and oh, i forgot to write about another thing that pisses me off since some weeks. We met Boris on the way, talked about how podcasting got so big (julien and i are both 2 podcasters and both 2 listed on itune) and how the average listener using itune, getting in touch with podcasting for the first time, might get the whole podcasting thing wrong.
Podcast featured on itune’s first page are so slick and perfectly done, you’ll soon wonder where the hell is the difference with a traditional radio show otherwise that it is available as an mp3.
From what i saw, they even removed the ‘indie podcast’ feature on the podcast homepage.
Podcasting is getting mainstream bigtime, and i find quite sad that the average people wont get podcasting as what it was, what it should be: a manifestation of spontaneity, a raw expression from someone’s view on life or whatever topic he chooses to cover (and i dont mean here that podcasts have to snd like shit and be boring – people who catched the podcast thing soon enough know that it is possible to create great podcast quality with a minimal gear).
I hate the snd of their not-suppose-to-be-commercial podcasts. I hate their slick reverberated voices and pre-edited recordings. I need to feel that they are doing it raw, that anything could happen around – from their cell ringing to someone entering the room. I dont want any of your well structured, boring show that snds like any audio book or car commercial demo out there. Everything i dont want i just had to turn the radio on to get it – now that you are infesting my favorite music player it scares the hell out of me.
amen. This day is almost over.
tagged podcasting, music, itunes, odeo.
I dunno it sounds like the usual grumbling I hear whenever the mainstream gets into something that used to be considered underground and private club / cult-like.
I think it is less the commercial quality of the Apple-selected podcasts that bugs you, more that a whole bunch of square uncool people in suits are using the technology to basically replicate the old medium, FM radio. Well, that won’t last very long – as McLuhan said, a new medium always subverts and transforms the old.
And that’s all it is, a medium, a technology. I’m sure the monks who used to labour for months on end, copying out illuminated manuscripts grumbled at Gutenberg too! Why, now anyone can print up a slick, commercial Bible without all of their cool hand-drawn original-tagger calligraphic art, with no mistakes or ink spills…how boring! They can’t be good Christians…
But ultimately the printing press meant more books for everyone else, which meant a larger market for writing. And people with something to say will always be heard, unless you live in a dictatorship, and last time I checked Apple hadn’t bought Odeo… Choice still exists and you don’t have to take it from The Man, man. (Or give it to them, for that matter.)
So what if Joe and Jane Suburbanite get podcasting all ‘wrong?’ Those are the kind of people that never go to indie movies, don’t read zines, don’t read books really for that matter either. The cool people will discover the indie content; the rest, well, they’ll do what they’ve always done – watch TV and eat hamburgers.
Well, M-C, meet the american way… enlever le contenu, mettre quelques pubs, et voila !
I’ve had the same feelings as you, m-c. It’s kind of like going to a great club and listening to a band because they’re great and it’s nice to be in the club and be close to them. Then it gets crowded, they move to a larger venue and the place is filled and you can’t really enjoy the atmosphere in the same way.
It’s also the same as films that are classified as “independent” with massive budgets. What is great about true artist-driven work is that the process and the content are more important than the label. I think that many people will get tired of things that sound the same and radio and they’ll seek out the authentic podcasters who have voices and shows that connect with them on a more personal level. It’s just easier now to subscribe than before, so those who aren’t as comfortable with the technology can still listen.
I also think that it’s always been like that. The minute the majors see that there is a buzz around something, they see $$$ and visibility. But I think that indie and commercial podcasts can live together and the intelligent and curious listeners will understand the differences between these two ways of podcasting.
The most powerful people in this adventure are not the podcasters (major or indie) but the listeners!
Moreover, the fact that we now have a a medium with both possibilities gives more charm and “raison dՐtre” to indie podcasts.