Molly DeMellier - Where the Money is in Podcasting, Podcast Movement’s New Format, Sounds Profitable, & B2B Comms Strategy
Molly DeMellier (Head of Communications at Sounds Profitable) sits down with co-hosts Norma Jean Belenky and John Kiernan on PodBiz - Where’s The Money in Podcasting? to discuss how creators are evolving into media CEOs, the power of industry research, and the major format overhaul of Podcast Movement in New York City. She breaks down the split between the B2B Business Summit and the B2C main conference, why sponsored speaking slots were strictly banned, and what sessions she is most looking forward to on the ground.
Where is the money in podcasting right now?
“I think my answer has changed since the last time that I have been on the show. I think as we're seeing more podcast creators become true like media businesses and sort of like CEOs of their own media businesses, I think the money is truly in the diversified revenue streams that then come from that model—being able to sell across social, being able to sell across YouTube and video. And now we're also seeing a lot of creators write books or go on speaking tours, and now live events are officially back... I think being able to engage with creators in that in-person way is really, really effective. And of course, we're also continuing to see more and more creators launch their own products as well.”
Tell us about your transition from Acast to Sundays and now to Sounds Profitable.
“I certainly have popcorned my way around podcasting, that is for sure... At Sundays, Brian [Barletta] was sending so many Sounds Profitable clients my way to help grow the business, and we just kind of had this thought one day of, wait, why don't we join forces? This could really be a huge benefit to the Sounds Profitable partners and then to also help grow Sounds Profitable from the inside. So that was when we decided I made the shift over in-house to Sounds Profitable, running communications for the Sounds Profitable brand. And then because of the acquisition by Podcast Movement last August, managing all communications for Podcast Movement events.”
How do you approach B2B versus B2C communications across Sounds Profitable and Podcast Movement?
“I think about it as almost three different hats of what we do. Sounds Profitable for communications is very, very B2B. The thing that is actually our superpower from a communication standpoint is all the research that Tom Webster does... being able to put all that data out there to the industry and wider, that is really the piece of the puzzle that so quickly breaks us out of what we all call the podcast echo chamber... Wall Street Journal has covered our research, which is incredible... And then when it comes to Podcast Movement, that's more of that B2C communication—going out to the folks who will be attending the conference, PR pros, individual content creators... And then from the client perspective, it's having to get under the skin of what do they do, who are they individually trying to reach.”
Why did Podcast Movement decide to overhaul its conference format this year?
“First and foremost, we have seen conferences across industries that have just gotten bigger and bigger. And in trying to reach everybody, they consequently speak to nobody. And that was something that we were starting to see with Podcast Movement, was that it was becoming such a long event, almost a week of time, which is a lot to ask of people.
So we decided, what if we split it up, make sure that the right people are essentially in the right rooms and don't cannibalize their time. The Business Summit is the Monday and Tuesday, and that is for essentially buyers and sellers to get into a room—networking two hours a day, an hour block of ten-minute sessions, two hours of networking, and an hour block of ten-minute sessions. Everything has to be rooted in fact and curated individually... And then Thursday and Friday we pick right back up at Terminal 5 for the main Podcast Movement conference... 5 stages, 84 sessions over two days, and a capacity for 1,000 people.”
Why was it important to turn away money and eliminate paid speaking slots on stage?
“One thing that we found across events this year was another podcast industry event where almost 70% of what was on stage was sponsored in some way... $200 is the best deal we're going to see, but it's still an independent creator's money to go there and learn about how the industry works. So we didn't want anything paid for on stage.
We were turning away money because we wanted to keep an incredible event where the industry gets to hear what they actually want to hear about. We also created a hard and fast rule that each person can only speak once. For the speaker, back-to-back sessions are too much, and for the audience, what are you actually getting out of this person when they're in back-to-back-to-backs?”
How were the sessions selected for the main Podcast Movement conference?
“We actually did not pick one single session to be on stage ourselves. We did 50% as a community vote, so we really felt strongly that what occurs on stage should be what the industry wants to hear from.
And then the second half, we created an outside independent committee to vote on the remaining sessions. We were handed a list of 84 sessions and we picked what time they went on what stage, but aside from that, there was no cherry-picking and no money spent to get on stage.”
What sessions or trends are you most excited to see at Podcast Movement in New York?
“I have to say Tom Webster, of course! We are putting out a new report that will be released on stage where we compare the advertising industry. I'm super excited to see those updated numbers.
We also have quite a few true crime podcasters taking the stage, and there's actually quite a bit on children's content and a session on anime as well. Anime speaks to other massive fandom industries coming into podcasting, which shows what could now be coming into our industry as all these other places open up.”
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