Indie (podcast) sleaze is back
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One of Vocal Fry’s producers, Kattie Laur, has had some strange encounters with big networks in Canada.
For context, Kattie is a consummate professional — she has an incredible website, a wealth of experience, and a real love of creating podcasts. I feel very lucky to be able to learn from her. She’s incredibly generous with her time and dedicated to building community in the podcast space. Sorry to embarrass you, Kattie, but it’s true!
Recently, she reached out to producers from a large network to connect and talk about the industry, and they told her they weren’t interested in her podcast. She explained that she wasn’t pitching them, and they gave her the cold shoulder.
Here’s what Kattie had to say about that:
“This isn’t the first time that I, a freelance podcast producer, have been effectively dismissed by a large Canadian network. For independent producers in Canada, the gate has been firmly shut for a long time. It suggests that networks don’t consider freelance podcast producers worthy of their time until they’re hired into the network system.”
She continues:
“I can’t help but feel like this is stunting the Canadian podcast space from earning the global recognition it deserves — and I know I’m not the only one that feels this way. It is my belief that networks have a duty to uplift the Canadian podcasting ecosystem as a whole, celebrate all Canadian podcasts, and remember where they came from.”
You should go read Kattie’s whole piece — she details the origins of podcasting in Canada, and how supporting independent podcasts actually benefits networks.
“By expanding their support to include independent podcasts, Canadian networks could:
1. Attract niche listeners.
2. Spend less on the production of brand new shows.
3. Uplift Canadian talent (in particular, underrepresented talent).
4. Spend less time sifting through pitches they aren’t interested in.”
Haven’t they heard that indie sleaze is back?
We want to support more indie podcasts in our newsletter! Send us a note if you’re launching one, or if you’ve been listening to one that you think everyone needs to hear.
Here's what else caught our eyes this week:
Very relevant for this newsletter: X University (FKA Ryerson) has been renamed as Toronto Metropolitan University, or TMU. There have been many hot takes, and my take as an alum is: it is fine.
The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University is hosting a panel on how and when non-Indigenous reporters should cover an Indigenous story. Duncan McCue will be moderating the panel, featuring Willow Fiddler and Brandi Morin. The event will run on Zoom from 7 to 9 p.m. on May 17, and no registration is required.
I’m a big fan of Hannah Sung’s newsletter, At The End of the Day (and I’m generally a big fan of Hannah as a person) so I was so excited to see that she’s launching an accompanying podcast next week! I’ve already subscribed.
Triton has released their Canadian Podcast Ranker! We love charts.
An admin note: I’m going to be taking a brief hiatus from the newsletter so I can go visit my family (and then be very, very busy on either end of my vacation) but the newsletter will go on without me! We’re bringing in guest writers in the form of other Vocal Fry producers over the next three weeks, and I’m very excited to become a reader for a little while. I’ll be back for the May 27 newsletter!
The fine folks at editaudio are hiring a full-time producer/editor.
Frequency Podcast Network is hiring a podcast producer.
Calling all West Coast Cuties: CFUV in Victoria is hiring a few producers.
A Big Job! Death, Sex, & Money is looking for a brand new executive producer.
New York Times Opinion Audio is hiring a producer for a new weekly podcast.
Axios is hiring an associate producer for podcasts.
Pineapple Street is hiring an associate producer of originals/partner editorial podcasts.
Pineapple Street is also hiring a producer for TV/film podcasts… and the first item on the job description is “watches a given series/film with a critical, curious eye.” SOLD.
CBC Kids News is hiring a full-time, contract producer. Apply by EOD May 3.
CBC Manitoba is hiring a contract, full-time host for their weekend radio show! Warm up those pipes and apply by EOD May 10.
CBC Edmonton is hiring a permanent, full-time host for Radio Active! Apply by EOD May 5.
Audio producer Tal Minear put together a massive resource of helpful articles for indie podcasters. This club has everything: organization and workflows for creators, creating your audio drama's budget, and explaining what the heck an audio producer actually does. Their website is incredible, and Tal has done a service to us all by assembling approximately one zillion resources in one place.
Dustlight Productions is hosting Poddy Training in ProTools special effects with Stephanie Cohn on Friday, May 13. The workshop runs from 4 to 6 p.m. EDT and Tickets are $75.
If you want to be a part of an employee-owned media company, Defector Media is hiring a contract podcast producer for their show, Namedropping, which examines the ways that names affect how people move through the world.
Speaking of Defector. Vocal Fry producer Max Collins turned me onto Normal Gossip and… Oh! My! God! They’ve already put out the entire first season, and I can’t believe I didn’t tune in until now. Host Kelsey McKinney brings on different guests each episode to tell them… normal gossip. Like, gossipy stories about regular people, who remain anonymous — unless, I suppose, you happen to know the subjects well enough to recognize the story.
Here’s what Kelsey writes about the show: “Hopefully, it will feel like sitting in public, shushing your friend so that you can both eavesdrop on whatever the people two tables over are screaming about. The stories are all anonymized, sent in by listeners, and messy as hell.”
One of the things I’ve missed most in the pandemic is eavesdropping on fascinating conversations. It’s hard to play my favourite game, “first date or job interview,” when I’m sitting at home and not in the coffee shop. And I have to say — Normal Gossip delivers. Kelsey is a great storyteller, and having the guests react to the story feels genuine and engaging. When the world is on fire, and you’re sick of the news, Normal Gossip is a delightful, frothy antidote.
We want to hear from you! What are you looking for in your podcast news? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram, or by email at info@vocalfrystudios.com. Thanks to Emily Latimer for editing this newsletter, and to Katie Jensen for designing it.
We’ll see you again on May 6. Until then, here’s an update from producer Kattie Laur's pup, Joe.
Yours in friends and fries,
Michal
