Ear Worthy — the influential podcast online publication — has announced the Winners of the 2024 Ear Worthy Independent Podcast Awards.
There are many podcasts — hundreds of thousands of them — and a sizable majority are independent podcasts. Podcasting has also found itself awash in awards: The Ambies, iHeart Podcast Awards, People’s Choice Podcast Awards, The Webbys, The Signal Awards, British Podcast Awards, and others. Yet, with few exceptions, these awards either don’t recognize independent podcasts or have them do battle against their well-financed, network-supported brethren.
“Many bootstrapped indie podcasters have paper-thin budgets and are led by overworked and unappreciated podcasters,” says Frank Racioppi, executive editor of Ear Worthy and owner of Willow Grove Communications LLC. “Indie podcasters wear more hats than any network-supported podcaster. They are creator, writer, producer, sound engineer, I.T. troubleshooter, researcher, host, distribution pro, marketing guru, public relations professional and, most important of all, financial backer for the podcast.”
The Ear Worthy Independent Podcast Awards are sponsored by lenny.fm. This new service works like this: Listeners contribute US$4 a month, which is split between the top 4 podcasts they chose. While not exclusively for independent podcast, lenny.fm offers indie podcasters a monetization option that was not previously available. Courtney Carthy of lenny.fm says: “We want to help podcasters be rewarded for their work by people who value it and help drive an overall increase in listeners supporting podcasters.”
The Award Winners are:
Best Overall Podcast of the Year – The Life Shift – From: Matt Gilhooly – Hosted by: Captivate
Best Interview Podcast – Preconceived – From: Snack Labs – Hosted by Acast
Best Life Lessons Podcast – Multispective From: Jennica Sadhwani | Not Today Media -Hosted by: Buzzsprout
Best Health Podcast – Salad With A Side Of Fries – From: Jen Trepeck – Hosted by: Simplecast
Best Workplace Podcast — Surfing Corporate – From: Surfing Corporate -Hosted by: Megaphone
Best Young Adult Podcast – Seraphina Speaks – From: Seraphina Malina-Derben – Hosted by: Libsyn
Best Business Advice Podcast – Bippity Boppity Business – From: Rita Richa -Hosted by: Simplecast
Best Podcasting Success Podcast – Leverage Your Podcast – From: Lyndsay Phillips
Best Movie Podcast – Verbal Diorama – From: Verbal Diorama – Hosted by: Captivate
Best Film History Podcast – Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever – From: Ayesha Khan -Hosted by: Buzzsprout
Best Music Podcast – Watching the Covers Flow – From: Ray Padgett
Best LGBTQIA+ Podcast – Because The Boss Belongs To Us – From: iHeartPodcst – Hosted by: Omni Studios
Best Politics Podcast – Ken Rudin’s Political Junkie – From: Ken Rudin – Hosted by: Blubrry
Best History Podcast – Music History Monday – From: Robert Greenburg
Best True-Crime Podcast – The Murder Sheet – From: MurderSheet – Hosted by: ART19
Best Society / Education Podcast – Impostrix -From: Whitney Knox Lee – Hosted by: Buzzsprout
Best Short-Form Podcast – Daily Tips That May or May Not Help You With Arielle and Ned – From: Play+1 – Hosted by: RedCircle
Best Celebrity Accountability Podcast (1) – Trashy Divorces – From: Hemlock Creatives -Hosted by: Megaphone
Best Celebrity Accountability Podcast (2) – What A Creep – From: Margo Donahue – Hosted by: Spreaker
Best Audio Fiction Podcast – Hobo Code – From: Hammer Canyon Productions -Hosted by: Libsyn