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Bill Gates, Dua Lipa, Meghan, Hillary: how interview podcasts became a must-have for celebrities
news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Saturday, 16 March - 11:55
Pop stars, politicians, princes all seem to have the same job these days – podcast interviewer. But while these pods are great for brand-building and soft power, are they damaging the industry at large?
Things have come a long way since the 2004 Guardian article credited with coining the term “podcast”. That piece describes a new format that combines “the intimacy of voice, the interactivity of a weblog, and the convenience and portability of an MP3 download”, before speculating somewhat breathlessly that “one might soon be able to make a living doing this”.
Twenty years later, the hosts of the SmartLess podcast, actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, just signed a $100m dollar deal with American radio network Sirius XM to host the podcast on the network for three years. Joe Rogan just renewed a deal with Spotify for an estimated $250m to host his podcast on its platform. The biggest tech companies in the world – Amazon, Spotify, Apple – are desperate to have a library of hit podcasts and are willing to stump up for anything that seems like a proven winner.
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