[Newsletter] Welcome to Sound Judgment, our new newsletter!
Dear friends:
We’re thrilled to introduce you to Sound Judgment, the Newsletter: our new publication about making creative choices in audio storytelling.
We are so glad you’re here.
If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, please subscribe today so the next one will go to your inbox!
What’s up with the title?
I haven’t always had the soundest of judgment. There was that time when, at 13, cleaning out a stall on a New York dairy farm, I didn’t pay attention to where I was standing. I wound up dangling by my fingers, in a hole six feet over the top of a manure wagon for, I swear, MINUTES before someone heard my cries and pulled me up by my armpits.
Then there was the time when I thought getting my hair cut AT work – in an empty office – during my summer job in a fancy New York PR firm would be just fine. It wasn’t. Suffice it to say, I have sometimes lacked sound judgment. Like all of us humans.
But our new newsletter won’t focus on embarrassing moments (at least not intentionally). The term “sound judgment” connotes wise decisions, common sense, and clear thinking. All of which we intend — in the context of making wise creative choices about sound. I’m obsessively curious about the ingredients and methods — the creative choices — that make audio storytelling magic. At Podcast Allies, we’re constantly talking about show ideas, editorial strategies, character, scene-setting, formats, writing and revisions, hosting skills, and the psychology of this most vulnerable and exciting art form.
If you’ve ever wondered why you can’t stop listening to some podcasts and why you can’t start listening to others, it all comes down to the storytelling decisions — the sound judgments — we makers make.
Once or twice a month, we’ll publish a newsletter with analysis, tips, recommendations, and more, drawn from hands-on experience; the shows we listen to; and the audio producers, hosts, editors and growth experts we work with and learn from. This newsletter is for you if:
You’re an audio storyteller or dream of becoming one
You’re a nonprofit or foundation communications leader intrigued by podcasting’s possibilities to provide a Return on Story
You’re an avid listener curious about how producers and hosts make your favorite podcast.
(For the record, we’re leaving technical sound quality – the tips and tricks about denoising, de-essers, and decibel levels – to our engineer colleagues.)
Finally, Sound Judgment also refers to an upcoming Podcast Allies creation of our own, one we’re not quite ready to reveal. Keep an eye on this space for a VERY cool project we can’t wait to share.
SJ Kudos
Every issue, we’ll give Sound Judgment Kudos to audio folks we think are making fantastic sound judgments creative choices—choices that elevate the quality of podcasts.
Our first SJ kudo this issue goes to Jonas Woost and Dan Misener, formerly of Pacific Content. These two brilliant and incredibly analytical Canadians have teamed up to create Bumper, a new audience growth agency. These guys know more about the intersection between listener analytics and great-quality content than almost anyone in this business.
Our second SJ kudo goes to Skylark Collective’s Naomi Meillor, founder of the International Women’s Podcast Awards. The first ceremony, in 2021, sold out. The 2022 event grew to a bigger venue, more nominations, and a higher profile. Since almost half of all podcast listeners are women but, as Sounds Profitable tells us, only 29% of audio creators are female, this exposure is much needed. As of this writing, there are still tickets left to the September 29 event in London and live-streamed. (I’m honored to be a judge!)
We love to point out sound judgment on the part of audio makers whose names aren’t necessarily household names. Far too many producers are making incredible work without getting anywhere near enough credit. So our third SJ Kudo will go to an unsung hero. This issue, it goes to Bre (who uses only her first name), host of the Brown Girl Self Care podcast. I met Bre at Podcast Movement Evolutions, where I learned that her independent podcast had achieved a million downloads, with virtually no marketing, over the last couple of years. She said she was mystified about why, but I could tell instantly: Bre has a visceral stage presence. You just want to listen to her. Tune in to Brown Girl Self Care, and leave her a review!
Want to nominate someone for a Sound Judgment Kudo?
Fill out this teeny-tiny form!
(It takes 60 seconds and someone will love you for it.)
An Unsound Judgment
We have strong opinions at Podcast Allies. When something feels like a particularly poor choice, we’re not afraid to say so. This month’s “Unsound Judgment” goes to podcasters charging people to be guests and failing to disclose this “pay-for-play” scheme to listeners. On August 3, Bloomberg published Ashley Carman’s article on the practice. According to Carman, some hosts are charging thousands of dollars for a single appearance. As a journalist-founded company, we believe this practice is unethical. Good podcasts serve their listeners first, and when listeners don’t know that what they’re listening to is, in fact, an ad, they’re being swindled.
Our own Sound Judgments
I’ve graduated from the days of hanging precariously over manure wagons, thank heavens. And now I think the Podcast Allies team and I are making a few sound judgments of our own.
Right now, I’m feeling pretty great about who we choose to work with. (Well, wise choice or just phenomenal luck to have the privilege to partner with them? Depends on your worldview.)
Our long-standing client, Environmental Defense Fund, will release the 4th season of their podcast, Degrees, on September 7. Hosted by green careers expert Yesh Pavlik Slenk, Degrees is more relevant than ever. Now with a narrative format, this 10-episode season helps listeners choose careers fighting climate change. President Biden signed the most meaningful climate change legislation in American history on August 16. This legislation promises to create nine million new jobs over the next decade. Want one of them? Degrees is the podcast for this moment in time.
On August 11, another client, the Institute for Religion, Politics and Culture at Iliff School of Theology, launched its new podcast, Complexified. Hosted by progressive pastor Amanda Henderson, Complexified dives deep into the places where religion, politics and real life collide. Amanda’s tone is thoughtful — but as gentle as she is, she pulls precisely zero punches. Come for that and for guests like the former pro-life pastor who had the ear of the Supreme Court — and who’s now speaking out against the right wing. This is the show to listen to if you can’t understand how we got where we are today and want to know what you can do about it.
And one last Podcast Allies sound judgment: I’ll be speaking at Inbound 22 in Boston September 9, on “How to Change the World One Listener at a Time.” If I were you, I’d consider attending (in person or virtually) for a raft of great workshops, but especially for the keynotes by Barack Obama, Jane Goodall, Viola Davis and Glennon Doyle. Email us for a 25% discount. We can’t share the code publicly, but we can give it to you one on one. 😉
My personal best sound judgment this month? I’m writing this from the front porch of the Rainbow Valley Lodge in Ennis, Montana, after a day with my husband, floating down the Madison River with Nathan, guitarist with the band Tsunami Funk and one heck of a fishing guide.
We made it here, despite getting stuck in Laramie, Wyoming for two days with a busted radiator. We could have skipped our vacation. But we didn’t. A week in nature is worth a lot of effort.
If this blog post is the first time you’ve seen this newsletter, please sign up below! And we’ll love you forever if you’ll share it with a friend.
Before you go — go back to that teeny tiny form above and submit someone to get a Sound Judgment kudo in our next newsletter. We know you know someone who is hiding their light under a bushel. You do, don’t you?
And reach us any time at allies@podcastallies.com.
All the best,
Elaine Grant and the crew at Podcast Allies