JOIN USThey can be informative, witty, nail-biting or scary, but podcasts are the best companions for every occasion. Whether you are trying to bring some cheer into your life, get inspired or just looking to pass time, there’s a programme for everyone. From lengthy discourses on public policy to brief introductions to different genres of music, the digital platform has the content, which is what makes it so attractive.
Still in a nascent stage in India, podcasts are a series of episodic audio or video programmes that can be downloaded on to one’s desktop, smartphone or portable media player and listened to at any point in time. Though the lines between podcasts and other broadcasting mediums tend to blur at times, the former is more versatile as it is available at all times, whether you have a good bandwidth or not. Many programmes have an ‘automatic download’ option which lets you listen or watch your favourites without exerting much effort.
Pavan Srinath, faculty at Takshashila Institute, talks about their ‘unofficial’ podcast, ‘GCPP Prime Time’. It is different from most others because it is a live broadcast that is available to listeners later on, on SoundCloud. “We haven’t made it official by uploading it on iTunes or putting in an auto download option yet but we started the series to reach out to the public. Takshashila already conducts ‘webinars’ for its students so we wanted to open the dialogue to everyone,” he says.
While the visual medium is usually considered king, Pavan says that they preferred audio content as it is more accessible. ‘GCPP Prime Time’ airs once a week, usually on Thursday, and discusses public policy issues.
There are some podcasters who have a large fan-following and this motivates them to make regular content. Standup comedian Sanjay Manaktala’s ‘Global Comedian Podcast’ gets upto 30,000 listeners on his good days. He talks about only comedy-related subjects and makes one ‘cast’ every month. “I started it almost 2 years ago, as a way to address comedy-related issues. Many people message me with questions and I use podcasts to answer them. Right from why I became a comedian to how the scene is, I discuss everything,” he says. Some of his episodes are 2-hours long, while others are only half an hour. It takes him a few hours to record the content and a few more to edit it and add the finishing touches.
Since the music scene in Bengaluru is booming, it’s only natural that there be some music podcasters. Sahil Makhija, a YouTuber and metal musician, started ‘Indian Metal Podcast’ 6-months back. He calls it a podcast but it’s actually a ‘video cast’. “People are more familiar with the term ‘podcast’,” he explains. But he produced his last episode a week ago as there aren’t many who are interested in metal music. “The first release got many views but with each episode, the viewers reduced. I didn’t see the point in spending so much time and energy into making something that isn’t even getting me money.” This is a common problem podcasters face in India as it isn’t a popular medium yet. While anyone can start a podcast, the views aren’t always equal to the time and energy spent making it, which is why the survival rate isn’t very high.
Since there are some technicalities for content to be called a podcast, many prefer terming it as audio or visual content. Prashant Vasudevan and Naman Chaturvedi, co-founders of ‘ListenIn’, an app that aggregates audio content in India, say that while they do provide a platform for podcasters, they don’t restrict themselves to just them. “We aggregate regional content as well and have people talking about various issues. ‘ListenIn’ has its own content too — according to the time, we have different series airing,” says Prashant.
While this might seem similar to the radio, he explains that there is some difference. “I have worked in the radio industry for 15 years and there isn’t enough innovation there. There is more emphasis on getting advertisements and playing songs; the radio jockeys never get to talk. And when they do, they just throw some facts at the listener. Audio content gives you more freedom.” Podcasts can be aired on other mediums and other mediums can be converted into podcasts, but there is a fine line between them.
Ananya Revanna