Just got word last night that the Eclectic Kettle gig on the 3rd of Feb in Bristol has been cancelled due to the venue double booking… might be down in March, but looks like Phil n’ Dog can’t make that one…shame

This thread over at Tea and Podcasts got me thinking about the nature of podcasting and listener figures.

Many people, especially when they start use the listener figures as a guide to how well they are doing; more downloads = better right? And inevitably, in this capitalist world where self worth tends to be measured by external things, get disenfranchised that they don’t have more listeners, or enough, or aren’t increasing. And sometimes that leads to podfading, even death (only joking).

Thing is, this is an old media thought process, leftover baggage from the likes of RADAR (the UK radio ratings body). In broadcast media, which is usually advertising supported, you want to transmit to the maximum amount of people, to please your advertisers or fulfill your charter/remit. In podcasting this isn’t the case. Why?

Well in podcasting it’s not about width it’s depth. You may ‘broadcast’ to only a few people, but the show means much more to those people than a radio playing in the background - the connection is deeper, more meaningful and more direct. This cannot be accounted for in listener figures, or judged at all by ‘industry metrics’.

A sign of this is what happened recently to Martin (Green Dragon) with his stalker/spamming situation. It turned out to be a 15 year old disgruntled listener. Now not glossing over the fact that this was an upsetting and worrying sitation (as anything involving anonymous allegations and stalking would be), the interesting thing for me is the connection that this kid formed with Martin’s show.

In this case it’s disturbing (and I have to add thankfully rare) but is it a symptom of a deep connection forming between audience and podcaster? I think so - obviously not all connections are going to be positive, but breaking the broadcast rule about personal information (haven’t you noticed radio DJs rarely give information about their private lives?) and talking more 1-on-1 leads I think to a more direct emotional connection with the listener. Yes there are risks with that approach, but then again there are risks talking to anyone on the Net, and from my experience the gains far exceed the rare problems you come across.

It’s one of the reason I love podcasting.

Sadly though, I get the impression businesses involved in podcasting ignore it because it’s not easily measurable (like beauty, art and truth, all the other reasons why you live which are intangibles to that world) but that myopia doesn’t mean it’s not there. Chasing figures like ambulances might make the accountants happy and make the ex-radio people all warm and glowy, but it does underestimate the strength of podcasting, and is applying an outmoded model onto a very new media still in it’s infancy.

I’ll be probably switching to libsyn soon (Oi libsyn, any freebies going? I’ve gotta get some benefit for being one of the first UK podcasters still going so I’ll be able to find out more about who’s downloading the show - but figures aside, be it 1, 100 or 1000 listeners it’s about the connection you have with your audience, it’s far more meaningful and deeper than probably any other media.

I, well DjNoNo Ulysses (pictured above) will be playing mashups, remixes, cool tunes, even some drum and bass at the Parkade club in Second Life tonight from 10pm-12pm GMT, 2-4pm PST/SL time - click here for SLURL and here just for the MP3 streaming feed.
Will be handing out free t-shirts to who ever wants one…

This will be a regular thing, DJNoNo Ulysses Djing at Monday nights at the Parkade…hey it’s one way to make a living (poledancing wasn’t going to well LOL)

And I promise not to get this drunk and poledance like this *embarassment* (virtually NSFW):

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More of my music heritage, from 1992-2001.

I’ve only got record shops left: (39Mb, 54mins) http://media.libsyn.com/media/radioclash/rc_105_pt2.mp3

• Weird Al - Smells Like Nirvana
• Pulp - Lipgloss (from Pulpintro)
• Negativland - Methods of Torture (from Escape from Noise)
• John Zorn - Speedball (from Naked City)
• Joy Division - Shadowplay (from Unknown Pleasures)
• u-Ziq - Roy Castle
• The Orb - Blue Room (from U.F.Off/U.F.Orb)
• Mogwai - Helicon 1 (from Ten Rapid)
• Goldie - Inner City Pressure (Radio mix, single)
• Gene - Sleep Well Tonight (from Olympian)
• Morrissey - Hold on to your Friends (from Vauxhall & I)
• Girls on Top - Warm Bitch
• Low - Lazer Beam (from Things we Lost in the Fire)

I reveal my musical influences from 1976-1992, tunes that either got me into a certain styles of music or influenced my music-making (thanks to Dog for the idea!).

Well it makes a change from Shilpa vs Jade on the fucking TV doesn’t it?

But our music has always had a dance direction! (41Mb, 57mins): http://media.libsyn.com/media/radioclash/rc_105_pt1.mp3

Notes

• Brotherhood of Man - Save All Your Kisses (excerpt)
• Depeche Mode - See You (from A Broken Frame)
• Imagination - Just an Illusion (Single mix)
• Soft Cell - Bedsitter (from Non Stop Erotic Cabaret)
• Susperia - Sun Always Shines on TV
• New Order - Dreams Never End (from Movement)
• I’m playing Eclectic Kettle
• Steling Void - It’s Alright (original mix)
• LFO - Simon from Sydney (from Frequencies)
• Kraftwerk - Kometenmelodie 2 (from Autobahn)
• KLF - Burn the Bastards (Jamms have a party mix)
• MC Tunes vs 808 State - The Only Rhyme that Bites
• Bugsy Malone (from the Bugsy Malone OST)