benparsons.com

“corporate” vs. “indie”
“$” vs. “art”
“honesty” vs. “selling”

i’ve been talking about this a lot since seattle talk show TBTL got booted off the air from KIRO 97.3 where I’m an intern for the Ron & Don show. tbtl is still going, just in podcast form, and streaming on mynorthwest.com it’s a great show, and i highly recommend it. the problem is, tbtl got shit for ratings on-air. they outperformed other KIRO shows online (by far), on iTunes for example, and are continuing to reach a large audience without their terrestrial radio jobs, but it pulls into focus again that there is often this great divide between making “art”, being honest, “yourself”, etc. and profitability. luke burbank, host of tbtl was not willing to change the format of his show in order to better fit in with KIRO’s other shows (traditional, news-based talk shows) and they suffered for it.

i’m trying to figure out how i might be able to work in this industry and keep a job without losing my sense of purpose or sense of humor. i’m not interested in reaching the “largest possible audience” as most shows are, but i’m also not interested in being unimployed, or producing a podcast that makes negative $$ for years and years.

i’m not sure what the answer is- adam carolla has been doing really well with his free podcast, and has started to do some advertising on it as well. he’s no “average case” though, as he had a HUGE listener base out of KLSX (and affilliates all over the place) that followed him to podcast land. he also had a ton of money, and a contract which continues to pay him through the end of the year for work he ISN’T DOING on the radio. he ALSO has a bunch of other things going for him- TV shows, movies, even old stuff like the man show and love line help out. if he needs a few grand, he can just go do a standup routine somewhere and cash in. burbank and i are not in this position at all- but even burbank can do some stand up locally, and already has some sponsors for his online show.

what’s a guy like me to do?

PS. for a sample of TBTL check an earlier blog post of mine, called “dave bazan on ‘tbtl’. wow.”

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as you may know, i am a dedicated fan of the Ace Man, and want to point out that if you’ve not checked out his podcast, you’re missing out. I am listening to a recent one (”Adam and Rep. Richard Martin“) and it’s basically stabbing the republican stereotype in the eyes with sarcasm. it’s an interview of a made up republican and his wife. it is blazingly funny, and searingly true. AND THE BEST PART IS, A BUNCH OF THE LISTENERS HAVE LEFT COMMENTS SHOWING THAT THEY DIDN’T GET THE JOKE. read the comments under the show. hahahahaaaaAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAH

blazingly searingly,

-ben

PS. the Grapes of Rad is another good podcast. put it in you.