Where's the money in podcasting? Hosted by Norma Jean Belenky and John Kiernan, PodBiz dives into the strategies, trends, and tools driving podcast monetization and industry growth. From ad revenue and branded content to audience development and production workflows, we spotlight the real business behind the mic.
Each week, we speak with creators, executives, and innovators answering the one question on everyone’s mind: Where’s the money in podcasting?
Whether you're monetizing your show, launching a network, or just obsessed with the space, PodBiz is your insider guide to podcasting’s biggest opportunities.
Listen to new episodes every Monday- Let’s get down to PodBiz!
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Tom Webster, partner at Sounds Profitable, delves into the evolving landscape of podcast measurement, highlighting challenges with fragmented analytics and the shift from downloads to impressions. He explains how YouTube has become the top discovery platform, leveraging its community features, and advises creators to prioritize building genuine audience connections. The conversation also covers the business value of niche podcasts, radio's adaptation to digital audio, and the crucial need for creators to focus on quality and continuous improvement to thrive in the attention economy.
How do you build a podcast business when your audience is highly specialized, deeply regulated, and incredibly difficult to reach? Dan Kendall has spent nearly a decade proving that small, focused podcast audiences can create outsized business value. As the founder of Health Podcast Library and creator of Digital Health Today, Dan built one of the earliest podcast ecosystems dedicated to healthcare innovation, medical technology, and evidence-based content. In this episode of PodBiz, Dan breaks ...
If you don’t own your audience, are you actually building a business? This week on PodBiz, Michelle Jackson, founder of Creators Getting Paid , breaks down why most creators struggle to monetize and what’s actually required to turn a podcast into something sustainable. Her work sits at the intersection of independent creators, community building, and revenue transparency, giving her a clear view into what’s working and where people get stuck. The throughline is simple: monetization isn’t about d...
If podcasting is growing, why is monetization still uneven and who actually captures the value? This week on PodBiz, Brendan Monaghan, CEO of Libsyn and former co-founder of Megaphone, breaks down podcasting from the platform layer: hosting, monetization, and the infrastructure shaping the industry behind the scenes. With experience spanning Spotify, Megaphone, and The Washington Post, Brendan brings a systems-level view of how podcasting has evolved from distribution to a more complex, platform...
How do you make money from podcasting when listeners are skipping ads? Sam Sethi has spent his career at the intersection of tech and media, from Microsoft and Netscape to co-founding TechCrunch. Now, as CEO of True Fans and co-host of Podcast Weekly Review, he’s focused on one thing: building direct relationships between creators and audiences. For Sam, the future of podcasting isn’t built on ads. It’s built on fans. “The word of the year is parasocial… it’s a one way deep relationship that fan...
How do you turn a podcast into a system that actually drives revenue? Chris Stone has spent his career building audiences across legacy media and modern podcast ecosystems. From The Telegraph to the New Statesman, and now through Podcast Strategy Weekly and Podcast Crew, he’s focused on one thing: how content turns into trust, and how trust turns into business. “The money in podcasting… it depends on where you are in podcasting. If you have massive reach, then obviously advertising and sponsorsh...
What actually makes a podcast worth buying for advertisers? In this episode, Courtney O'Connor, Director of Podcast Media at Oxford Road, breaks down how brands actually evaluate, buy, and scale podcast campaigns. From her early start at Veritone One to now leading podcast strategy at one of the most established agencies in the space, Courtney has operated inside the shift from indie creator reads to performance-driven media buying at scale. Courtney brings a media buyer’s perspective from insid...
What if most of the money in podcasting isn’t in podcasting at all? In this episode, we’re joined by Jeremy Enns, founder of Podcast Marketing Academy, to break down where podcast revenue really comes from, and why so many shows miss it. Jeremy challenges the idea that growth is about tactics. Instead, he makes the case that concept, positioning, and packaging are the real drivers of audience and revenue. He also introduces a critical shift: podcasts aren’t just content—they’re conversion accele...
What does it actually take to build a media network inside a company like HubSpot? As Head of Media Partnerships at HubSpot Media Network, Carly Baker joined shortly after the acquisition of The Hustle and helped grow what started as a small collection of shows into a multi-platform media ecosystem spanning podcasts, YouTube, and newsletters. In this episode of PodBiz, Carly breaks down how HubSpot approaches creator partnerships, what makes a show valuable today, and how podcasting fits into a ...
Is podcasting focusing on the wrong metrics? For years, the business conversation around podcasts has centered on CPMs, ad fill rates, and monetization mechanics. But Rox Codes believes the bigger opportunity lies somewhere else entirely: growth. Rox is the CEO and co-founder of Flightcast, a platform built with Steven Bartlett that brings YouTube-style analytics and experimentation into podcast publishing. His background comes from the YouTube creator ecosystem, where content strategy revolves ...
How do you reach the right audience inside a global industry? Victoria King Meyer has built a podcast that answers that question with clarity. As president of Progressio Global and host of The Chemical Show, she has created a platform that connects leaders across the chemical industry while expanding her reach beyond traditional trade media. In this episode of PodBiz, Victoria joins NJ to discuss what it takes to build authority through podcasting in a sector that is global, complex, and often o...
If advertising is a billion-dollar market, where does that leave independent creators? In this episode of PodBiz, NJ sits down with Alberto Betella, co-founder of RSS.com, for a platform-level look at where revenue actually lives. Alberto’s answer begins with scale. Advertising remains the largest total addressable market in podcasting and continues to grow. But volume drives ad revenue. For smaller or niche shows, funding models and subscriptions may be more realistic starting points. “Money is...
What if audience development doesn’t start at launch… but at concept? This week on PodBiz, we’re joined by Catrin Skaperdas, Marketing and Audience Development Director at The Podcast Guys, whose career spans Cumulus Media, independent consulting across European markets, and now building marketing infrastructure inside a growing UK agency. Catrin makes one thing clear: marketing is not an afterthought. It belongs in the room from day one. As she puts it: “Now I'm part of podcast development. I'm...
Where is the money in podcasting when you’re not chasing a big network buy? This week on PodBiz, NJ sits down with Matt Cundill (AKA Captain Canada), founder of Sound Off Media, longtime radio and podcast strategist to talk about what monetization really looks like for independent podcasters. Matt breaks down what he calls “small buckets of money” and why the biggest revenue often comes from one or two direct advertiser relationships rather than large agency buys. He explains how newsletters, we...
This week on PodBiz, NJ sits down with Patrick Hill , Founder and CEO of Disctopia , to unpack where power, money, and influence are converging across podcasting, music, and creator platforms. Patrick brings a platform-level view of the industry. He explains why monetization is increasingly tied to access, subscriptions, and distribution control, how opinion-based media has become financially powerful, and why long-form content remains the engine behind sustainable revenue. From creator subscrip...
What does it actually take for an independent podcast to become partner-ready? This week on PodBiz, NJ speaks with Michael Osborne about how shows move from passion projects to major media partnerships and why that transition is almost never fast or accidental. Michael has built and produced multiple podcasts that successfully partnered with organizations like Smithsonian Magazine , PRX , and Wondery . Across those projects, he’s seen firsthand how patience, clarity of concept, and real audience...
What does sustainable monetization actually look like for independent podcasters today? This week on PodBiz, NJ speaks with Danielle Desir Corbett about how creators can build resilient podcast businesses by thinking beyond single revenue streams and treating their work as a portfolio. Danielle shares how her approach to monetization has evolved over time, why relying on one income source is risky, and how creators can design businesses that compound value even when the market shifts. Rather tha...
What changes when podcasting moves from experimentation to infrastructure? This week on PodBiz, NJ speaks with Colin Anderson , Head of Network Development at the Office Ladies Podcast Network, about how podcasting has evolved into a serious commercial business and what that means for creators, networks, and advertisers operating at scale. Colin brings a perspective shaped by years inside podcast production, strategy, and network development. He explains why more advertiser money is flowing into...
Is the secret to podcasting success hidden in the French market? In this episode of PodBiz, Norma Jean Belenky speaks with Sarah Toporoff, Head of Growth for Disco by Headliner, about the evolving landscape of audience growth and monetization. Sarah discusses how her team is helping publishers break podcasting out of "walled garden" platforms and into the wider web, transforming organic traffic into loyal listeners. As she puts it: "Your audio engineer can't be your audience developer. Like, it ...
Why do so many podcasters focus on monetization before they’ve solved distribution and audience growth? This week on PodBiz, we’re joined by Greg Wasserman , Head of Relationships at RSS.com, to break down how podcasters actually build leverage in the industry and why relationships, not just downloads, are at the core of sustainable growth. Greg challenges the industry’s obsession with ads and sponsorships as the only path to revenue. Instead, he explains why podcasting works best when it’s trea...
What does sustainable podcast growth look like inside a fragmented, multilingual, rapidly developing European market? This week on PodBiz, Andreea Coscai breaks down how creators across Europe are building audiences, reaching listeners across borders, and monetizing through community-first strategies. As the founder of Eurowaves , Marketing Lead at Tink Media, and a key voice in global creator communities, Andreea offers a grounded look at what independent podcasters need to understand about the...
Where’s the money in podcasting for independent creators? This week on PodBiz, we talk with Andrew Weiss, Director of Partnerships at Podfest Expo, about the real paths to monetization for indie podcasters. Andrew works directly with thousands of creators through Podfest’s global community, and he brings a grounded, practical view of how shows grow, how they earn, and why some creators thrive while others fade out. Andrew explains why niche audiences consistently outperform broad ones, what stro...
What makes a show “monetizable” in the eyes of advertisers? This week on PodBiz, Veronika Taylor breaks down how brands evaluate podcasts, what creators often overlook, and why the future of podcast revenue extends far beyond a single medium. As SVP of Content and the Creator Network at Acast, Veronika oversees global teams, creator relationships, and the systems that power advertising across more than 140,000 shows. She shares a transparent view of what actually drives revenue, how creators can...
How do you build a podcast business that lasts- not just creatively, but financially? In this episode of PodBiz , host Norma Jean Belenky sits down with Jeff Umbro , Founder and CEO of The Podglomerate , to talk about what it really takes to grow a sustainable podcast company in 2025. Jeff shares how his background in book publicity shaped his approach to audience development, why choosing the right clients matters more than chasing big names, and how he built a business by focusing on people, f...
What does sustainable growth in podcasting look like when the industry keeps changing? In this episode of PodBiz , Norma Jean Belenky talks with Arielle Nissenblatt , Director of Community and Content at Pinwheel and founder of EarBuds Podcast Collective . Arielle shares how creators can grow without chasing trends and why podcasting’s true value lies in connection, not scale. She explains how independent podcasters turn listener trust into real business opportunities through clarity, outreach, ...
How legally protected is your podcast? In this episode of PodBiz , Norma Jean Belenky and John Kiernan speak with Gordon Firemark , entertainment and media attorney known as The Podcast Lawyer™. Gordon shares how podcasters can protect their work, structure their businesses, and avoid the mistakes that cost creators time and money. He explains why “fair use” isn’t a safety net, why every show needs clear contracts, and how creators can think strategically about the business side of podcasting. A...
Can working for a brand truly be where the money is in podcasting, and what metrics prove the ROI? In this episode of PodBiz, Norma Jean Belenky speaks with Stevie Manns, a producer with a background in both finance and media who currently works on the branded podcast The Bid for BlackRock. Stevie shares their journey of realizing a passion for podcast production and strategy during the pandemic and how they now apply their over a decade and a half of industry experience to help brands achieve s...
Where's the best place to make money in podcasting in 2025? In this episode of PodBiz, Norma Jean Belenky speaks with Dane Cardiel , Founder and Publisher of Good Tape, about the business, culture, and ethics of the podcasting industry. Dane shares his "two answers" to the question of where the money is, the crucial role of community, and his journey from being the first non-CTO employee at Simplecast to launching a physical print magazine dedicated to the craft of audio. As he puts it: “Podcast...
What does it really take to build a business that lasts in podcasting? In this episode of PodBiz , Norma Jean Belenky and John Kiernan talk with Randi P’Pool , Founder and CEO of P’Pool Media , about the realities of leading a modern media agency — from scaling teams and navigating client departures to redefining what creative success actually looks like. Randi shares lessons from two decades in broadcast and marketing and the shift from corporate structures to the agility of podcasting. It’s a ...
How do you build a podcast that earns from every direction while keeping its creative core intact? In this episode of PodBiz , Norma Jean Belenky speaks with Jack Levy , Creator, Producer, Director, Entrepreneur and Co-Founder & COO of Manifest Media Productions and creator of Table Read , the scripted series that brought Hollywood’s table-read tradition to podcasting. Jack shares how he turned creativity, collaboration, and business acumen into what he calls a “360 monetization” model that ...
