Local affiliates look for podcasts profits
Local network television affiliates are looking to cash in on burgeoning podcasts.
CBS-TV affiliate is waiting for an answer on whether his station can sell podcasts of "Two and a Half Men" and other network shows, as local stations look to earn additional revenue from podcasts and other digital media distribution.
WRAL-TV in Raleigh, N.C., is hoping to win approval by launching today a test of technology that can limit viewing of programming outside the market, according to MarketWatch and has begun using "Air to Web Broadcast Replication" technology that allows users to authenticate their location by entering an address and a credit card number. The technology then matches the information with the TV station's coverage map to enable viewing, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the producers of Rocketboom--a three-minute daily videoblog of news and comment--are offering up podcast advertising space for auction on Ebay. According to MarketWatch, the auction is being run by advertising sales network Podtrac and offers five advertising spots beginning the week of March 6.
Advertisers have been concerned about the loss of viewers due to commercial-free podcasts, and as Rocketboom claims that about 1 million viewers will see the commercials, the auction provides advertisers with a unique opportunity. As of today, the 89 auction bids had yet to hit the minimum buying price, with the last offer at $15,000.
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NY Times Now Podcasting
By Nino Marchetti
Staff Writer, Designtechnica News
Newspaper says their daily podcast summarizing front page newspaper stories has already breached into the top tier of iTunes Music Store podcast downloads.
Old media met new media as The New York Times today said that a new podcasting feature which began on January 26 had already found its way into the top five most requested downloads on the
iTunes Music Store’s top 100 daily podcasts lists.
The one in particular which was generating the most buzz is a summary of the newspaper’s
front page stories.
The
New York Times podcasts, the newspaper said, focus in on, besides front page news story summaries, reviews from Culture and Dining, an Olympics Update and select interviews from The New York Times speaker series, TimesTalks, including media reporter Bill Carter's recent interview with Larry David from The Times's fifth annual Arts & Leisure Weekend.
"Our first podcasts represent a modest expansion of the audio we've been distributing over the Web and on WQXR Radio," said Jonathan I. Landman, deputy managing editor, The New York Times, said in a statement. "We expect to offer a more ambitious menu of original productions in the coming weeks and months."
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Off to Toronto
Our bags are packed and we're ready to go! We are on our way to Toronto in an hour or so. Derek Gehl is throwing a big Marketing Seminar in Toronto this weekend (feb. 3-4-5) and we wouldn't miss it for the world.
Apparently the weekend is sold out, and I almost waited too long to book my hotel room, but was able to sneak in at the last minute!
The information that Derek is going to be giving us should be good... but we are really excited to see who shows up! We are taking our Microphone will be trying to conduct interviews whenever we have some free time.
If you are heading to the workshop, let us know! We will be checking out email regularly... Otherwise, we will talk to everyone when we get back! (IE. probably no Blogs while we are gone!)
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Podcasters: Click, Create and Earn For Free With PodcastSPOTS
Cory Deitz - About.com - Feb. 1
PodcastSPOTS is a free podcast creation and hosting solution that allows a user to record podcasts, easily publish them, and possibly earn some revenue.
What is unique to this website is the ability for the podcast creator to drag and drop songs from PodcastSPOTS' site into episodes of their podcast. Once done, a music store featuring the songs contained within the program is automatically generated. Podcasters then can earn commissions from song sales and ad revenue.
Wizard Software
PodcasSPOTS offers Podcasters unlimited sized podcasts and unlimited bandwidth. Once a user publishes a podcast, a companion website is also automatically generated.
The Wizard comes with some royalty-free sound effects and access to a growing database of songs from independent artists. You can drag and drop a song from the "Podsafe Music Vault Charts" right into your episode.
Earn Revenue
If you want to earn advertising revenue, drag and drop a sponsor into your episode. Just click the "Sponsors Button" in the Wizard for a list of sponsors and PodcastSPOTS says it will give you a share of all advertising revenue generated.
The Wizard software also integrates with existing sites too. If you have a site you already publish to, simply set up the ftp and http settings in the Wizard and your episodes will be published there as well.
The PodcastSPOTS Wizard requires the Windows operating system.
To download the Wizard or watch a Video Tutorial, visit the
PodcastSPOTS home page.
Although I have tested out this software, this is not a review. It is presented as information to help you decide if the software and service might be useful for your situation.
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Rogers Wireless Makes Podcasts Available Using Melodeo Mobilcast
I wonder if Rogers is interested in acquiring an established Podcast Directory? :)
Press Release
February 1, 2006 — Rogers Wireless, Canada’s leading wireless communications service provider, and Melodeo, Inc., a developer of software and services that bring digital media content to mobile phones, have announced the launch of Rogers Podcast Service, North America’s first mobile Podcast service.
Rogers Wireless customers now have exclusive access to more than 1,500 Podcasts, covering a range of topics including News and Sports, Comedy and Music. The catalogue of Podcasts is updated throughout the day as new feeds are received, bringing fresh content to subscribers continually. Rogers Podcast Service can be accessed on subscribers’ cell phones through the Rogers Wireless navigate mobile Internet portal, within the GET INFO category.
"Rogers Podcast Service allows our customers to access the latest in digital information and entertainment by bringing one of the fastest growing mediums on the planet, Podcasting, directly to their phones," said John Boynton, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Rogers Wireless. "As the leading wireless carrier in Canada, we know our customers are looking for relevant, timely and exclusive content and with Rogers Podcast Service we are providing them with the latest mobile innovation to feed that need."
"Rogers Wireless was the first carrier in North America to offer mobile music to their customers and are once again leading the way by making Podcasts available directly to their customers, through Mobilcast™" said Bill Valenti, executive vice president at Melodeo. "We’re excited to work with Rogers Wireless again, as they are Canada’s largest integrated wireless network providing coverage to Canadians from coast-to-coast."
Previously, a listener would need to be online or have synchronized their portable media player to their computer to download these Podcast files. Through Mobilcast™, the Rogers Podcast Service frees the listener to download Podcasts directly to their mobile phones over-the-air. Mobilcast™ is the first software to eliminate the PC requirement by making it easy to download Podcasts over-the-air to a mobile phone.
The Rogers Podcast Service is now available to Rogers Wireless customers via subscription for an introductory price of $5.00 per month. This service uses Melodeo Mobilcast™ to make Podcasts available to consumers over-the-air to select Podcast-enabled cell phones. Subscribers can download their choice of Podcasts for immediate listening, and save the ones they want to play again later on their phone. There is no charge for the content of the Podcasts. Customers can visit www.rogers.com/podcasts for more information.
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Can the PBS be Saved by Podcasts?
By Steven Zeitchik, Variety
Source: Variety
Technology may finally help PBS do what all the partisan wrangling couldn't: ease it from its dependence on Congress for funding.
In its halting, PBS-esque way, the pubcasterpubcaster has been pushing ahead with a digital strategy that could have far-flung effects. It already makes large chunks of popular shows like "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer" and "P.O.V." available on the Web and iTunes, and the network's digital strategists say they're making plans to offer a range of VODVOD material.
And while more desirable programming like a Bob Dylan special stay chained to the set, PBS is in negotiations to make those available too.
With funding a constant source of controversy -- a point incoming prexyprexy-CEO Paula Kerger, a vet of the pubcaster, knows well -- digital coincoin could be a magic bullet.
At the moment, all content is free. But the pubcaster acknowledges it has considered various pay models. Already, streaming has enabled PBS to draw advertising that might be trickier on the air, with Google-sponsored links. And outgoing prexy Pat Mitchell recently said PBS could see $25 million-$30 million annually from downloading and VOD services.
But might parents pay so they can order up "Sesame Street" whenever they -- or their children -- demand?
"PBS could actually package it so that we'd feel good about paying a little extra, instead of at the networks, where we just think 'It goes into their coffers,'" says Syracuse U. media professor Robert Thompson. "And consumers would get something a lot more useful than a tote bag."
Added revenue, of course, is just one reason PBS is making a shift. As Kerger takes over (and faces the usual shouting about funding and bias), the pubcaster is quietly being shaken by a more profound concern: staying relevant in an on-demand, 800-channel age.
For most of its history, PBS solicited money from patrons and programmed in a vacuum. Viewer satisfaction? Ratings? Who knew? As long as the pledges came in, it didn't really matter.
And it's true that without ratings worries, PBS avoids the short-term pressure of sweeps or upfronts. But it also lacks a feedback mechanism that keeps nets competitive -- and relevant. And with cable nets like Discovery and A&E horning in on its turf, and broadcast nets using technology to further squeeze viewers' time, the network needs relevance more than ever.
Of course, much of PBS' programming -- longformlongform viewing for a niche audience --isn't exactly the stuff of an on-demand, slice-and-dice world. Consumers might watch NASCAR highlights on their cell phones before takeoff. But a "Nova" episode?
Experts, though, say episodes' length could work in PBS' favor.
"Watching pieces of Ken Burns' 'Baseball' instead of sitting through the whole thing sounds pretty good to me," Thompson says, adding that if the net packages its shows right, auds might treat PBS iTunes bits as they do an audio self-help book: a pellet of self-improvement on the go.
VOD could also suit PBS. As Cindy Johnson, senior veepveep of interactive and education, says, "One of the great frustrations audiences have is finding out when our shows air."
And PBS has fewer reasons to fear backlash from its affils, who aren't worried about ad viewership.
The network's changes aren't limited to digital maneuvers; programming has also moved, fitfully, into the 21st century. While its schedule still consists largely of serious and educational programming, net's "House" series, for example, involves producers placing non-pros in manufactured periods of the American past. Producer WNET calls it "hands-on history" but it is, essentially, a reality show.
The spring's "Texas Ranch House," which re-creates the Wild West (Tagline: "110 Degrees. 200 Cows. 47,000 Acres. And Fifteen People.") contains its strongest reality flavor yet: house members can actually get fired.
With this show and others, there's a sense from execs the net must evolve to encompass larger interests -- even mass tastes.
Says co-chief programming exec Coby Atlas: "We need to balance our mission with programs a lot of people want to watch."
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Did an iPod Scuttle the Flag?
By Wes Phillips
January 28, 2006 — As we reported last week, the Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) held hearings on January 24 exploring regulations to insert "Broadcast Flags" and "Audio Flags" into broadcast signals and audio recordings—markers that would prevent electronic devices from recording the flagged material. What we did not anticipate last week was that the hearings would trigger an outpouring of common sense.
John Sununu (R-NH), an MIT graduate, questioned the necessity of the restriction. He said that advocates of the restriction maintained that its absence would "stifle creativity." He demurred. "We have now an unprecedented wave of creativity and product and content development…new business models, and new methodologies for distributing this content. The history of government mandates is that it always restricts innovation…why would we think that this one special time, we're going to impose a statutory government mandate on technology, and it will actually encourage innovation?"
A good question, but the question that really seemed to derail the legislation was dropped by Ted Stevens (R-AK), who had, as committee chairman, made introductory remarks strongly suggesting the need for the restrictions. While discussing the Audio Flag restrictions, Stevens said that he'd been given an iPod by his daughter. He asked if the Audio Flag would allow him to record shows off the radio to listen to on his iPod. As EFF's Deep Links put it so well, "With that simple question, the octogenarian Senator encapsulated arguments about place-shifting, interoperability, and fair use that would have taken whole federal dockets to explain a few years ago."
Sununu followed it with another zinger, asking if he could record a three-song block off the radio and listen to just one of them—which is known as "disaggregation." The answer was "no."
The meeting ended with no decisions having been made, but Stevens was obviously less enthusiastic about the proposal than he had been at the beginning of the session. He observed that bills frequently get stuck in committee if even one member has objections. It seems, thanks to his daughter, Senator Stevens might. And Senator Sununu definitely does. He said, "Maybe the sky really is falling this time, but it is worth suggesting a little bit of skepticism, a little bit of doubt as we entertain this."
We couldn't agree more.
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Technology Revolution Taking Its Toll
It's not often that we get to bring you technology news from South Africa...
:)
By Ron Derby, Business Day, 30 January 2006
CD sales still growing — among some customers — but the new technology revolution is sure to take its toll of retailers who do not keep up with trends.
EXECUTIVES at some of the world’s largest media companies have awoken from their slumbers to find new developments, particularly the revolutionary MP3, tearing at their profits.
Media executives have started rallying their troops to start dealing with the problem, which has hurt margins.
In the US, the threat has moved on from the music industry to movies and television programming. Disney’s new chief, Bob Iger, has already agreed to let Apple sell television shows over the internet. MP3 technology has indeed arrived and its most vociferous detractors have started to change their tune. As their anxiety dissipates, they are embracing, and profiting from, the technology.
The Financial Times reported recently that record company executives, promoters and lobbyists are now celebrating the rapid growth in legal sales of digital music that has placed power of choice into the hands of consumers.
Last year, SA music retailer Musica introduced the country’s only legal digital download site through a licensing partnership with OD2 of the UK.
Musica merchandise executive Michelle Dods says the store is embracing technology changes — but bandwidth challenges prevent full exploitation of the benefits .
“However, as more people buy personal computers and ADSL lines proliferate, the opportunities grow,” she says.
As to the bottom line, Dods contends that SA was one of the few (if not the only) countries to show growth in CD sales.
Retailers in the UK and the US have been hard hit by new MP3 technology, with percentage declines in sales reaching double digits.
Industry insiders say there are 75000 iPods in SA, 60000 of which were bought through “official” channels and 15000 directly imported by consumers.
The iPod revolution arrived in SA in January 2002. Last year, 35000 iPods were sold, outstripping by far 2004’s figure of 15000.
Dods admits that the local music industry has been hit hard during the past few years because of new technologies, pirating and consumers’ perception that music is overpriced.
Despite this, she says: “December last year saw some growth coming from the local music industry and we (Musica) had a tremendous month, whereas both UK and US music retailers have had the opposite experience.”
New Clicks’ entertainment division, which includes the CD Wherehouse chain, reported 21,7% sales growth for its year to the end of August last year.
Dods says the key differentiators of the SA market are that
One of the country’s fastest growing music retailers, Reliable Music Warehouse, caters mainly for black consumers in the LSM 2-5 ranges. Its CEO, Faizel Dajee, says MP3 technology has not hurt their CD sales as Reliable’s consumers are not in an MP3 technology frenzy.
For CD Wherehouse and Musica, with their different customer profiles, the MP3 revolution is a more immediate threat.
Dods says Musica has repositioned itself to become an entertainment business, with a broader focus on DVDs, gaming and lifestyle products such as a branded accessories, posters, figurines and clothing.
Almost two years have passed since Musica dropped the prices of its Top 20 CDs to R99,95. This price-cutting, says Dods, allowed the chain to outperform the local CD industry’s growth — “but obviously at lower percentages than in previous years”.
The response to the technological wave by US and UK companies has been called “complacent”, with Dods saying: “We cannot stay as we are.
“We acknowledge that we need to be part of the change in the way in which our customers are consuming music, so we are exploring various opportunities for the future.”
Dajee says Reliable is strategising around MP3 technology and players such as iPods.
“But outcomes from these brainstorming sessions are four to five years away. New technologies are not going to affect our business in the next year or two,” he says.
Recording Industry of SA MD David du Plessis says that, as with cassettes in the 1970s and CDs in the 1980s, iPods and MP3s may well become the preferred format for many South Africans.
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US politician raises iPod questions
One of the Podcasts I listen to regularly is
'The Ongoing History of New Music' by Alan Cross, a great music documentary show that is broadcast on practically every rock-based radio station in Canada.
The show puts out, hour long documentary episodes weekly and short sweet one minute information episodes every day.
Recently, one of the episodes (sorry, couldn't find it so I am not sure what the date of the broadcast was) talked about the decibal level output from your average MP3 player and the results are a little scary.
Essentially, Alan mentioned that some countries in Europe have passed laws limiting the decibal level of devices to 95-100 (again... I couldn't find the episode, so these numbers may be off just a little!).
Now, if you know anything about your inner ear, you may remember learning in high-school science class that anything over 85 decibals WILL (notice WILL and not MAY) at least eventually, damage your hearing.
So what is the average decibal level of North American MP3 players? 125 to 135!!!
I wonder if Apple et al have purchased stocks in
Widex Digital?
Michael Valiant
Jan. 30, 2006
Can you still hear me now? That's the question Representative Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, wants answered when it comes to people listening to popular portable music players like Apple Computer Incorporated's iPod.
The US lawmaker on Thursday asked the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to review research to determine if the devices are contributing to premature hearing loss as well as recommend what people can do to prevent it from happening.
"Consumers need to have good information about the potential health concerns posed by these devices," Markey said in a letter to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
Markey said that noise above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss depending on the length of exposure and he cited a recent Washington Post article that said Apple has declined to reveal how loud its iPods can go.
All of Apple's iPod players come with earbuds that fit just inside the outer ear, rather than traditional headphones that go over the ear. Apple's devices include batteries that last for several hours.
An NIH representative was not immediately available for comment.
The question about hearing loss from portable music devices is not new, but the issue has reemerged amid soaring sales of players by Apple and other technology companies.
Apple, which dominates the market for the devices, alone sold 14 million iPods during the Christmas holiday quarter and 42 million since October 2001, when it introduced the device. A company representative was not immediately available to comment.
Sony Corporation and Thomson's RCA also sell music players and Cingular Wireless, the largest US wireless carrier, offers Apple's music software in a cell phone.
"People don't want to give up their portable music devices," Markey said in his letter. "However, they need to know whether they are at risk for premature hearing loss and how to protect themselves."
Jan. 9, 2006
Guitarist Pete Townshend has warned iPod users that they could end up with hearing problems as bad as his own if they don't turn down the volume of the music they are listening to on earphones.
Townshend, 60, guitarist in British band The Who, said his hearing was irreversibly damaged by years of using studio headphones and that he now is forced to take 36-hour breaks between recording sessions to allow his ears to recover.
"I have unwittingly helped to invent and refine a type of music that makes its principal components deaf," he said on his website.
"Hearing loss is a terrible thing because it cannot be repaired. If you use an iPod or anything like it, or your child uses one, you MAY be OK ... But my intuition tells me there is terrible trouble ahead."
Referring to the increasingly popular practice of downloading music from the internet, Townshend said: "The downside may be that on our computers - for privacy, for respect to family and co-workers, and for convenience - we use earphones at almost every stage of interaction with sound."
The Who was famous for its earsplitting live performances, but Townshend said his problem was caused by using earphones in the recording studio.
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Money Seeking Pro's vs Amateur Hobbiests - The Podcast War is On!
Although it is easy to forget from the inside sometimes, Podcasting is still far from breaking into the mainstream eye... Don't lose sight of that if you run your own podcast show!
When the articles that are being written stop explaining
'What is a Podcast?' then you will know that the medium has broken through finally!
This article is a well written look at the state of Podcasting moving into 2006!
By Jack M. Germain January 27, 2006
Ah, the podcast. We all remember those early days when average Joes and Janes would talk about every obscure topic under the sun, rhapsodizing about Star Trek: Voyager or the '67 Mustang or where they were going for dinner that night.
We remember those days because it seems like five minutes ago. In barely more than a year, the popularity of podcasting has exploded to the point where big business is rushing to get on the playing field. Media outlets are repackaging TV and radio programs to fit the format, and many other companies that have something to sell are trying to figure out how to script the next great infomercial as a podcast.
To gauge the rising popularity of the podcast phenomenon, just do a Web search for "podcasts." That's what blogger Doc Searls did on September 28, 2004, and he found 24 hits. A month later, that number exceeded 100,000. Today, a Google search on "podcasts" brings up 115 million hits.
No less an authority than the Oxford English Dictionary bestowed legitimacy on the medium when it announced that its word of the year for 2005 was "podcast." Even the White House has jumped on board, making the president's weekly radio address available as a podcast since last summer.
The rise of the podcast has stoked debate over whether the do-it-yourself spirit that drove the medium is in danger of being co-opted by the almighty dollar. Some see the fledgling activity at a crossroads.
"There are over 20,000 podcasters today. That could be cut by half or double by next year," said former radio DJ and audio editor Bruce Chandley, founder of podcastbunker.com, a site that provides access to podcasts.
Show Me the MoneyPodcasting began two years ago and quickly became a sort of amateur hour for broadcasting wannabes.
Instead of tinkering with radio frequencies and bouncing voice messages off the ionosphere, podcasters squeeze their content into audio-compressed files, the links to which are then uploaded into a feed -- called Really Simple Syndication (RSS) -- that automatically delivers these files to subscribers. People then can listen to podcasts on their computers or download them onto portable-media players, making podcasts as portable and as convenient as personal music stored on an iPod.
From raw amateur enthusiasm to rank commercialization, the podcasting community today is a mixed bag of entertainment, education, and marketing. "There's every flavor in between, of course, but that's pretty much how life is going to be," said Ted Schadler, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research.
It is precisely this brash, wide-open menu of choices, combined with accessibility, that makes podcasts so attractive. The audio delivery enabled by the RSS technology makes a podcast a sort of blog on steroids, giving people the content they want without making them work to find it.
To the listener, podcasts are essentially free, like many things on the Internet. But is the free nature of the podcast in jeopardy as businesses start to gain interest in its marketing potential?
Zippy Aima, an analyst at Frost & Sullivan, is betting that the dollar signs might eventually win out over the get-it-for-free marketplace that currently exists.
"Having been in the market for about one year, podcasting is in its initial phase of acceptance. But it is becoming a fast-growing medium," Aima said. "Hence, enterprises need to tap the potential of this technology, which will be generating revenues in the future."
At Apple's iTunes store, which offers roughly 3,000 podcasts, a check of the 25 most popular podcasts revealed names such as The New York Times, ABC, Fox, CNN, and NPR sitting among lesser-known outlets like Ask a Ninja, Happy Tree Friends, and French Maid TV.
Even the podcasters themselves are not immune from wanting to see revenues kick in. According to Chandley, some podcasters are now forming networks geared to accruing advertising dollars.
"As an infant industry, podcasting doesn't have enough listeners per popular podcaster. But combining the audience base makes the podcasting network more attractive as a source of advertising revenue," Chandley said. His own site, which he established in October 2004 to point people to the best podcasts available, has a link for advertisers who wish to pay for banner ads.
Two Roads DivergeAccording to Schadler, podcasting is moving along two paths. One is the path laid down by the medium's first adopters, he said, one on which anyone can create content and share it with whomever wants to listen. "In some cases, this is the farm league for professionals," he said, "but it's mostly just for fun, and there's no money being made."
But it is along podcasting's second pathway that some enthusiasts see the potential for commercials to take hold, just as they did on the Internet. This path leads to an area where advertising, donations, and, ultimately, subscriptions will fund Rush Limbaugh on your iPod or Terry Gross the next morning on the tread mill, said Schadler. "This is podcasting as media outlet, and it makes all the sense in the world for commercial providers," he said.
Analysts see much similarity in the development of podcasting and the digital revolution that is changing radio. As satellite broadcasting and other technological innovations continue, said Aima, people will become more and more aware about different ways to find digital content.
"Podcasting has definitely given a choice to the consumers who were bound by traditional radio," he said. "Radio shows are being delivered to listeners in different ways as the bits and bytes of technology have brought a transformation in this medium of entertainment, too."
Chandley said he does not think that podcasters eventually will replace radio stations, but that they will have an influence on programming decisions radio executives make. "With the introduction of podcasting, the radio industry definitely has to redesign its business model," Chandley said.
One advantage podcasting soon will have over traditional audio programming is pictures. Technology is tweaking the podcasting format to make room for a video message to complement the audio, and, according to Frost & Sullivan's Aima, video podcasting is catching on. Apple's podcast page on iTunes now features a section just for video podcasts, which can be played on the latest iPod models, naturally.
"It is definitely changing the way people thought of entertainment. Until now, podcasting was limited to listening to music, but the video version has redefined the border line of where technology is taking us," Aima said.
The Cost of Podcasting FameDespite the current interest of media conglomerates in podcasting and the possibility of future encroachments by big business, the podcast still offers a significant attraction for would-be DJs and trend setters.
It is easy and inexpensive to make.
"People think it's more complicated than it is," said Chandley. The cost of engineering a podcast varies with the audio skill of the originator, he said. Typically, a newcomer can get started for under $500. The price tag climbs to $1,000 to $2,000 for broadcast-quality audio equipment.
It takes only moderate computing skill to convert a podcast program to a form that is downloadable and playable on iPods, Chandley said. "iPods are one of the easiest aggregates. It is very simple to do."
The conversion process involves nothing more than embedding an MP3 file into an RSS file format, then submitting a link to iTunes or some other podcast repository. The process will become much more mainstream when software developers release integrated production and editing packages, Chandley said. Apple, for example, recently added a podcast component to its GarageBand application, which aims to get your voice on the Internet in "just a few minutes."
As Chandley sees it, the growing podcasting community likely will remain the preserve of hobbyists as well as professionals, resulting in an eclectic variety of show formats -- for now.
"There are lots of guys in their basements not going anywhere," he said.
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