Abstract

The aim of this article is to show to what extent alternative audio media can be built online, not only by amateurs but also as a combination of the energy and involvement of professional journalists and the community of listeners who are ready to support them. Moreover, the topic of the extent to which this form of production is similar to the model of alternative media produced by amateurs described by Hackett and Caroll (2006), as well as Atton and Hamilton (2010), is also discussed. Special attention is paid to the ways this can challenge the institutional media logic and provide an interesting alternative to pro-government public media and commercial mainstream media in a country in Central and Eastern Europe that is dropping down the rankings of the Democracy Index. The podcast Raport o stanie świata and two Internet radio stations, Radio Nowy Świat and Radio 357 from Poland, which are analysed in this article, were born in an act of protest against the negative changes in public service broadcasting, which became a propaganda tool. They are financed by listeners via the crowdfunding platform Patronite and do not broadcast advertising. A framework for analysing their functioning is devised using, in particular, theories of the public sphere and of alternative media. The study is based on content analysis of the call-in broadcasts disseminated for the first anniversary of the stations, Radio Nowy Świat (April 16 and July 9, 2022) and Radio 357 (January 5, 2022). Pre-structured interviews with the patrons of Raport o stanie świata are also used. Websites and social media accounts of these initiatives, as well as press coverage and data gathered by the National Broadcasting Council in relation to Polish Radio, are analysed as well. The research found that all three initiatives Raport o stanie świata, Radio Nowy Świat and Radio 357, despite being started by professionals, share some of the characteristics of alternative media and can significantly change the model of audio production, financing and consumption routines in Poland.

Abstract

Fifteen years after the term was coined, the podcast is now consolidated as a sound format with a specific identity within the digital media ecosystem. The practice of podcasting is none other than radio, but one encompassing diverse production on both expressive and thematic levels whose properties (mobility, narrative fragmentation, and the integration of multiple devices) and personalized consumption generate a very different listener attitude compared with traditional radio. After an initial period of independent amateurism strongly conditioned by the technologies available, the podcast has achieved significant global popular recognition, as well as an increasingly important professional dimension thanks to the emergence and spread of new distribution platforms (podcast networks) designed to serve as alternatives to the dominant feeds (such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iVoox, and Spotify) that rely on different catalogs and business models. This investigation identifies, describes, and systematically orders the main management and marketing models for podcasts on these platforms on the basis of a comparative analysis of fourteen of them, two in each of the eight countries in Europe, North America, and Latin America where this format is most widespread: Acast (Sweden); Podimo (Denmark); Binge Audio and Majelan (France); Podimo Spain and Podium Podcast (Spain); PodcastOne and Luminary (USA); Convoy Network and Puentes (Mexico); Posta and Parque Podcast (Argentina); and Pia Podcast and Podway (Colombia). The study measures and compares the offerings of each of the studied platforms using different quantitative and qualitative variables (age, territorial reach, content categories, dominant genres, funding, and consumption). The objective is to start to draw up a global map of the main operators in the podcasting industry, and to identify the production trends and marketing strategies of a format with increasing impact and demand, destined to become the future heir of broadcast radio.

Abstract

In recent years, digital audio has undergone an explosion. The transformation of radio and its expansion to new channels and consumer devices, added to the rise of podcasts and streaming music platforms, have led to the transformation of the audio ecosystem. This transition from the audio medium to audio media has involved an integral change in content, as well as in its production and reception processes. In this regard, the aim of this paper is to approach the present digital audio scene from the standpoint of its content, formats, and broadcasting models as well as of the new professional profiles, business models, and consumer–relationship practices, providing a snapshot that is completed with a prospective reflection on the challenges facing radio in this new ecosystem.

Abstract

The consolidation of smartphones as dominant devices for access to digital information and entertainment has redefined the processes of production and commercialization of cultural communication industries. The nature of these screens, which prioritize the visual content over the sound, decisively influences distribution strategies in the audio market: radio operators, streaming music platforms and podcast creators need to adapt their value chains to the habits derived from this mediation, especially in the younger audience. This research identifies the practices of mobile use as an audio receiver among adolescents in Colombia, Spain and Mexico –the most representative countries of Spanish-speaking digital sound consumption– based on a descriptive study on a thousand subjects from 13 to 19 years of age. The results confirm the overwhelming dominance in this music menu in the face of low penetration of radio and podcast word content. The selection is based on personal criteria, with little margin for the prescription of family or friends. There is evidence of the roots of individual listening, linked to the brand and the visibility of audio providers, who are obliged to develop diffusion logics based not only on thematic or genre preferences, but also on the user experience.