Podcasting vs Radio: Which Is Better?

Article by Victoria Jeffrey

Podcasting is really beginning to take off but it’s been around for a few years. In fact, I remember listening to my first podcast back in 2001. Back then they weren’t called podcasts. I think the term may have simply been internet radio or audio web files. I’m a podcaster myself and I’ve found podcasting to be a tremendous source of freedom and enjoyment.

I’ve never worked in radio so I can’t give a professional opinion on radio, only my opinion from what I’ve seen and experienced as a listener. What I do know is that most radio stations have ceased to be places where you can receive a healthy influx of quality new music from different sources. When I say this I’m not counting community and public radio stations. They remain, in my opinion, good places for information, news and good music. The problem is commercial radio. If you are looking for mainstream artists and mainstream music then commercial radio will do fine but what if you want to hear alternative country? Blues or punk? What about your local artists or world music or classical music? There’s a podcast for literally every musical genre. My own podcast focuses on old tango music. There’s rich world of music out there that isn’t given much attention by radio. This is where podcasters come in. They can enlighten public awareness to independent music that will never be considered by the radio stations. A lot of music podcasters have taken up the mantle started by old radio DJs. DJs at one time were allowed by the record labels to play music that they enjoyed listening to along with playing label artists. In fact, old radio discovered many new artists through the musical tastes and choices of local DJs. Those times are gone.

AM Talk Radio also has a podcasting equivalent. Although I host a music podcast, most of the podcasts that I listen to are talkcasts: shows about technology, food, tv shows and film. In podcasting there is simply a much bigger variety of subject matter and music to choose from. It reflects people-powered, people-engineered “radio”. Most podcasters are not controlled by corporate interests and so we are free to broadcast artists that we personally like and admire. Podcasting is also influenced by listeners in that they often give feedback and suggestions on what they hear. I’ve experienced this intimacy and community feeling in podcasting which you don’t get in commercial radio. Often I’ve emailed a podcaster or left a voicemail message for their show which usually gets read. Podcasters often read and directly respond to emails and posts to their websites. They are also likely to talk about suggestions, complaints and other comments on the show that their listeners bring up and take them into consideration. I’ve done this for my own listeners. You feel that the person on the other side really cares about what you think and what you have to say. It’s not impossible to get your voice heard on a professional radio