Podcast Failures

 

When I first started listening to podcasts, there was a particular person I followed, who was paid to promote a company that allowed people to create podcasts of their own. I hit upon an idea for talking about singles, and I found that, to my surprise, I could not only talk about them, but actually insert the tracks themselves into my commentary. For free. I'd read that the cost of streaming music was prohibitive, and what good would it do to simply talk about a song without hearing it? But this company paid for the streaming rights. Perfection!

As I pondered my idea, I decided I could do a year-by-year retrospective and offer my thoughts on the singles of the day. It was a pretty good idea. I simply needed to map it out. Thus, I began writing (which is what I do). I developed several scripts with music cues. It was seamless.  

The company allowed a podcaster to record episodes with only their phone. That relieved me of having to connect my USB mic to my computer and recording via my music software, which I wouldn't have known how to upload to the site anyway. This way was so much easier!

Thus, every couple of days I'd dictate my script into my phone and insert the musical cues at the appropriate times. I was going to be a huge hit!

Of course I listened back to the episodes I'd produced. The audio quality was subpar, so I adjusted the volume as much as I could on my phone. There were no controls for bass or equalization or any stuff that makes one's voice sound more authoritative. I went forward with the tools I had.

I was able to view my streaming stats and they were disheartening. The most plays I ever got was for my intro episode, where I talked about my musical history and my purpose for creating the podcast. The streams slid off the radar soon after. 

I eventually abandoned the enterprise and deleted all the episodes. The one that remains, the intro, is prohibited from being deleted, so it just hangs out there. The site wouldn't or couldn't let me delete my podcast completely. I don't fret about it.  

The thing is, one has to try things. Yes, this was an utter failure, but I learned from it. I like learning things, even if I learn them the hard way. One thing I learned is, don't ever again try to be a podcaster. There you go ~ valuable. I tried it; it didn't work out; time to move on.

I know people who are scared little bunnies, even about the stupidest things. "Oh, I can't say that to Francine! What if she yells at me?" Okay, what if she does? Are you going to die? 

If one doesn't try, they'll never know anything, even how bad they might be at a certain pursuit. 

Or how good they may be.