you return.

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Third assumption, with wider distribution, plus your loyal fans, and the fans who

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come back who didn't listen to you for awhile, those will all work together to

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help your show reach a larger audience.

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Yes, I think that will help you reach a wider audience, but will that audience be

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larger than the size of your audience when you went exclusive and you lost a lot?

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I don't know.

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But do you really need it to be, I guess is the other question?

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Why do that?

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Does it matter if you're bigger or smaller?

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Is it just better to be distributed widely?

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If you do need a larger audience, though, coming back is going

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to mean more hustling from you.

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And if you've been out of the game for a while, you may see that the

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hustling game has changed quite a bit and suddenly you're behind.

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So this is a cautionary tale before you jump to exclusive.

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One thing I want to be clear on, I am not opposed to shows taking

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the exclusive route if that's the right opportunity for them.

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I don't begrudge anyone that decision that they have made.

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But when you're thinking about it, just be sure you understand that reality

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of when the exclusivity is over, when it loses its luster and you want to

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come back to wide distribution, it may not be the same game you left.

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I'm doing a reverse Boostagram today.

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I'm welcoming all the attendees of She Podcasts LIVE to the Phoenix area.

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She Podcasts LIVE is a conference that's starting tomorrow,

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and I will be in attendance.

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Woohoo!

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If you're going to be there, I would love to meet up with you.

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I actually will have on my possession the entire time I'm

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there some special gifts just for listeners of Podcast Pontifications.

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So do not hesitate if you see me to step right on up and introduce yourself as a

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listener, you will get a free little gift.

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And if you want to give me a gift, the gift of value for value, please visit

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podcastpontifications.com/valueforvalue to find easy ways to make that happen.

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That's it.

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I shall be back tomorrow with yet another Podcast Pontifications.

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Cheers!

Evo Terra:

Podcast Pontifications is written and narrated by Evo Terra.

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He's on a mission to make podcasting better.

Evo Terra:

Links to everything mentioned in today's episode are in the notes

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section of your podcast listening app.

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A written-to-be-read article based on today's episode is available at

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podcastpontifications.com where you'll also find a video version and a corrected

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transcript, both created by Allie Press.

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Podcast Pontifications is a production of Simpler Media.