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Still digging around to figure out the ramifications of this story for big and small publishers.
More soon, hopefully.
Which isnt to say there hasnt been any noteworthy dissent.
As strong as that argument was, however, it didnt really seem to break through.
The gambit was effective as a spectacle, driving a torrent of headlines the next day.
(Did I mention it drove headlines?)
(Over email, a curious observer compared the situation to a feat of professional wrestling.)
Still, the possibility is interesting.
Emtman wasnt mad about the decision.
Thats their call to make, he told me over a crackly phone line.
They dont owe us anything.
Its not like this was a money-making proposal for them.
Still, he just wished he was given more time.
The pieces are often unsettling, rich, and patiently told.
Some come from contributors, though the bulk are produced by Emtman and Denton.
The predominant sense of the enterprise is one that feels like an effectively run yet painfully small literary magazine.
Emtman startedHere Be Monstersin 2012, primarily off a $4000 community fellowship grant from Soundcloud.
(This, he pointed out joking, was back when Soundcloud still had money.
That grant money funded the first two seasons of the show.
According to Emtman, that arrangement involved a single ad buy and some cross promotion.
The networkshuttered in the summer of 2014, leaving the show out of the wilderness once again.
Those list appearances translated to new audiences, and Emtman used those expanded numbers to shop the show around.
So he signed the deal, and that was how it was for a number of years.
KCRWs decision to part ways with the show was likely spurred on by the pandemic.
Bigger moves are expected, as are more surgical ones, like the decision to letHere Be Monstersgo.
Its not too much a stretch to imagine that other KCRW-affiliated podcasts could be cut as well.
After 100 episodes,Here Be Monstersis well established now.
Its time for us to find new voices, stories and storytellers.
Emtman is sympathetic to KCRWs situation, but again, he just wished there was more notice.
He has some ideas.
There is also, customarily,a Patreon.
I suppose I do, though Im still thinking through the larger takeaway from this story.
Then again, if you get the thing you want, then you probably lost artistic credibility, right?
Its a tale as old as time.
Participants include Crooked Media, Talkhouse, Headgum, Wonder Media data pipe, and QCODE.
That takes place later in the month, on September 24.
That podcast is set to go daily in October.
Heresthe official press releaseon that move.
Can You Build a U.K. Podcast Business Independent of the BBC?
Things have changed quite a bit since then.
The runaway success especially internationally ofMy Dad Wrote A Pornodid a lot to instill confidence in the format.
Thats a model thats very much in place in America, less so over here.
But thats only the start, apparently.
But theres only so much of that you might do.
At the moment, our leadership team is three white blokes and one white girl.
Crowd internet will be judged on its successes over the next few months and years.
Pauls never short with stories, though I get the feeling Im only seeing the tip of the iceberg.
Theres quite a bit more beyond that, and Im excited for you to hear it.
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