Mary Anne Ivison was laid off in 2021. Ivison discusses the difficult transition and mental health challenges she faced after losing her job, but how she eventually found success in voiceover work and launching her own podcast "Let's Take This Outside". We covered the ups and downs of building a voiceover business, including the challenges of working with agents and the impact of AI on the industry. Ivison shares her perspective that while AI may take over some lower-end voiceover work, the level of direction and variation required for many commercial projects still requires human talent. We also touched on the state of the podcast industry, acknowledging the difficulties of monetization and the shift towards more VC-backed companies. However, they emphasize the importance of finding a niche and building a loyal audience, rather than chasing download numbers. Did you know? Let’s Take This Outside is an Award-Winning Podcast. Mary Anne took home 2nd for Emerging Broadcast Media (over 10 mins) from the Travel Media Association of Canada. Mary Anne is candid about the mental toll of the freelance lifestyle and the need to manage expectations, and that entering these creative fields requires a realistic understanding of the hard work and persistence required for long-term success. Another honest episode providing an insightful look at the realities of navigating a career transition and building a sustainable creative business in the modern media landscape. A video and transcript of the episode can be found on the network website. Mary Anne is getting ready for Christmas. As we mentioned on the show - she is the imaging voice of a few radio stations including Indie 88 in Toronto.

Donna Reed, a former radio host, podcast creator, and voiceover talent discusses her dcareer in radio, including her times at WQDR and WRDU in Raleigh, NC; then to KLOL and KODA in Houston, Texas and WCXR in Washington, DC. where she enjoyed the freedom of night shifts. She transitioned to voice acting after a car commercial opportunity and has since worked on audiobooks, commercials, and transit announcements. Reed also curated the "Leopard Print Lounge Chair" channel for AccuRadi o during COVID-19, blending eclectic music for a relaxed atmosphere. She reflects on the challenges and joys of podcasting, emphasizing the need for consistency and creativity. Reed looks forward to more interviews and episodes in 2025. Give her show a follow here. We used Streamyard for the video this week. We don't believe one is any better than another anymore. Squadcast, Descript, Streamyard, Riverside... pick your poison.

Tony Garcia's journey through the radio industry over the past four decades provides a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of syndicated content and the changing landscape of the medium. From his early days as an intern at the iconic WNBC in New York during the 1980s, Tony's enthusiasm for radio was palpable, as he recounted the excitement of being part of the station's shift from album rock to the burgeoning new wave scene. This passion led Tony to create his own syndicated show, "Wave Breaker," while at WNYU. Through sheer determination and a willingness to learn on the job, he navigated the complexities of distribution, leveraging techniques like bulk-erasing tapes to get the show into the hands of eager college radio stations across the country, and in Europe. This laid the foundation for Tony's deep understanding of the syndication business, which he would go on to apply in roles at companies like Progressive Radio Network and the Wall Street Journal Report. Tony's insights into the strategies employed by media giants like Dow Jones, who adeptly repurposed content across their various platforms, underscores the importance of adaptability in an ever-changing industry. The transition from vinyl to CDs, and eventually digital distribution, further highlights Tony's ability to evolve with the times, always seeking to provide the most efficient and cost-effective solutions for his clients. The story of Tony's involvement with the Bob & Sheri show, from the initial challenges to the eventual triumph, exemplifies his knack for identifying and nurturing talent. By enabling ownership of their IP and digital presence, Tony demonstrated a keen understanding of the value of intellectual property in an increasingly fragmented media landscape. As Tony looks ahead to the future, his enthusiasm for the potential of hyper-local podcasts and the continued expansion of Bob & Sheri, and publishing ventures reflects a visionary mindset. We also talked about Two Guys Named Chris   who are another morning show that work with Now! Media. A few weeks ago we heard them on another great podcast called Brandwidth on Demand. If you love radio - you will really enjoy this podcast. The duo discusses their unique chemistry, supported by producer Josh Ellinger and meteorologist Dave Aiken, and how a special coach helped them refine their craft. They highlight the benefits and challenges of co-hosting, adapting to the evolving media landscape, and the importance of personal anecdotes in connecting with their audience. Also of note, Tony mentioned that the company is keeping an eye to the future with publishing. A quick tour of the Bob & Sheri Website shows numerous writing pieces, including her own. And guest bloggers like Avery Rich's Declutter U which made its debut this week. Avery wrote about the many ways to Declutter your spending. Tony also did a little decluttering of his own back in 2023, and it spurned a flood of memories about the growth of the show. One of my favourite questions in this episode is to recall some of the benchmarks along the growth trajectory for the Bob & Sheri Show. But Tony wrote an excellent piece for the newsletter. I'll tell you what - now that you have made it to the end of this page, I'll give you the start of the piece - and then you can go finish it here: I was organizing my closet (for the one millionth time) and I came across some of the items in my “brag box”. It’s full of stuff that I’ve accumulated since my college days. One item was a cassette demo of Bob & Sheri we produced when I first joined the show. It took me back to the first time I met Bob & Sheri. It was a whirlwind day with no shortage of strange stuff. It started when (then station Manager) Rick Jackson told me about the show, I was in Connecticut and had no idea who Bob and Sheri were. Read the Rest HERE

You likely know Steve Pratt's name from his days as founder of Pacific Content. The company that created stories about brands set the bar for branded podcasts in the late 2010's. The company was later sold to Rogers in 2019 and just recently sold to Lower Street in the UK. Unlike our interview with (former Pacific Content Director of Audience developement) Dan Misener, we are going to ask Steve about his thoughts when it was announced Rogers would be mothballing the company he started. In this episode, we discussed Steve's career evolution from television to podcasting. He highlighted his work at YTV where he was in charge of "The Zone", CBC Radio 3, and later Pacific Content, emphasizing the importance of creating unique, audience-focused content. Steve shared insights on the challenges and successes of branded podcasts, such as Slack's "Customer Success Podcast", Charles Schwab's "Choiceology" and Red Hat's "Open Source," which avoided direct brand promotion. He also discussed the impact of AI on content creation and the need for high-quality, differentiated content. Steve's new book, " Earn It: Unconventional Strategies for Brave Marketers " offers strategies for earning audience engagement through creative storytelling. If you are not into reading but would prefer to listen to the book, you can do so here. Of note - the audio book is voiced by Steve and co-produced by Gaetan Harris who produced podcasts at Pacific Content and also had the (mis)fortune of working with me in Winnipeg at Power 97 where he did evenings on air. Anyhow here is what you are in for: In a world where content is everywhere, consumer attention is a valuable commodity. Every marketer, creator, and communication professional is vying to get eyes on their brand. But the old marketing techniques—paying for ad space and trying to pop up on the “right” platforms—aren’t cutting it to get the attention you require to grow your business. If this sounds familiar, you need to shake up your process and start earning the attention you’re asking for. In Earn It, entrepreneur and innovator Steve Pratt delivers his forward-thinking approach with passion and humour to help you see why your marketing strategy needs to be as unique as your business. Drawing on his own expertise as well as insights from other leading experts in creativity, marketing, and media, Steve outlines the reasons you need to abandon the status-quo and get creative. He warns that there is no shortcut and no hack, but if you’re ready to do the work and find the sweet spot between your Commitment and Creative Bravery then your audience is waiting. The strategies in this book may surprise you. The thinking and the techniques are unconventional. But if you embrace them, you will change the way you market your brand and your business, creating value for your consumers and reaping the benefits.

After 7 and a half years, the longest gap between appearances in Sound Off Podcast history, Leslie Scott finally returns. And to say things have changed is a massive understatement. Back in 2016, Leslie was the PD for 107.7 The End in Seattle, driving the station to huge success in the millennial market. Since then, she's taken on a few more stations, been elevated to overseeing programming of Audacy's exclusive streaming-only channels... And like so many people in radio, been restructured out of a job. Their loss. We discuss where Leslie's currently at both life and career wise, but mainly this is a time for us to catch up and learn how Leslie's thoughts and predictions from 2016 have aged. For the most part, Leslie's values remain the same: Radio and digital should be friends, not enemies; Radio stations need to focus on curating personalities above all else; and the youngest generation is a giant well of untapped potential listeners who should be catered to. However, interestingly, Leslie is no longer a part of that youngest generation. She once was a sort of "Millennial Whisperer" in the radio industry, but Gen Z is a whole different beast, which we discuss at length. 7 years doesn't sound like a long time, but it really is, especially in an industry that's been scrambling so hard to keep up with the youth, and Leslie has a lot of thoughts about the way things have changed. We also discuss women's progress in the radio industry, or rather, its stagnation in recent years. Fred Jacobs of Jacobs Media published his AQ6 survey earlier this year, which you can read about here . It showed that women's representation in radio hasn't really improved since 2019. Being both a woman herself and serving on the board of directors for mentoring and inspiring women in radio, Leslie shares some interesting insights into why that might be. If you haven't heard our original 2016 interview with Leslie, and you'd like to compare for yourself, you can listen to it below. If nothing else, it's an interesting time capsule to a world before TikTok. A transcript of the episode is available on the network page.

Jordan Heath Rawlings, host of the Big Story Podcast, returns to discuss the evolution of daily news podcasts over the past five years. If you are a regular reader of the SOUNDING OFF Newsletter , you'll know that I have a feature called "The Best Thing I Heard This Week", and I have featured episodes from the Big Story on more than one occasion. We first had Jordan on the show in 2019 after year one on the show. Since then, he noted the increased competition and the shift to virtual interviews post-pandemic. There's simply more choice with outlets having rushed into the space after the success of the The Daily and The Big Story. The Big Story has evolved into video, releasing episodes on two YouTube channels, reaching 100,000 views, despite minimal video content. Some of the original challenges of balancing geographic and subject matter diversity, aiming for a balanced news diet. The Big Story remains majority Apple-listened, with Spotify growing. Notable guests over the last year include Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Peter Mansbridge. We also talked about some of the benefits and obstacles for a daily news podcast to carry video. We did a video version of this episode and you can see that here... and as per usual, A Transcript and video version of the episode is available on the network page. Jordan and I also discussed the two other podcasts that have spawned from the Big Story that I have enjoyed.... In This Economy? and The Gravy Train , which discusses the lunacy that is that Doug Ford Ontario provincial government. I also noted the quirkiness of the Big Story, and how local stories can be made interesting to a national audience. Like this episode about a Toronto park that banned "Home Runs", and other stupid park rules.

Jeff Umbro, is the founder of The Podglomerate , an award-winning podcast services firm specialized in production, marketing, and monetization of outstanding content. In this episode, we discussed his transition from book publicist to podcasting, highlighting the company's evolution since 2017. He emphasized the importance of podcast promotion, noting that cross-promos are effective but should not be the sole strategy. Jeff also shared his insights on video's role in podcasting, noting its potential for discovery and engagement. He also addressed the complexities of monetizing podcasts, including the challenges of dynamic ad insertion and the need for fair CPMs. Our conversation concludes with Jeff's plans to develop a dashboard for better data tracking and his ongoing client projects, including "Master Plan" and "A Fine Mess." Rather unintentional, but we discussed a promo swap we did back in 2019 between the  Podglomerate's Storybound  and Sound Off's  Writing Class Radio , and what the ROI was. Jeff also has a podcast called "Podcasting Perspectives" which goes even deeper into podcasting than this one does. And yes - he does video on Spotify and YouTube . As we discussed in the show - if you can make a video podcast slickly... do it. Jeff has done something that we have advised our client's to do - and that is upload the video to YouTube AND Spotify. But create a separate Spotify RSS feed so as not to deter your current Spotify listeners and force them to consume audio. I choose this episode with Eric Barnett simply because I have not seen him since he introduced himself to me when he was at Find-A-Way (Later purchased by Spotify) and this episode served as a nice catch up. A Transcript and video version of the episode is available on the network page.

Sharon Taylor, Senior Vice President of Podcast Strategy and Product Operations at Triton, discusses her career journey from hospitality management to podcasting. She joined Omny Studio in 2016, initially on a contract basis, and later becoming CEO. Sharon highlights the evolution of Omny Studio from a radio tool to a comprehensive podcast platform, and its acquisition by Triton. She emphasizes the importance of brand safety and suitability in podcast advertising, and introduces Sounder, a tool developed by Triton to enhance contextual analysis and ad targeting. Sharon also touches on the challenges and opportunities for Canadian podcasters, noting the need for a unified approach and diverse revenue streams. We also spent some time discussing the power of mobility; she has moved on multiple occasions across numerous time zones. She's currently living in my hometown of Montreal where the food is the best in Canada. Her favourite restaurant? Nyk's Bistro on Bleury. (Not to be confused with the landmark Chez Nick's on Greene Avenue in Westmount) Take a date to Nyk's, take your mother to Nick's) This is the Mushroom Parpadelle that she was raving about. Remember that lunch is to be enjoyed in Montreal so if your host takes you for a three hour lunch and you are not talking business - you are doing it right. Although if I went with Sharon, I'd love to break that rule and solve every podcast problem by 3:30pm. Did you know? Sharon had a hand in starting the Sound Off Media Company on our Networking journey? Many of the early podcasts we have worked with resided on OMNY, which still has beautiful, customizable web players, Enterprise podcasting, and... well every toy in the box. Back in 2017 Fred Jacob was kind enough to invite me to a “Broadcaster’s Meet Podcasters” dinner at Roy’s in Anaheim, before PM17. I was seated beside Gregr, the morning show host at 107.7 The End in Seattle, and Sharon Taylor, (then) CEO of OMNY. We all had such a good time talking about what we did in media. At the end of the night, Gregr agreed to appear on the show,  and Sharon allowed me to start a show that would later become You May Also Like , on OMNY Studio. It was not long after that, I found many of the OMNY tools to be helpful in building out a network that would become what we have today. The foundation for the company is built on kindness and generosity. Which is a long way from when Matt & Jake offered to jet the Bush Twins to come party with us on Whyte Avenue in 2001. A Full Transcript of the episode is located on our Network Page. Here is the video recording of the show for those that swing that way. You can tell how much I love video - I put it below the Mushroom Parpardelle.

You likely know Dan Misener for his work in Podcasting - but I managed to trace his roots back to radio. Specifically, to CBC and shows like DNTO (Definitely Not the Opera) and Spark with Nora Young. His radio days actually stretch back a little further than that to campus radio at Dalhousie's CKDU in Halifax. But it was his time at Pacific Content where Dan began to explore audience development in the podcast space. Yes, he could have continued on making great sounding shows at places like the CBC, but what's the point if you aren't getting everyone to listen, right? In this episode we will discuss those early radio days and the natural transition to podcasting, the experimenting at the CBC with Spark, and the creation of a feedback loop for the show. We also spoke about the importance of the packaging of your podcast and how it appears in podcast catalogues and on a dashboard display in a vehicle. We also talked about some of the cool blogs that Dan has written, t he very helpful Podcast XRay that was released earlier this year which helps you find out things about show's like release days, enclosure tags and the brand new analytics Dashboard from Bumper presents another look at podcast metrics focusing in consumption and verified listens to a show. Yes downloads are cool but have you ever appreciated the Time Spent Listening (TSL) to your show? Dan has given us a look into new Bumper Dashboard for their clients and we make a few observations about the Sound Off Podcast. Some we knew; some we did not. We also touched on some other lingering podcast questions like, does it matter what day of the week you release an episode, and what's the role in video for your show. The answer to both is... YES! I did not ask Dan about his feelings about Rogers (mis)handling the attempted shuttling of Pacific Content, nor the ensuing sale to Lower Street... there were podcast marketing strategies to pursue after all. Dan gave us a test run of the new Bumper Analytics tool which is exclusive to clients. Here what we saw - with the settings at 90 days. Apple activity over this time period is 35.16% and Spotify is 16.5% from our host Art19. As Dan said a couple of times in the episode, anything that can be juked is not worth reading into. And the ability to see the behaviour of verified listeners is very valuable - even if we are only working with 51% of the audience. The ability to see data alongside other stats is valuable. You'll note in the downloads area, OP3 picked up some extra downloads that Art19 filtered away. You can see our OP3 public stats here  and OP3 explains how they compile their stats here. Now on to examine an episode listening page. We chose a recent episode we did with Alan Cross. Now remember, you likely already have access to your Spotify and Apple consumption stats through Spotify For Podcasters and Apple Connect, however it is wonderful to see them together. You will note that under retention, there are a few of you who just aren't interested in hearing me do a pitch from our supporters. Happily, the number is small and that behaviour has remained consistant over the years. We are in the process of adding our YouTube numbers into the dashboard and more information to come about this later. Let me know if you see anything interesting to you. A Transcript and video version of the episode is available on the network page.

This week, I speak with Rob Grant from 101.5 Today Radio in Calgary. Back in 2022 I went to Spain and landed in Seville for the Copa Del Rey final between Real Betis and Valencia. On my Instagram I wondered why there were so many firecrackers going off. It was Rob who explained that it is the Valencian way of saying hello - it football terms. Over the years we have had football chats, and some radio ones as well. This conversation features some of the many things I love including radio, politics, history, and football. In fact - these could be my top 4 things to talk about. In this episode, Rob explains what hospital radio is, and how he wanted to do radio since the age of 9. We spend a little time discussing radio in Nelson, Kelowna, Edmonton and Calgary. He also made some prognostications for football and future elections. I am on this kick celebrating great old school radio style bits that are done on Instagram. Here is a good one Rob is doing called Blind Karoke which is a guaranteed way to sound ridiculous and entertain us all at once.