Ideas Post.

Posted by Maximum Fun on 14th November 2006


OK, everybody… here’s the story so far:

The Sound of Young America, by a lot of standards, is doing great…

* We’ve got an average of about five thousand downloads per show, which is very good to great in the (independent) podcasting world.

* The show’s on half a dozen stations.

* The recent trip to New York was a success (though I did lose a fair bit of money on it).

* A couple folks I really admire and respect have really lent a hand and also been very encouraging lately. This means a lot to me.

* A number of folks, including many of the regular commenters here, are donors to the show, and that generates about $200 a month in income, which pays for my expenses. If it weren’t for you, I couldn’t do the show, literally.

* I think the show’s been doing very well in terms of booking, and I feel like I’m continuing to improve as host.

* The preliminary results of the survey I’ve been running are very positive. People really like the show.

* This blog has a strong audience, and I’ve never broken news about a new iPod or combined the names of a celebrity couple into a more-convenient single name.

* A nice fella named John is helping me build a forum for the website, which I’ve always wanted to have.

There are still many, many challenges, though.

* The show hasn’t really grown in audience for a year. This has been the case for lots of non-brand-name podcasts, but it is nonetheless discouraging.

* Public radio related partnership possibilities I was very excited about have not come through.

* Although I occaisionally meet someone in public radio who likes the show, and that’s exciting (see above), even those few stations who have agreed to take a listen to the show in the past few months have basically ignored me thereafter.

* While the money that’s coming in covers the expenses of the show, I’m not taking anything home.

* Since moving to LA about three and a half months ago, I’ve been able to focus on the show while doing a little bit of freelance work. Unfortunately, despite my borderline ascetic lifestyle, my cashflow has been negative, and I don’t have much savings, so I think that may have to end.

* Putting out an hour-long show every week is really hard.

Here’s the deal:

I’m looking for ideas. If you have any idea for what I should do, please comment. Anything from little things I should change to big new directions. All are open. Please share your thoughts on others’ ideas, as well.

If there’s a way you’d like to help, that of course is encouraged, but feel free to suggest off the wall ideas that involve me doing all the work. I am taking on all ideas. Please do share a bit of the “why” in your idea, as well.

One of the biggest reasons I still do the show five years later is listeners like you. I really mean that. Today I got an email from a guy who has all kinds of environmental allergies and immune deficiencies, and he can’t leave the house much, but he loves The Sound. A couple weeks ago, I found out one of my favorite public radio personalities is a listener. That kind of stuff really amazes and gratifies me (as you might imagine). That said, the tank’s running a little low this week.

So… I’m opening up the floor to new ideas.

Ready… steady… GO!