Eric Nuzum is the senior vice president for original content at Audible. He's head of a major initiative at the audiobook company to create new things for the world to listen to.
He stopped by Podcasts and Pizza, an LA meet up of podcast producers for an AMA on everything he's up to at Audible, how he sees the industry shaping up and what's important to him right now.
To get info about this LA podcasting meet up, sign up for the tinyletter: tinyletter.com/lapodcasting
This podcast feed features recordings of speakers at our events :)
Thanks for listening,
Ben Adair
Host of the meet up
and First Time Last Time podcast
Here are my notes on what Eric talks about:
0:00 – Intro
4:50 – Eric Nuzum starts talking.
7:02 – The definition of radio is changing. Radio is an experience. If you're not making an experience, you're dead.
10:08 – The reason that more people don't listen to podcasts is because they don't hear things that are relevant to them.
11:20 – We've built a team of people at Audible who are asking these questions: what do people want to listen to?
12:10 – A list of the different types of content he's interested in.
12:45 – Throws to questions
13:30 – Q: how are you keeping an eye on what other companies are doing? How are dealing with discoverability? How do you see smaller, indies vs. bigger players?
14:30 – Audible is actively seeking ideas.
15:30 – Discoverability is a big deal. We have Audible and Amazon's customer data and can use that to push our projects.
17:25 – We're not just making new programs, we're making a new ecosystem for listening.
18:00 – Q: What data are you sharing?
18:20 – Since we have an app, we have a ton of data about how people are listening and how people use things.
19:30 – Q: How do we maintain editorial and technical quality?
21:15 – If podcasting becomes an industry known for looser standards or journalism, then that's a problem.
24:50 – Q: Channels seems very user focused, but for podcast producers, the value is making what they want. How do you reconcile that tension?
26:00 – How Eric solves that tension in the stories that Audible is working on.
27:00 – The whole platform argument in public radio is backwards.
27:45 – Q: Commercial radio is very in the moment, how does news programming work for podcasting and at Audible.
28:54 – Ephemeral content shouldn't necessarily be a podcast.
30:20 – Occasion listening vs. lifestyle listening.
30:50 – Q: Where do you see the jobs in audio coming from?
31:36 – I don't know where the jobs will be, but if you know how to tell a story, you will find work.
32:50 – Q: Audible is great but too expensive. Can you make it cheaper?
33:30 – This is the one thing I won't talk about it but yes, we're thinking very hard about it.
33:45 – Q: How is Audible going to get people to pay for content?
34:25 – I was the first to say HBO of audio — that's what we're building.
36:45 – Q: How do you evaluate pitches and what do you buy?
37:30 – We make decisions on what we think will be the most exciting, most impactful thing
39:15 – We have to expand who's behind the mic and what they're talking about.
41:20 – Q: What do you have to deliver to Amazon to keep them happy and you in a job?
41:50 – Had to change the content goals when I walked in the door.
43:15 – Real numbers about what he's doing at Audible.
45:00 – Q: How do you like to receive a pitch?
46:05 – We have a Hollywood model. Then some logistics on pitching. Then the process.
47:40 – Q: What do you think is missing, specifically, for a mass audience?
48:05 – We need things that are fun to listen to but not so engaging. Not so immersive.
50:25 – Q: There's such an emphasis on metrics but small audiences can be massively influential. How do podcasters harness that and build a brand?
51:30 – The fact that people opt-in to listening is HUGE. But standards need to emerge. Some talk about advertising and the industry.
54:20 – I want to build a place that works for customers and creatives.
