How was International Podcast Day for you? I bet you loved it.
It was on Monday.
If you know any podcasters on Linkedin they were definitely posting about it.
No? Oh don’t worry.
This is not a beauty podcast
We didn’t post about International Podcast Day because a) we were too busy making actual podcasts, and b) we had a huge new one to shout about. ‘This is Not a Beauty Podcast’ is a brand new show from L’Oreal Groupe produced by the magnificent Fresh Air with our wonderful clients on the international side of T-Brand Studio, the content studio within New York Times Advertising.
Actress, model and style legend Isabella Rossellini presents a six-part exploration of how beauty has influenced politics, sports, technology, business and much more through the centuries, with guests from all walks of life, and from all over the world. How did a single portrait of Elizabeth I change how she was perceived across Europe? What is artificial skin? How did lipstick sales become an economic indicator?
You can find out everything about This Is Not A Beauty Podcast right here, listen on Apple here, or on Spotify here.
Some projects are real treats to work on, and this is one of those, with production led by Eva – our Head of Cinnamon Buns. Coincidentally, today is National Cinnamon Bun Day, but sadly Eva has gone down with Covid (I know, retro) so there will be no buns to mark the special day.
Our New Website
Yep – we’ve gone and got a glow up. The new Fresh Air website is here, with a new slick look and a mighty fine design to show the world what we do. Marvel at our work, listen to our podcasts, and have a look at our pretty faces, why don’t you?
Oh yeah, and then press the ‘Get in touch’ button and tell us how you’d love us to make your brand’s new podcast.
MIDAS
Rajar is normally about radio listening figures, but every now and again they bring out their MIDAS report, looking at the broader audio landscape. This is jolly nice because it tells us a lot about podcast listening habits alongside radio, streamed music, owned music, audiobooks and more. There are some very pleasing graphs in there, with 23% of UK adults listening to podcasts (up from 14% in 2019) and 85% claiming to listen to most or all of the podcast episodes they hear.
But perhaps the most interesting squiggle is the purply/pink one showing why people choose to listen to different types of audio. People choose on-demand music to lift their mood, listen to catch-up radio to relax or keep them company, go to live radio for all sorts of varied reasons (presumably dependent on the station), but the dominant podcast listening reason by a country mile is ‘to broaden my horizons’.
An old boss once described audio to me as a form of self-medication where you subconsciously (or consciously) choose your platform and your sounds to moderate how you’re feeling. The idea of podcasts being horizon-broadening has long been a reason why we at Fresh Air think brand and business podcasts work so well. Listeners get on the tube, start their run, or drive the car and decide to dedicate twenty or so minutes to improving themselves. When they arrive at their destination, they might feel smarter, inspired, better at their job, or armed with an amusing/fascinating fact to share in the office. If your brand made that possible, they’ll be very grateful. That’s not an excuse to make a podcast about how great you and your brand are, but rather a good reason to create useful and engaging audio content. Want some ideas and inspiration? We’ve got a new website, you know.
British Podcast Awards
Last Thursday was British Podcast Awards night. Did your favourite win? Obviously not, because Fresh Air wasn’t nominated, but it’s nice to give some of the smaller organisations a chance sometimes. You know, like The BBC, Tortoise Media, and Global Radio. There are some real crackers in there, and the Listener Choice went to ‘Help I Sexted My Boss’ – made by Fresh Air’s good friends at Audio Always.
When we think about how these days podcasts can have a life beyond the audio show, you don’t need to look any further than ‘Sexted’. The Youtube show, the live tour, the board game, the merch, and now the advert for Heinz / Walkers crisps which I definitely saw on the telly last week but now can’t find a link to and might have dreamt. It’s a lesson to the rest of the podcast industry in creating chemistry, building a community and sweating those assets til the cows come home.
Michaela’s Job Title
We’re close to a new job title for Michaela, after last week’s decision that ‘Fierce Woman’ was a divisive description. Possibilities include ‘Head of Loud Nose Blows’ ‘Head of Kickass Jumpsuits’, and ‘Head of Telling Neil Not To Write That Thing in the Newsletter’. (Last week I was banned from writing ‘M***y p**p’ in the sound effects bit) (blimey, she’s done it again).
The closing date for any other suggestions is next Thursday.
Clara Kavanagh sees Jamie Dornan in a new light…
This episode of Desert Island Discs has been recommended to me not twice but thrice. I’ve never seen Jamie in anything and often just thought of him as the sultry 50 Shades fella with the whips.
In a beautifully raw and unguarded interview, he tells the story of his life so far. From his parents meet-cute and festivals with friends to holding his breath on a private jet with his heavily pregnant wife.
Music and his loved ones have blurred into one for him, you almost can’t tell where one ends and the other begins.
It’s a lovely listen of a life well lived and fully felt. Lauren holds a gentle space for him and it achieves what this podcast is so famous for, getting to the heart of someone through music.
Martin Poyntz-Roberts goes biographical…
From the opening scenes of Reality Bites, I was mesmerised by Winona. At that age I was desperate to be Ethan Hawke and in the right light (dark) I could pass for him!
She’s been through the ringer: Girl, Interrupted was almost biographical and at that time she was famously arrested for shop lifting.
This tells the story of her life and is a blend of interviews and storytelling, narrated by Maisie Williams. I’m only just started but it’s a great show told in a different, interesting way. I’m sure a big chunk will be devoted to her re-emergence as the star of Stranger Things.
What we’ve been listening to this week
An AI generated podcast about Fresh Air
Now, before I share this next thing, please can I stress that it is NOT the future of podcasts. If this is the future of podcasts then we’ll all give up and go home. This being the future of podcasts is an Elonmusk-esque dystopian nightmare where Liz Truss is the new host of Strictly and the only men left are the ones who have Huel for lunch.
However, now that I’ve got that out of the way, Notebook LM – an AI platform – now offers an audio feature that turns any document or source into an entirely artificial audio conversation between two entirely artificial people.
Clara – Head of Gossip – wrote about this a few weeks ago, but this week Basil – Fresh Air’s Head of Pressing Record – asked it to generate a podcast about our new website (did I mention it before?), and the next thing he knew, there were two voices – one male one female – deep in conversation about what Fresh Air does. You can hear it here. It is incredibly impressive and incredibly depressing at the same time.
What we’ve been doing this week
An AI generated podcast about Fresh Air
Now, before I share this next thing, please can I stress that it is NOT the future of podcasts. If this is the future of podcasts then we’ll all give up and go home. This being the future of podcasts is an Elonmusk-esque dystopian nightmare where Liz Truss is the new host of Strictly and the only men left are the ones who have Huel for lunch.
However, now that I’ve got that out of the way, Notebook LM – an AI platform – now offers an audio feature that turns any document or source into an entirely artificial audio conversation between two entirely artificial people.
Clara – Head of Gossip – wrote about this a few weeks ago, but this week Basil – Fresh Air’s Head of Pressing Record – asked it to generate a podcast about our new website (did I mention it before?), and the next thing he knew, there were two voices – one male one female – deep in conversation about what Fresh Air does. You can hear it here. It is incredibly impressive and incredibly depressing at the same time.
Well, yesterday Richard – Director of Pressing Send on the Email – and I had a whole day with just the two of us in the office. Never in the history of 15 Tileyard N7 9AH have so many 90s bangers been played back to back. There were at least 6 hours of middle of the road dad tracks from The Cure, Crowded House, and David Gray while we worked in virtual silence. It’s how we roll and we’re not even ashamed.
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