Emily Maitlis and Louis Theroux
which was divided into three segments ; podcasts enthusiasts and content creators , senior members of the audio and broadcast industries , and brands and advertisers who fund podcasts .
“ Those three audience segments were key to us and were clear in the way we have marketed it and in all the various talks ,” says Etchells .
He had already worked with Carter on a similar show , BBC Introducing Live at Tobacco Dock , which launched in 2017 and last took place in 2019 . This inspired Carter to begin thinking about launching a podcast event .
“ The partners at that show included the likes of Spotify and in that time the conversation around podcasts was growing ,” he says . “ It became clear that there should be an event in Europe or outside of the US that brings the podcast sector under one roof . At a similar time I reached out to Tim and we thought we could create something with a gap in the market .”
Etchells hails the various activations at the Podcast Show , claiming that brands such as Spotify – one of the first to support the event – produced one of the most impressive stands he had seen in years .
He adds that the event “ had to be at the BDC ”, a venue that Carter worked at once upon a time . Carter says the venue was particularly well received by international visitors : “ There was a wow factor with people from places like the US . It really was the right choice of space .”
Etchells further hails the North London venue ’ s team : “ Whenever we had to change dates , they found the right dates for us , they couldn ’ t have been more accommodating .”
Year two show in year one The show is certainly one to look out for in the future as podcasts continue to grow in popularity . There are currently around 19 million podcast listeners in the UK and the industry has an expected ad expenditure of £ 80m in the next four years .
As well as Covid-19 helping the podcast industry grow , Etchells says the pandemic also helped the show ’ s growth in its first year . Due to the long build-up to the event , he says they were able to host a “ year two show in year one ”.
“ The plus is we ’ re probably much bigger than we would have been if it was two years ago . The minus from a business point of view is the overhead costs .” He says along with exhibitors rebooking and requesting more space in 2023 , audience numbers are likely to grow as the event becomes more internationally focused .
Carter concludes with a note on diversity . A big focus for him was to deliver an open and diverse show , which was refreshingly evident among the visitors and the lineup of 350 speakers . As well as hosting major brand partners including Spotify , Amazon Music , Acast , BBC Sounds and YouTube , the show also offered £ 30 tickets for under 30-year-olds . “ It was really important for us to do that . That accessibility to as many people from diverse backgrounds as possible was super important .” EN
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