Podcast Giant Marc Maron Joins Acast

Acast, the world’s leading independent podcast platform has entered into a three-year partnership with podcast creator Marc Maron and his podcast WTF with Marc Maron. The partnership will now be hosted, monetized and distributed via Acast, and will also be making use of the platform’s paid memberships offering, Acast+. Maron’s podcast has approximately 55 million listens per year, primarily in North America.

Maron has, since the podcast started in 2009, become a phenomenon in the podcasting world and over the years has interviewed personalities including President Barack Obama, Kate Winslet, Keith Richards, Nicole Kidman, Stacey Abrams and Robin Williams – the latter episode being inducted into America’s National Recording Registry earlier this year. Shortly after Maron launched his podcast, it established itself as one of the world’s largest and most popular shows.

This partnership means that Acast will be the exclusive host and sales partner for the podcast, its full back catalog and other related materials. WTF with Marc Maron will continue to be released twice a week and will be available to all listeners, wherever they choose to listen to their podcasts. The agreement will come into effect from July 1, 2022.

WTF with Marc Maron will also be utilizing Acast+, giving the podcast additional monetization options including Maron’s back catalog and brand new bonus content for Maron’s paying members – without restricting them to listen to their paid-for content on a specific podcast player. In addition, Acast will offer advertisers the opportunity to promote their brand to Maron’s million of listeners through both dynamic and in-episode sponsorships, plus much more.

“Entering into a partnership with the podcast giant Marc Maron is a big win for Acast and for the open podcasting landscape, as this deal guarantees that the podcast can continue to be listened to by everyone, everywhere and on their preferred listening platform. In addition to WTF with Marc Maron being one of the largest podcasts in the world, Maron is also one of the very best hosts in the business. This collaboration presents a real step forward for us in the North American market, adding millions of listens and strengthening our brand even further in the region. At the same time we will also be working with the show to increase the number of Marc Maron fans across the globe,” said Ross Adams, CEO of Acast.

“We’ve amassed an amazing catalog over the years and Acast offers us an opportunity to make it available in a way that hasn’t always been before, especially in international markets. We’ve released two episodes every week for almost 13 years and we don’t plan on stopping any time soon. Acast won’t stand in the way of us doing the show the way we want to do it, the way we like doing it, they way we’ve always done it. They’re excited and focused and I think the partnership will be very productive,” said Marc Maron, host of WTF with Mark Maron.

“We take great pride in maintaining the high quality and universal accessibility of WTF, and we know we are in very safe hands with Acast. We will be utilizing both their expertise and innovative technologies, such as Acast+, to ensure our podcast stays ahead of the game. We look forward to sharing more and more great content with our listeners,” said WTF with Marc Maron co-creator and producer Brendan McDonald.

The deal was negotiated by Avalon who represents WTF with Marc Maron and Marc Maron.

The Podcast Academy to Honor WTF With Marc Maron with Inaugural Governor’s Award

The Podcast Academy announced that its Board of Governors will bestow WTF with Marc Maron with the Governors Award which recognizes a podcast or individual for the compelling impact they’ve had on the industry. Marc Maron and Brendan McDonald will accept the top accolade at inaugural Awards for Excellence in Audio (The Ambies) on May 16. The ceremony will be streamed LIVE on YouTube, Twitch, and other platforms from Los Angeles, CA at 5PM PT/8PM ET, with a pre-show starting at 4:30PM PT/7:30PM ET.

“‘WTF with Marc Maron’ has been a trailblazer for the medium since its inception and represents what’s unique about the industry,” said Chairman of the Podcast Academy, Donald Albright. “As co-creators, producers and owners of WTF, Marc and Brendan have served as global pioneers for podcasters big and small, both in front of and behind the mic. The Podcast Academy is humbled to honor WTF with the first-ever Governors Award.”

Maron and McDonald added: “It’s a genuine honor to be recognized by our peers as a major influence on the podcast medium. The show has evolved into what it is now through our persistence, creativity, discipline, and curiosity. We’re grateful for this recognition and the freedom that podcasting affords us.”

WTF with Marc Maron, which is an independently-produced podcast, changed the landscape when it premiered in September 2009. With more than 600 million downloads since then, the podcast helped define the medium and continues to reach millions of listeners twice-a-week. The show’s landmark episode with President Barack Obama broke podcast records and garnered worldwide acclaim when it was released in 2015.

Marc has welcomed comedians, actors, directors, writers, authors, musicians and folks from all walks of life to WTF. His probing, comprehensive interview style allows guests to express themselves in ways listeners have never heard. WTF has featured amazingly revealing interviews with some of the world’s biggest personalities including Stacey Abrams, Mel Brooks, Anna Kendrick, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lawerence, John Legend, David Letterman, Sir Paul McCartney, Eddie Murphy, Amy Poehler, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman, Bruce Springsteen, Dick Van Dyke and Kate Winslet, to name just a few of the more than 1,200 guests who have appeared on the show.

The Ambies celebrate excellence in podcasting and elevate awareness and status of podcasts as a unique and personal medium for entertainment, information, storytelling and expression. This year, the ceremony will highlight 164 nominees across 23 categories and is sponsored by Amazon Music (Gold sponsor), PRX (Silver sponsor), Tenderfoot TV (Silver sponsor), and Wondery (Silver sponsor). The official pre-show is sponsored by Adobe. The full list of 2021 nominees may be found here.

Podcasting Lands on Jeopardy! TV Show

Jeopardy logoIt’s the latest indication that podcasting is moving closer to the mainstream. On the Friday, May 27th broadcast of long-running TV gameshow Jeopardy!, “Podcasts” was a featured category of questions.

For those who haven’t checked into Jeopardy! in awhile, the show pits super-smart people against each other in a match of whits that covers literature, history, pop culture, science… pretty much everything. Players select an item from a list of featured categories. Each item carries a dollar value. The higher the value, the more challenging the question. And actually, Jeopardy! questions aren’t really questions at all. They’re technically answers to questions, and players are prompted to respond in the form of a question.

Here’s the list of items in the “Podcasts” category:

  • $200 item: One “Grammar Girl” podcast podcast dealt with homophones, homographs & this other similar-starting word. Correct response: What is homonym.
  • $400 item: This network has a music podcast that’s called “All Songs Considered”. Correct response: What is NPR.
  • $600 item: Karina Longworth talks old Hollywood on “You Must Remember This”, a line from this classic movie song. Correct response: What is “As Time Goes By”.
  • $800 item: Elvis Costello & President Obama have been guests on “WTF”, this comedian’s podcast. Correct response: Who is Marc Maron?
  • $1000 item: On this comedian’s “Experience” podcast, he interviews comics & does recaps of ultimate fighting events. Correct response: Who is Joe Rogan.

A video uploaded to Twitter by the official Jeopardy! account (tho strangely, the original tweet that contains the video has been deleted) shows four out of the five questions. Another tweet (which is still available) provides the last of the five questions.

Hat tip to Mignon Fogarty for providing Twitter links to the questions. And congratulations to Grammar Girl for being included on the show!

Could Podcasting Influence the U.S. Election?

2016 image by Alan ORourke FlickrIt has been said that Barack Obama’s Presidential campaign changed politics. The use of social media, specifically to draw attention to a particular candidate and his views, had never been done quite that way before. Could podcasting have an influence on the upcoming 2016 United States Presidential election?

In 2008, Obama’s campaign used Web 2.0 tools to organize supporters, advertise to voters (with videos on YouTube), communicate with constituents, and defend against attacks made by opponents. I cannot help but wonder if podcasting is what will end up being the form of social media that has the most influence on the upcoming 2016 election.

The conversation between the podcaster and the politician brings a sense of humanity to politicians who are most frequently seen in staged photo opportunities, pre-written speeches, and debates where most stick to a few key talking points. They get to show a side of themselves that they might otherwise have to keep under wraps.

When Marc Maron had a conversation with President Barack Obama on Maron’s “WTF With Marc Maron” podcast, people took notice. That episode got an impressive number of downloads, as it should have. This was the first time a sitting United States President was interviewed on a well known podcast. The conversation got very serious, and personal, at times.

This week, the Another Round podcast, hosted by Heben Nigato and Tracy Clayton, interviewed former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Another Round is a Buzzfeed podcast.

While some parts of the interview focused on policy, there were also some amusing moments (including a funny story about a robot that you just have to hear). In the episode, Hillary Clinton came across as a fun person to hang around with. I’ve heard it said that people tend to vote for the candidate they’d most like to have a beer with. Could appearing on this episode of Another Round influence “undecideds” to vote for Hillary Clinton?

The Axe Files is hosted by David Axelrod, founder and director of the University of Chicago Institute of Politics. In his first episode, he interviewed Senator Bernie Sanders, as the two shared a van that was on the way to a Chicago venue that Sanders was going to speak at.

The conversation between David Axlerod and Bernie Sanders was respectful, insightful, and direct. Bernie Sanders came across as a very likable guy. Being on a podcast could, potentially, make “undecided” voters want to find out more about what Bernie Sanders’ viewpoints are.

When a person listens in on a conversation between a podcast host (or hosts) and a guest, it can feel like an intimate setting. Listeners end up getting to know, and possibly feel somewhat more familiar with, the politician who was interviewed on a podcast. As a result, I think podcasting could end up swaying the outcome of the 2016 election.

Image by Alan O’Rourke on Flickr.

Glenn Beck out, Marc Maron in as Keynote Speaker at Podcast Movement

Podcast Movement logoI really believed after last week, there wouldn’t be any more Podcast Movement announcements to cover. But that changed today when the conference announced that keynote speaker Glenn Beck is stepping down due to illness and is being replaced by WTF host Marc Maron.

Marc Maron began his career as a standup comedian. He also hosted a show on the Air America radio network. He started the WTF podcast in 2009. The show has acquired a large and loyal fanbase due to Maron’s candid interviews with professional comedians and other celebrities. WTF also made major headlines last month when Maron interviewed President Barack Obama.

Podcast Movement has definitely been on a roll this year and bringing in Marc Maron as a last-minute replacement for Glenn Beck is sure to make a lot of podcasters happy. Tickets for the conference are still available and in honor of today’s news, Podcast Movement is offering a special $100 discount by using the code MARON100 at checkout.

WTF Podcast Hits New Download Record

WTF with Marc Maron podcast logoYou’ve probably heard of the episode of the “WTF With Marc Maron” podcast in which he interviewed President Obama. That particular episode has set a couple of records. It is the most downloaded episode of Marc Maron’s podcast. It is also the first time a President of the United States has been interviewed on someone’s podcast – and in the podcaster’s garage studio.

The episode of WTF that included President Obama was recorded on Friday, June 19, 2015. It was posted early on Monday, June 22, 2015. The New York Times reported that the episode had been downloaded 735,063 times in the first 24 hours that it was up, and that it was downloaded more than 900,000 times in the first 36 hours that the episode was available.

Those very impressive stats came from Libsyn, which distributes the “WTF With Marc Maron” podcast. The episode with the interview with President Obama broke Maron’s previous record for most downloaded episodes. The previous one included an interview with Paul Thomas Anderson. It was posted January 5, 2015, and had over 200,000 downloads the first day it was available.

I cannot help but wonder if the popularity of this particular WTF episode will inspire other politicians to accept request for interviews from podcasters. It feels like a very big thing for podcasting in general to have the President of the United States come to a podcaster’s home for an interview.

Will future Presidents start seeking out podcaster’s shows to be interviewed on? There’s no way to know for certain. What we do know is that the President’s appearance on a podcast sure sounds like a sign that podcasts are important, worth listening to, worth advertising on, and here to stay.