Adam Carolla Podcast Makes Radio Irrelevant
Mar 1st, 2009 | By James Lewin | Category: Featured Story, Making Money with Podcasts, Podcasting 
It looks like the Adam Carolla Podcast may do to radio what Nine Inch Nails did to the music industry – make it irrelevant.
On Friday, February 20th, Adam Carolla’s radio show left the airwaves, as part of a format switch.
On Monday, Corolla introduced his new podcast.
Within 24 hours, Carolla had a hit:
I’m overwhelmed by your response to the podcast. In less than 24 hours, the first podcast was downloaded over a quarter of a million times, which is awesome.
This means that we’ll be able move along faster in terms of getting this project up into a new gear, and getting a little more production, more guests, and everything you guys deserve. I’m grateful to have such fantastic fans, and honored at this response.
By the end of the first week of the Adam Corolla Podcast, downloads exceeded the 1 million mark.
Last year, Nine Inch Nails turned the music industry on its head by releasing two free albums onto the Internet and then going on to have both a hit record and tour. In doing so, NIN showed that bands could have hit albums and successful tours without the support of the music industry.
With over a million views in the first week, the Adam Carolla Podcast shows that broadcasters can have hit shows without the support of radio.
To subscribe to the Adam Carolla podcast, add the podcast via iTunes, or add this podcast feed URL to your podcast client:
www://carollaradio.com/feed/
via RyanSpoon
[…] just a week, it’s now sitting atop the iTunes Podcast chart (link opens iTunes) and has been downloaded over 1 million times during its first […]
Carolla “had a hit” because he brings over built in mainstream media audience. Funny how establish podcasters within 1 episode are eclipsed by former mainstream media radio personality.
What does that say about podcasting only personalities, “500 channels and nothing to watch”. More like 57,263 podcasts, 3,738,550 episodes (PodcastAlley.com March 6, 2009) and nothing to listen.
Oh well thank goodness their participation is a labor of love and not for profit.
walter – I think you and James make the same mistake as mainstream media in overestimating the importance of audience sizes for podcasts and Internet media.
Internet media is completely changing the game and marketers haven’t caught up yet.
Any one of those 50,000 podcasts may be a lot more important than Carolla’s if you’re trying to connect with someone interested in a specific niche – which is exactly what modern marketing is all about.
Vengalis I’m fully aware of the power of specific market advertising and the vest majority of podcasts don’t generate an “audience” sufficient to justify one dollar of advertising even at a “specific niche” level. Leo Laporte is a perfect example of the power of niche marketing potential. But Leo again has a radio and TV presence as well. Majority of podcasts I listen to are repeat broadcasts of terrestrial radio programs. My podcast only list changes frequently. Is it just me or do others get bored with “kids playing with a mic in the garage” quality of many podcasts. Digg.com even dropped their podcast section due to a lack of interest.
Walter
I do think that people tire quickly of “kids playing with a mic in the garage quality” podcasts.
The fact is, though, that there are thousands of excellent, high-quality podcasts now being produced by indies – podcasts that mainstream media will have trouble competing with.
If you can make professional podcast out of your basement that can get an international audience on a niche topic, mainstream publishers will have trouble competing with you, because all they add is overhead.
James Lewin: “If you can make professional podcast out of your basement that can get an international audience on a niche topic, mainstream publishers will have trouble competing with you, because all they add is overhead.” — The dream of podcasters since 2004.
And where are they now? where are these professional podcasters with an international audience? Podcast alley? Podcast after podcast of noise. I guess those high quality podcast are only for indies. Not only is podcasting niche, high quality podcast are only for those in an exclusive club. Well in a world where numbers don’t matter, I guess thats so.
Walter
You seem to think that podcasting is kids playing with mics in their garage.
Audio podcasting is really just the publishing of audio files on the Internet with an RSS 2.0 feed. The beauty of it is that it lets anyone be an audio publisher. Adam Carolla, Walter Bishop, anybody.
While your taste may run towards mainstream radio podcasts, there’s an audience of about 22 million people in the US alone listening to a huge variety of podcasts and the podcast audience is a very attractive demographic.
Podcasting and Internet radio are going to decimate terrestrial radio, within about five years. If you don’t see that yet, pay attention to what’s happening to newspapers.
James
Take the time to read my comments and understand my position. Try not to take comments personally. “Kids playing with mics in their garage” referred to many podcasts, as in not all, as in a small percentage are well done, engaging, interesting, and worth listening to, podcast after podcast.
Of the 22 million listeners, what percentage listen to terrestrial radio podcasts, personalities with a radio and or TV presence who extend their access to podcasting but who dont rely on podcasting as a major distribution method. In other words how many of those 22 million listening to podcasts who sole access is through RSS feed? How long do these 22 million listen to podcasts? Do they listen all the way through? Do they continue to subscribe to a specific podcast? Of the 22 million, how many are just another segment of terrestrial radio, TV, movie, sports etc. audience?
Hahaha, just clicked link and beside audience graph states;
“Today, the vast majority of the top-rated podcasts come from recognizable media entities that are using podcasts to expand their existing radio, TV, cable or satellite audiences.” My point exactly, thank you James for proving my point, which is obvious to any objective minded individual. And internet audience is estmated at 9%, wow thats low. I guess terrestrial radio will become irrelevant, but sometime in the future and not at the hands of podcasters.
I like the way you slipped in Internet radio, a totally different animal. Streaming radio and internet stations will have an ever increasing impact on terrestrial radio, no question.
Most podcasts will contrinue to cater to a very small number of listerners. An audience somewhat larger than the old fashion telephone “party line”. Again read the word “most”. Which is an awesome method of communication for keeping friends and relatives informed. But don’t include those podcasts wth a podcast directory. Or podcast directorys need to segment podcasts, but that is another issue for another time.
Hey look, I just love the choice we all have. I just want more quality choices and less industry hype. Finally mainstream media is getting challenged from various fronts and its about time. But podcasters should worry about quality and not get into higher levels of hype like mainstream media. Leave the hype to your mainstream media cousins. Podcasters you’re better than they are, so act like it.
[…] point behind Adam Carolla’s new podcast doing a million downloads in his first week is not that radio is no longer […]
I’m a huge fan of Adam Carolla but I actually didn’t listen to his regular radio show, because of the formulaic nature of regular radio. I did, however, listen to his podcast from day one.
I’m hoping in a year or so he either gets advertisers or starts charging a fee so it keeps going. I love it!
I agree with what your saying …. sorta. Not anyone can go and do what they did. Adam had a huge folowing of dedicated fans as did NIN. It would be impossible for either of them to do anything for free and not get millions of minions to consume it all in.
James said: <>
Yeah, but the production values vary widely in the Adam Carolla podcasts I’ve heard so far. In the March 5 podcast with Leo LaPorte, for example, LaPorte’s voice is in relatively high fidelity. Carolla, who apparently was at a remote location, starts out fairly well, but by the end of the LaPorte segment is almost unlistenable due to dropouts and other artifacts.
That said, the podcast made for compelling listening and illustrates the triumph of content over technology — which is good news for the rest of us.
As we discussed on Twitter (I’m @cDaveC), I think you’re right on the money on this one. Carolla proves you don’t need a station, a syndication deal, or satellite radio to broadcast. (The trick, of course, is how to make money. I presume Carolla is working on that.)
But I also think this is the leading edge of something more. I use the term “frictionless broadcasting” to describe the idea of being able to create audio/video content and deliver it directly to the listener/viewer.
More in my blog: http://tr.im/hIvU
The thing people are over looking is that having a radio audience does NOT mean it will carry over to a podcast, no more than TV audiences will move with someone to radio. If anything CBS was stupid in changing the format since the market does NOT need another pop station. Adam will figure out how to monetize his stuff, no doubt about that, and kudos for him. CBS made money off him, now he can be his own boss and make money for himself. The American way. Love it.
NIN didn’t quite start the revolution, I believe that honor goes to iNrAINboWs 🙂
Adam is the perfect personality to be a big success with a podcast. His big name and reputation for being funny and entertaining is the real reason for his success. He would have this success on the radio, TV or podcast. His audience is loyal and will follow him to podcasting because he caters to mostly a male audience that is in the prime target age for podcast listeners. The other big plus is that his show is FREE and does not yet have sponsors. When he does get sponsors, then he will need to market his show more and get more listeners. I am promoting his show heavily on the Zune Podcast Marketplace and his show has been in the Top 10 most subscribed podcast for many weeks now. His show is doing very well.
The true power of podcasts are the time and place shifting for the audience. Podcasts make the content possible to be available anywhere you may want to consume it. It is the only true portable audio and video delivery medium.
I also think that everyone is missing the growing and building power of video podcasts, everyone focuses on audio and that is not where the revolution is really happening. I am starting to see more full TV episode video podcasts being published. This is a TIVO of sorts without a DVR and it has the same benefits. No time and date based TV Guide. Just subscribe and it is just delivered to you when it is published.
Radio and broadcast TV are not dead at all. Podcasting is complimenting the broadcast side and making access to your programs easier and anywhere consumed.
Rob Greenlee
[…] centers around Adam Carolla, the radio host who has transformed himself into the world’s most popular podcaster. Carolla is best known to many as a Howard Stern type — a producer of brash, scatological […]
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