Welcome to this week’s edition of The Feed Insights! In Episode 284, Elsie and Rob kick off 2025 with a look at podcasting trends and gear, including:
- What’s newly available in the Public Domain to legally use in your podcast.
- Shure’s latest microphone innovation, the Shure MV7i.
- Actionable advice for new podcasters, based on data and experience.
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Lance Anderson, a recent inductee into the Podcasters Hall of Fame, tragically lost his Altadena Junction Creative Arts Studio in the Eaton Fire. This space was pivotal for theater performances, art exhibitions, and podcasting. The fire destroyed invaluable equipment and personal creations. You can support Lance’s rebuilding efforts through his GoFundMe page: Help Lance Anderson Recover.
Additionally, his partner, Dr. Marisol Martinez, lost her home and chiropractic business in the same fire. Marisol has been a dedicated member of the Altadena community for 18 years. To assist Marisol in rebuilding her life, please consider donating here: Help Marisol Rebuild.
Your contributions will help them recover and continue their invaluable work in the community.
Episode Highlights
Entering the Public Domain in 2025. Every year, creative works enter the public domain, making them free to use without permission. Rob shares a list of literary works, movies, musical compositions, and recordings that are newly available. Some of these include:
- Books: A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, Seven Dial’s Mystery by Agatha Christie, A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf, Cup of Gold by John Steinbeck, The Sound of Fury, The Maltese Falcon, and the English version of All Quiet on the Western Front.
- Movies: Spite Marriage, Buster Keaton’s last silent film; Blackmail, Alfred Hitchcock’s first talkie; The Black Watch, John Ford’s first talkie; Dynamite, Cecil B. DeMille’s first talkie; and On with the Show, the first all-color, feature-length talkie. - Characters: Popeye, Tintin, and Buck Rogers.
- Music: The compositions for “Singing in the Rain” and “Tiptoe Through the Tulips." - Recordings: Recordings from 1924, including Al Jolson’s “California Here I Come,” George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” and Isham Jones and Marion Harris’ “It Had to Be You.”
New Podcast Gear. Elsie and Rob discuss two new pieces of equipment from Zoom and Shure that may be helpful for podcasters.
- The Zoom H1XLR is an inexpensive handheld recorder ($149.99) with two XLR/TRS combo inputs and a 3.5 mm stereo input that can connect to mobile devices, PCs, and Macs. Elsie notes that it can be used as a simple audio interface for recording two microphones into one computer.
- The Shure MV7i is a USB microphone with a built-in audio interface ($349) that can be used to simplify two-channel recording. You can connect a second XLR microphone or instrument into the MV7i and record both channels using the Motive desktop or mobile app. Elsie wonders if you can record two channels using a DAW, as this is not possible with Shure’s wireless microphones, which use Bluetooth.
Podcasting Advice for 2025. Rob and Elsie offer the following advice to new podcasters:
- You don’t have to do video, and if you start with audio, you don’t need to feel pressured to switch to video.
- Don’t spend a lot of money on equipment, especially when you are first starting out. Focus on creating good content, not having a fancy studio.
- Choose a topic you are passionate about and don’t be afraid if other podcasts already exist on that topic. You will bring a unique perspective to it.
- Don’t give up too soon. It takes time to build an audience. Rob and Elsie recommend making at least 25–30 episodes.
Podcaster Spotlight
Melissa and Mandy from the popular true crime podcast Moms and Mysteries participated in a Sounds Profitable’s True Crime Listener Landscape hosted by Podcasting Hall of Fame Inductee, Tom Webster and sponsored by Libsyn. Elsie recommends watching the recording of this presentation on Libsyn’s YouTube channel, whether or not you host a true crime podcast.
Industry Trends
True Crime Continues to Dominate. Despite the hosts’ feelings about the genre, 18 of the top 25 new podcasts in 2024 were true crime, according to Podtrac. This trend is confirmed by the Sounds Profitable presentation about true crime podcasts hosted by Tom Webster. While the hosts encourage new podcasters to explore other topics, it is clear that true crime continues to be a popular genre for listeners.
Actionable Advice
When using music in your podcast, state in your show notes whether you have the rights or the music is in the public domain. Since November 1, Spotify has been using a bot to identify and take down podcasts that use copyrighted music.
Stats Corner
For podcasts released in November 2024, the median number of downloads after 30 days was 122 and the adjusted mean average (with outliers removed) was 1168 downloads. This means that if your episodes are getting over 122 downloads after 30 days, your podcast is performing better than half of the shows on Libsyn.
