Review: The Podcast Show London 2024

Hello, podcasting person. I hope you're doing well. I just been to the podcast show London 2024. The podcast show London describes itself as the biggest international festival for the business of podcasting.

350 plus world-class speakers, 130 plus panels and sessions. Global industry brands, networking and a whole host more. So why did I go well, I've been editing and treating audio for a couple of podcasts clients

for a while now. So I feel like networking within the industry would be a good idea. I also wanted to collect soundbites from visitors and exhibitors for a bonus episode of podcasting people links in the show notes. I wanted to see people in person through the podcast. I've been lucky enough to get to know a few people in the industry.

And there's nothing like in real life to get to know people better. I also wants to have chats with fellow independent creators. So the creative village, the addition of the creative village this year was a welcome one. Well-placed as soon as you walked through the entrance, it included the creator stage with loads of talks and a creator advice lab, where you could register for advice and be matched with an expert.

That genius bar idea was something I called for in a guest blog interview I did for, We Edit

Podcasts a few weeks ago. Uh, that link is also in the show notes for you to have a read. If you like. Uh, so I'm delighted that the podcast show organizers were thinking similar thoughts. It worked too. I had a lovely half an hour with an industry professional chatting about how to build community around podcasts. There was also a create a hangout away from the village in inverted commerce. I'm not entirely sure it was effective though. Designating a tiny area for creators to relax together.

Didn't entice me in the slightest really? If I'm totally honest, it felt a little bit like a créche. Uh, a larger area for independents to meet and staff to facilitate conversations would have been much better. I can see what they were trying to do, but the creator village was way more effective. I actually met with a few independent podcasters in the meeting gallery, which has separate. And by simply bumping into people on the floor.

So an area for that wasn't really necessary, one idea would be to extend the creator hangout and physically move it into the creative village, making a creator meeting point could give it a bit of clarity and less of a créche feel. So the sessions and talks, there were so many sessions that first day was exhausting because there was so much to take in. And for that, I actually commend the show.

I think, as a visitor, it's really important to set your own agenda, to avoid being overwhelmed and achieving nothing. Uh, the edition of the podcast show plus is a brilliant idea. Uh, knowing that I can stream the audio for the sessions I wanted to attend,

but missed is a very good thing. Uh, and it meant I could relax more at the show and not worry if I missed, or I got turned away from sessions I really wanted to attend. If there's one personal criticism, it's this that don't like to criticize too much. Um, I searched for any sessions with the word community in and found one. And reading the description of that. I discovered it wasn't specifically about community after all, but more about building a show.

Um, how on earth over two days, there was not a single session about building community around podcasts. I don't know.

For me, community is at the heart of why I produce podcasts and to not include it at all in one of the world's biggest podcast conferences is utterly baffling. Um, speaking of community, uh, one of the highlights of the show was on the fringe. Podcast host Captivate, one of the user-facing companies at the show put on a get together at the end of the day with tickets allocated on a first come first serve basis.

It was lovely spending time with fellow podcasters and reflecting on the show with them. Hands up. Yes. I'm a captivate customer, but credit where credit's due. They're company doing more for that sense of community than a lot of companies in the podcast space. Um, another community focused organization with a presence this year was the UK audio network.

Uh, or you can to be clear this isn't the music library audio network you can is the UK's largest community of audio producers, commissioners and creators, distributing work opportunities, via a shared email list. And their aim is to link commissioners to talent. And give all those working in audio, an equal chance to pitch for work. Their award ceremony at the end of day two was a real highlight and it felt like recipients were well-deserving of the awards and the recognition.

So is there room for improvement? Like I said, it's hard to be publicly critical for an event like this, where it's clear, so much effort has been poured into it. I enjoyed my time there over two days and feel like I can only suggest small improvements from an independent creator point of view. Uh, so my suggestions for improvements would be to include community building as a serious topic next

year. Uh, extend the creates a hangout and physically move it into the creative village. Uh, and make it a creator meeting point. Like I said, um, the app was great for booking meetings, but I think the UI could be improved a lot. So those are my suggestions for what they're worth. Uh, key takeaway.

Well, I guess the key takeaway was that there were a few provisions for the Indies, but considering how many independent podcasts there are I'd expect to see more in the way of engagement on the independent side. It's not necessarily the case that the podcast show London is the right arena for that to happen. But I can tell that it was really trying to include us independents. And with a few small tweaks

it could really succeed. So there we go. Those are my thoughts on the podcast show London 2024. What did you think? Let me know. My links are in the show notes. So until next time, take care and happy podcasting.