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Creators are businesses. What does SBA recognition actually change? Watch episode 693 on YouTube Creators produce content, build audiences, sell products, hire people, and take financial risks. So what changes when the federal government more clearly recognizes that work as a small business? In New Media Show #693, Rob Greenlee talks with Avi Gandhi, Chair of Government Advocacy at the Creators Guild of America and founder of Creator Access Network, about the Small Business Administration’s October 15, 2026 guidance on qualifying creator businesses. Avi explains how the effort came together, what the NAICS 5121 classification means, and why access to capital and business support could help creators build beyond their next sponsorship. The conversation moves from policy to the business a creator can build: original products, services, memberships, physical locations, and assets with value beyond an individual post or platform payout. Rob and Avi also explore AI, self-employment, verified professional work, and the responsibilities that come with running a business. The central question: can clearer recognition help podcasters, YouTubers, and other creators turn audience relationships into more sustainable businesses? Three practical takeaways Understand the classification before pursuing funding. NAICS 5121 is the Motion Picture and Video Industries group, with more specific six-digit codes beneath it. Qualifying creators should identify the code that matches their primary business activity for SBA program purposes. Recognition does not guarantee approval. Use business support as well as capital. Avi points creators toward the Guild’s free SBA 101 course and local Small Business Development Centers. Mentorship can help clarify a business model and its needs before borrowing becomes part of the plan. Think about what you own. Sponsorships and affiliate sales can generate income. Rob and Avi examine how creator-owned products, services, and businesses can also build lasting value from the trust an audience has already developed. What the SBA creator classification guidance means Avi describes the announcement as a milestone in recognizing creators as entrepreneurs. Behind a podcast, video channel, or newsletter is often a business handling production, distribution, customer acquisition, monetization, and expenses. The SBA’s guidance places qualifying creator businesses within the existing NAICS 5121 — Motion Picture and Video Industries framework for program eligibility. That is an industry group, rather than a new six-digit code reserved exclusively for creators. The applicable six-digit classification depends on what a business principally does. The SBA’s announcement also makes a useful distinction: creator businesses have long been eligible for support when they meet the relevant requirements. The clarification addresses uncertainty about classification. It does not mean every creator automatically qualifies for a loan or government contract. Financing, contracting, and mentorship Rob and Avi discuss three areas where clearer recognition can matter: SBA-backed lending, federal contracting opportunities, and small business counseling. A creator might need capital for production equipment, product development, inventory, or a physical space. Whether financing is available depends on the business, the use of funds, the lender, and the program’s requirements. SBA-backed financing is borrowing that must be repaid. For example, the SBA’s 7(a) program requires creditworthiness and a reasonable ability to repay, and applications go through participating lenders. The SBA guarantee supports the lender; it does not remove the borrower’s obligations. Contracting is another potential path where a creator’s services fit an agency’s needs and applicable requirements. Avi presents that as an opportunity to develop, rather than a promise of immediate work. For creators who first need help understanding their business, local mentorship and counseling may be the more useful starting point. How creator advocacy reached Washington Avi explains the collaborative effort behind the guidance, including the Creators Guild of America, Shira Lazar and Creators for Mental Health, industry participants, congressional offices, and the SBA. A recurring request from creators was recognition: a clearer place within the systems other small businesses use. He describes two related efforts: working within an existing classification to address immediate access, and continuing to advocate for a classification that would make the creator economy easier to measure. A dedicated category, he argues, could help policymakers better understand creator employment, business activity, and economic contributions. The guidance discussed in this episode is an interim step in that broader effort. From selling someone else’s product to building your own One of the episode’s biggest business questions is who receives the long-term value generated by a creator’s influence. Rob brings up TikTok Shop and Whatnot as examples of content and commerce coming together. The discussion distinguishes between promoting another company’s products and building a product business a creator owns. Avi sees access to capital as a possible catalyst for creators developing physical goods, opening retail locations, and producing in-person experiences. Those businesses require money for development, samples, inventory, rent, and operations. His larger argument is that creators can bring an existing audience relationship to a business that might otherwise need to build demand from scratch. Rob also notes that some live sellers already make and sell their own creations. The opportunity spans several models, from an individual artist selling original work to a creator developing a repeatable product line. Each has different costs, risks, and potential value. AI, self-employment, and the future of creator businesses Rob and Avi consider how AI and automation could change the relationship between employment and entrepreneurship. Avi sees creators as part of a broader move toward self-employment, with content helping people sell expertise, services, products, and community access. Rob shares his experience using AI to build websites with business processes and platform capabilities. The tools can expand what one person can produce, while still requiring skills, judgment, and a clear purpose. Both speakers connect that change to a larger question: how people can turn their experience and ideas into businesses they control. Avi’s view is that the creator economy is increasingly becoming part of the wider economy. Founders, executives, established companies, and local businesses are all using content to reach customers. The episode explores what that convergence might mean over the next several years. Verified work, brand deals, and professional support Avi introduces other Creators Guild of America initiatives, including Mosaic, which he describes as a way to showcase professional work and have participating partners verify their involvement. For a creator discussing a new sponsorship, evidence of past collaborations can help establish credibility. He also discusses the Guild’s Brand Deal Rider, designed to bring baseline protections into sponsorship negotiations, and education on business practices and disclosures. Through Creator Access Network, Avi shares interviews about creator business models and offers access to discounts on tools and professional services. Where creators can start Avi’s recommended first step is the Creators Guild of America’s free SBA 101 course. It explains classification, preparation for capital, loan programs, counseling, and contracting. Creators seeking financing apply through the relevant lender or program; there is no single general SBA registration that automatically unlocks every benefit. The closing discussion covers recordkeeping, business bank accounts, legal structure, and liability. Rob and Avi acknowledge that creators are at different stages, from experimenting with content to handling sponsor commitments and meaningful revenue. An LLC is not blanket protection from liability. Business structure and financing decisions should fit the creator’s actual activities and circumstances. A useful next step: identify the business you are building, the revenue it already produces, and the constraint you need to solve. Then decide whether education, professional support, or capital would make the most practical difference. Video chapters Approximate chapter times follow the supplied transcript’s minute markers. The separate audio edition may differ. 00:00 — Creators get SBA recognition: what actually changes? 01:00 — Meet Avi Gandhi and his creator industry background 03:00 — Why recognition as a small business matters 07:00 — NAICS 5121 and SBA-backed lending 10:00 — Contracting opportunities and small business mentorship 11:00 — The Creators Guild, Mosaic, and brand deal protections 14:00 — The advocacy effort and the push for a dedicated creator code 20:00 — Measuring the creator economy 23:00 — Creators, customer acquisition, and the broader economy 27:00 — Working with Congress and the SBA 30:00 — Why traditional media began taking creators seriously 33:00 — AI, self-employment, and the future of work 37:00 — Capital for physical products and real-world businesses 40:00 — TikTok Shop, Whatnot, and creator-owned business value 45:00 — Creator education and Creator Access Network 47:00 — Finding SBA 101 and local business support 52:00 — Choosing resources that fit your creator business 55:00 — Recordkeeping, business structure, and liability 59:00 — Resources, final thoughts, and audience comments About Avi Gandhi Avi Gandhi is Chair of Government Advocacy at the Creators Guild of America and founder of Creator Access Network. His experience spans

Video podcast production at Gotham Production Studios In New Media Show #692, Rob Greenlee takes the conversation into Gotham Production Studios in New York City for an in-person discussion with co-founders Brianna Peters and Matt Peters about the changing business of video podcast production. From a quick studio tour to a conversation about cameras, content strategy, AI, and audience relationships, this episode explores what it takes to create a show people keep coming back to. The key question: how can creators improve video production quality, build a sustainable business, and preserve the human connection that makes podcasting valuable? Three practical takeaways Build an audience: give a strong show a clear path to discovery. Matt describes using refreshed thumbnails, clips, guest appearances, and show websites to help people find and return to the full conversation. Earn trust: use professional production to support a recognizable human voice. Rob, Brianna, and Matt discuss authenticity, staged content, and why in-person experiences could become more valuable as AI-generated media expands. Grow a media business: match production decisions to your purpose, audience, resources, and goals. A corporate marketing show, an independent creator business, and a hobby podcast need different levels of investment and support. Identify the biggest constraint on your next episode: the content, sound, lighting, editing time, or discovery. Choose one improvement you can sustain, define the result you want, and review what changes over your next four episodes. This editorial exercise draws on the discussion. From an audio hobby to a video production business Gotham began in 2017 with a practical problem: Matt needed a better place to record his own podcast. What started as an audio recording space grew into a service business as clients asked for help producing their shows. Brianna and Matt explain how an early webcam setup evolved into multicamera studios, with a more substantial video investment in 2019 and a shift toward brands and professional creators after the pandemic. That change reached beyond cameras. Lighting, furniture, set design, and the in-room experience became part of the production offering. Matt explains why Gotham increasingly refers to its clients’ productions as shows and encourages businesses to consider them as part of a broader marketing strategy. Better production, realistic budgets, and room for independent creators Matt describes Gotham’s usual three-camera approach and why some visual effects are more practical to create in post-production than with additional camera operators. The discussion also examines the pressure created by celebrity shows and television-scale expectations. Matt worries that expensive productions can discourage people from starting; Brianna emphasizes that a strong concept and audience connection can still stand out on a smaller budget. For creators, the question becomes how much production serves the show. Rob and his guests explore the balance between polish, accessibility, and the natural conversation that audiences associate with podcasting. Custom sets and the next studio experience Brianna and Matt explain the challenge of giving each show a distinctive look inside a shared studio. Small branding elements can work within existing rooms, while dedicated sets require more space and planning. They describe past custom productions and their plans for a future location with more flexible sets and space for live recordings, ticketed events, and brand activations. These are plans for Gotham’s next phase. Strategy that fits the creator Brianna shares her coaching approach: cut the noise from generic advice, clarify why someone is creating a show, and build actionable steps around that person’s goals. The conversation challenges the idea that one workbook, formula, or celebrity example can provide the right plan for every creator. Matt explains Gotham’s internal approach to assessing a show and finding manageable improvements. Thumbnails, clips, websites, guest selection, and appearances on other podcasts can all play a role. Drawing on his work with Greg Fitzsimmons’ Fitzdog Radio and Sunday Papers, he describes refreshing the packaging and discovery strategy while keeping the host’s established voice. AI and the value of being in the room Brianna describes using AI to support operations, marketing, discoverability, and editing. She also predicts that uncertainty about synthetic and staged media could increase demand for tangible, in-person experiences. Rob connects that possibility to audience trust and the value of direct human interaction. The discussion considers how creators can use new tools while maintaining their judgment and identity. For Gotham, that includes exploring a studio environment where recording, community, and live experiences can happen in the same place. Solo creators, direct relationships, and sustainable support Can one person still do it all? Matt believes there is still room for creators working with a microphone and webcam, while suggesting that outside help can relieve production bottlenecks when resources allow. Rob reflects on running New Media Show himself to understand the tools and workflows shaping the industry. The conversation closes with the value of smaller, engaged audiences, newsletters, memberships, merchandise, and direct support. Rob and Matt also discuss their concerns about ad skipping and how AI might affect advertising models. Their broader point is to consider the relationship a show creates, alongside its reach and production quality. Video chapters Approximate chapter times follow the supplied video transcript’s minute markers. The separate audio edition may differ. 00:00 — Inside Gotham Production Studios 01:00 — What does a video podcast need to compete? 04:00 — Meet Brianna and Matt: how Gotham began 09:00 — Video-first clients, lighting, and set design 12:00 — From hobby podcasts to professional shows 14:00 — Multicamera production and editing decisions 20:00 — Branding a show inside a shared studio 24:00 — Flexible sets and plans for live events 26:00 — Television expectations and production budgets 32:00 — Content, coaching, and realistic creator goals 36:00 — AI and the future of in-person experiences 39:00 — AI-assisted workflows and staged content 42:00 — Thumbnails, clips, and audience discovery 45:00 — Studio rental, creative support, and show refreshes 49:00 — The Gotham system and content across formats 51:00 — Can solo creators still do it all? 55:00 — Direct audience relationships and smaller communities 58:00 — Newsletters, memberships, and audience support 59:00 — Ad skipping, AI, and monetization questions 1:01:00 — Connecting with Gotham and closing thoughts Guest resources Brianna Peters and Matt Peters are the co-founders of Gotham Production Studios in New York City. Brianna discusses strategy, coaching, client relationships, and business development; Matt shares his perspective on production, storytelling, editing, and show growth. Gotham Production Studios: explore studio options, inquire about production support, or arrange a tour. Related New Media Show conversations Video podcasting costs and creator revenue with Losh Moodaley — episode 691 Building a creator media company with Roberto Blake — episode 687 About the host and the show Rob Greenlee hosts New Media Show and founded Trust Factor Lab. He is a 2017 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee. New Media Show explores podcasting, video, AI, audience trust, and the business of creator media. Build an audience. Earn trust. Grow a media business. AI disclosure AI tools helped organize and draft these show notes from the supplied episode transcript. The summary paraphrases the recorded conversation. The conversation features human host Rob Greenlee and human guests Brianna Peters and Matt Peters. The transcript also identifies an AI-generated voice introduction. The post What Does a Video Podcast Need to Compete? At Gotham Production Studios in NYC | #692 first appeared on New Media Show.

Show notes In New Media Show #691, Rob Greenlee and podcast sponsorship strategist Losh Moodaley examine a practical question: when does the cost of video serve the creator’s business? Their conversation connects production economics, audience relationships, sponsorships and human creativity in an AI-driven media environment. Three practical takeaways Build an audience: connect platform discovery to a direct relationship. Rob and Losh discuss newsletters, websites and subscriptions as ways to reduce dependence on one distribution platform. Earn trust: make relevance and human connection part of the experience. Their discussion of sponsorships considers how a useful integration can serve the audience, rather than simply increasing the number of ads. Grow a media business: evaluate video against a defined goal and its full cost. Losh suggests considering customer acquisition and business value alongside advertising revenue and download counts. Try this: Add up the time and money behind one episode. Choose the outcome it should support—such as a qualified inquiry, a subscription or a useful audience response—and track the available evidence over a defined period. Compare that evidence with the cost before expanding production. This is an editorial exercise, not a prediction of revenue or growth. Who benefits from the move to video? Losh’s article, The Price of Visibility: The Hidden Economics of Podcast Video, frames the discussion. Video can introduce a show to new people, but equipment, editing, lighting and publishing work add costs. More viewing time does not automatically produce a sustainable business for the creator. Rob and Losh discuss changing viewing habits and the distinction between discovery, attention and commercial value. Their views on platform incentives and the future of distribution are interpretations and predictions expressed in the conversation. Evaluate the investment around your business Losh argues that the right decision depends on the purpose of the show. A hobby, an advertising-supported podcast and a show that supports consulting or product sales have different economics. She suggests looking at video as a possible customer-acquisition and marketing investment, rather than relying on one measure such as CPM or downloads. The useful test is what happens after someone discovers the content. A new viewer might become a subscriber, customer, community participant or professional contact. Those outcomes need evidence; they cannot be inferred from views alone. Build relationships and retain control Rob and Losh discuss using websites, newsletters, subscriptions and communities to maintain direct audience relationships. They also emphasize the value of intellectual property and the risks of relying entirely on another company’s distribution rules. The conversation considers direct brand relationships, memberships, services and experiences alongside conventional advertising. Losh questions generic sponsor integrations and discusses approaches that create a useful audience experience. These are opportunities to evaluate, not evidence of a particular show’s revenue. Community, commerce and the audience experience Rob describes his observations of Whatnot, including live sales, audience participation and collaborations between creators. He and Losh explore how elements of that experience might apply to other media businesses. They also consider where the model may not fit. Some visual content loses meaning when heard without a screen. Rob explains why he has sometimes edited audio and video separately, and questions whether a single production approach serves every audience. Measurement, AI and the human connection The discussion moves from what audiences call a podcast to how creators evaluate attention and business outcomes. Rob speculates that AI might eventually help reconcile fragmented metrics. This is a prediction, not a claim that a reliable unified measurement system already exists. Rob and Losh distinguish human-created work, AI-assisted human work and fully synthetic media. They explore the possibilities for new characters and experiences while returning to human connection, judgment and responsibility. Their forecasts about synthetic media should be understood as opinions about possible developments. Build for your audience and your own goals Losh’s closing advice emphasizes consistency, a suitable niche, understanding the audience and considering business models beyond standard advertising. Rob argues for testing whether a workflow and idea are sustainable before making a larger investment. The central editorial takeaway is to assess what video contributes to the creator’s goals, rather than treating platform visibility as an end in itself. Video chapters Choose a chapter to jump within the video player. These timings follow the edited video; the separate audio edition may differ. 00:00 — Who profits from video? 02:14 — Meet Losh Moodaley 06:22 — Demand for video and changing consumption 14:19 — Production costs and revenue pressure 15:13 — Video as customer acquisition 20:33 — Audience relationships and ownership 28:20 — HLS and distribution predictions 32:54 — Host reads and sponsor integration 35:47 — Direct audience support 38:19 — Live commerce and creator collaboration 43:08 — Different audio and video experiences 50:32 — Podcast definitions and measurement 53:48 — The human trust layer 55:47 — Human, AI-assisted and synthetic content 1:05:32 — Creative possibility and responsibility 1:10:24 — Creator purpose and business goals 1:14:36 — Advice for new creators 1:16:59 — Connect with Losh Guest resources Losh Moodaley is a podcast sponsorship and brand-partnerships strategist. Losh Moodaley on LinkedIn The Price of Visibility: The Hidden Economics of Podcast Video Beyond the CPM About the host and the show Rob Greenlee hosts New Media Show and founded Trust Factor Lab. He is a 2017 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee. Explore the episode library and episode newsletter. AI disclosure AI tools assisted with transcription, organization and editing of these show notes. The summary paraphrases the recorded conversation; the “Try this” exercise is an editorial suggestion. The episode features human host Rob Greenlee and human guest Losh Moodaley. The post Who Profits From Video? The Real Cost of Video Podcasting | #691 first appeared on New Media Show.

WATCH OR LISTEN · EPISODE 690 Watch video  |  Listen to audio  |  Read show notes Watch video Prefer audio? Listen here. Open audio in a new window  |  Download audio Follow the audio podcast: Apple Podcasts  |  Spotify  |  RSS Show notes In New Media Show #690, Rob Greenlee talks with Laura Burkhauser, CEO of Descript, about AI editing, creative direction and the decisions that make a creator’s work distinctive. The conversation asks what becomes more valuable about human judgment as production tools become more capable. Three practical takeaways Build an audience: give people a recognizable perspective and a useful story. More effects or faster output do not, by themselves, give an audience a reason to return. Earn trust: review an automated edit for meaning and context. Laura argues that thoughtful editing can clarify a conversation; preserving authenticity still requires human decisions. Grow a media business: choose production work that supports the audience and business you want to build. The discussion considers community support, relevant sponsors and media that helps a professional demonstrate expertise. Try this: Choose one repetitive editing task for AI assistance. Write down the intended story, compare the automated result with the original, and record the time saved and corrections needed before publishing. This is an editorial exercise informed by the conversation, not a promise of a particular result. Editing as craft, and editing as a production task Laura distinguishes between creators whose art is editing and creators whose primary art is storytelling. An experienced editor may want precise control over individual choices. A storyteller may want help removing the technical obstacles between an idea and an audience. Those needs call for different workflows. Rob and Laura explore the shift toward directing AI tools. A useful prompt depends on knowing the intended result, communicating it clearly and judging what the tool produces. Laura’s point is that a creator’s perspective remains important even when the technical work becomes easier. Reduce tool friction while keeping human judgment Laura describes an approach that reduces repetitive production work while leaving the creator responsible for the vision and story. Rob connects that to his experience assembling radio programs manually and using newer editing tools. The discussion also considers the expectations AI companies create. Claims about effortless production can overlook the creative decisions that still need attention. The practical question is which work should be automated and which choices deserve deliberate human review. Authenticity depends on the choices behind the edit Rob asks whether an unedited recording is necessarily more authentic than an edited conversation. Laura argues that editing can make meaning easier to understand. A close-up or reaction shot can clarify an emotional moment, provided it serves the conversation rather than changing its meaning. They also discuss the tension between being authentic and performing authenticity online. Laura emphasizes a recognizable human presence and engagement with a community. Rob relates this to his work with Trust Factor Lab and the importance of human connection as synthetic media becomes more common. Start creating, then learn what the business needs Laura was a Descript customer before joining the company. Producing a podcast with a friend helped her discover that she could create and share work without first mastering a complicated production process. Her advice in the conversation is to start recording, editing and learning. Rob and Laura question whether pressure to monetize immediately can discourage experimentation. They distinguish media sold as a product from media that supports another business, such as consulting, coaching or a founder-led company. They also consider community support and sponsorships relevant to a specific audience. These are possible models, not guaranteed outcomes. Algorithms, attention and the next creator workflow Laura explains her preference for intentional viewing, including turning off YouTube recommendations. Rob describes using both subscriptions and discovery. Their discussion asks what personalization systems optimize for and whether engagement alone captures a useful human outcome. In the closing discussion, Laura outlines a direction for Descript beyond individual editing tasks: helping creators develop subject areas, build a useful content library, distribute work and learn from it. These comments describe her perspective on future development at the time of the recording, not a list of features independently verified as available today. Video chapters Choose a chapter to jump within the video player. These timings follow the edited video; the separate audio edition may differ. 00:00 — AI workflows and the human creator 03:47 — Is editing becoming directing? 08:15 — Communicating a creative vision 13:44 — Reducing tool friction 16:46 — Authenticity and thoughtful editing 26:49 — Laura's experience as a creator 30:01 — Creating before expecting revenue 35:33 — Community support and relevant sponsors 39:35 — Intentional viewing and recommendations 42:43 — Personalization and human outcomes 46:22 — What comes next for Descript Guest resources Laura Burkhauser is the guest and Descript CEO in this episode. Descript Descript Underlord Laura Burkhauser on the Descript blog About the host and the show Rob Greenlee hosts New Media Show and founded Trust Factor Lab. He is a 2017 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee. Find more conversations in the episode library or receive the episode newsletter. AI disclosure AI tools assisted with transcription, organization and editing of these show notes. The summary paraphrases the recorded conversation; the “Try this” exercise is an editorial suggestion. The episode features human host Rob Greenlee and human guest Laura Burkhauser. The post How AI Is Changing the Creator Workflow | Descript CEO Laura Burkhauser #690 first appeared on New Media Show.

In New Media Show #689, I’m joined by Jim Louderback, publisher of Inside the Creator Economy and former CEO of VidCon and Revision3, to explore what the next phase of the creator economy means for people building media businesses. Jim and I have lived through several shifts at the intersection of media and technology. This conversation connects the early days of video podcasting with today’s AI tools, changing audience habits, and the search for a lasting creator business. More ways to create and distribute content bring opportunity, but they also raise questions about attention, ownership, and trust. Digital Jim and the Human Premium We start with Digital Jim, the AI version of Jim that turns his human-written newsletter into short videos. Jim explains how the team at Popcorn uses his words, an AI voice, and a visual avatar to help him reach audiences on LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts. He still writes the newsletter and reviews the videos before sharing them. That experiment leads to one of the episode’s central ideas: the human premium. Jim’s hypothesis is that, as audiences encounter more AI-generated media, they may place greater value on recognizable human voices, imperfect conversations, and experiences with real people. We discuss what that could mean for audience relationships, advertising, and in-person events. Podcasting in a Bigger Creator Economy We revisit Revision3, Diggnation, and the early use of short clips to introduce people to longer shows. Video podcasting and distributing a conversation in several formats have a longer history than today’s debate sometimes acknowledges. Jim describes an audio-plus approach: people can listen when that suits them, while video creates another way to discover and experience a show. We also discuss why creators spread their work across platforms, how short-form awareness differs from monetization, and the risks of depending on one platform’s rules. Could Personalized AI Media Disrupt YouTube Our platform conversation moves from Netflix’s interest in creator programming to a bigger question: What could disrupt YouTube? Jim suggests that a major technological shift, rather than another similar video service, could open the door.  His audience-of-one idea goes beyond recommending existing videos. We explore the possibility of media generated specifically for an individual, along with what Jim calls robo-social relationships with AI characters that respond to and remember their users. We debate these predictions, including how they might compete for time people currently spend with human creators. Your Identity and Archive Have Value We discuss the business value of a creator’s name, image, likeness, voice, and archive. I share my experience exploring Royall.ai and receiving inquiries about using past New Media Show conversations as AI training material. That raises questions about guest permission, licensing, tracking use, and maintaining control over future uses of a creator’s work. Jim also describes an audio watermarking approach he has encountered, while acknowledging that he has not independently established how well it works. The discussion is about taking identity and content rights seriously as new business models emerge. Live Shopping and the Next Media Business Jim explains what he wants readers to get from Inside the Creator Economy: timely reporting, his interpretation of the news, and ideas they can question. We talk about the differences between email subscribers, LinkedIn newsletter subscribers, and the audience numbers platforms report. We then explore global creator markets, Whatnot, live shopping, and the role of personality and audience participation in commerce. TBPN’s combination of a live show, a focused audience, and widely distributed clips gives us another example to examine. We close with local AI tools and a practical encouragement from Jim: keep experimenting. My key takeaways: Use these tools to expand what you can create, while giving people a reason to connect with you. Your ideas, judgment, and relationships shape the value of the media business you build. Key topics How Digital Jim turns a human-written newsletter into AI video The human premium and the value of real audience relationships Video podcasting’s history and an audio-plus approach Multi-platform distribution, short clips, and platform dependence Netflix, YouTube, and media generated for an audience of one Robo-social relationships and competition for audience attention Creator identity, archive licensing, AI training, and permission Newsletter measurement, global creator markets, and live shopping Whatnot, TBPN, and building a focused media business Local AI tools, creative judgment, and continued experimentation Chapter timestamps 00:00 Welcome to New Media Show 689, and the creator reset 01:00 Meet Jim Louderback and watch Digital Jim 03:00 How Popcorn produces Jim’s AI newsletter videos 06:00 Bringing podcasting and the creator economy together 10:00 Audio plus video and reaching audiences in more formats 13:00 Multi-platform distribution and creator business risk 17:00 The human premium in an AI media world 24:00 Younger creators and the changing meaning of podcasting 27:00 AI visuals and turning audio into video experiences 30:00 Netflix and the value of creator programming 32:00 What could disrupt YouTube 34:00 Personalized media and the audience of one 37:00 Robo-social relationships and AI companions 43:00 Human creativity and the limits of average content 44:00 Royall.ai and capturing a creator’s digital identity 47:00 Archive licensing, AI training data, and guest permission 49:00 Watermarking, content control, and future use 53:00 Inside the Creator Economy and newsletter measurement 57:00 Global creator markets and live shopping 58:00 Whatnot, collectibles, and audience participation 01:02:00 TBPN, live shows, and the power of distributed clips 01:06:00 AI platforms, local models, and new media tools 01:08:00 Keep experimenting and closing thoughts Guest Jim Louderback Jim Louderback publishes the weekly Inside the Creator Economy newsletter and produces, curates, and moderates creator events around the world. He is the former CEO of VidCon and Revision3, and his career also includes leadership and editorial roles at Discovery Digital Networks, TechTV, and PC Magazine. Jim Louderback: https://louderback.com/ About Jim: https://louderback.com/about/ Inside the Creator Economy archive: https://louderback.com/blog/ Subscribe to Inside the Creator Economy: https://louderback.com/subscribe-to-my-weekly-newsletter/ Host Rob Greenlee Rob Greenlee is the founder of Trust Factor Lab, host of New Media Show, and a 2017 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee and Chair. His work connects podcasting, video, creator platforms, audience trust, and the media business. New Media Show: https://newmediashow.com/ New Media Show on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheNewMediaShow Rob Greenlee: https://robgreenlee.com/ Rob Greenlee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robgreenlee Podcast Hall of Fame: https://podcasthall.com/ Adore Network Audio: https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-audio Adore Network Video: https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-video Apple Podcasts Audio: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-audio/id392545649 Apple Podcasts Video: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-video/id392545647 AI disclosure AI tools helped organize and draft these show notes from the completed Episode #689 transcript and edited the full show. Rob Greenlee retains editorial responsibility. The New Media Show is human-hosted with human guests; this episode also includes a disclosed AI-generated Digital Jim video demonstration. The post The Creator Reset: AI, Trust and What Comes Next | Jim Louderback #689 first appeared on New Media Show.

Your podcast can be available everywhere and still be hard to find. So who controls its future: the creator, the audience, or the platform? In New Media Show #688, Rob Greenlee welcomes back James Cridland, Editor of Podnews, co-host of the Podnews Weekly Review, and a 2026 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee, for a conversation about what Podcast Week in New York City revealed about our industry. We compare notes on the IAB Podcast Upfronts, CreatorFronts, and a very different NYC Podcast Movement. James also shares his experience at the Sounds Profitable Business Summit. The week had plenty of energy, but it also exposed real differences in how creators, platforms, and advertisers see podcasting’s future. Podcast Movement’s Terminal 5 venue brought challenges around meetings, exhibitor space, and crowding. James argues that the headphone-based sessions worked better than expected. We also reflect on Tom Webster’s tribute to Todd Cochrane and why the industry still needs people willing to speak up when something is wrong. Podcasting has expanded its distribution. That doesn’t mean it controls where people discover shows. Sounds Profitable: Tom Webster’s presentation leads us into YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix, where podcasts compete with much more than other podcasts. James Cridland also cautions against confusing whether someone has ever used a platform with where they regularly listen. A major part of our conversation is measuring media consumption. James challenges the IAB’s approach to audio and video, while making another important point: tearing down the download without a workable replacement can undermine the business we already have. James offers a proposal worth discussing: share advertising revenue with podcast apps that provide useful consumption data. James argues that apps need a financial reason to invest in discovery and better listening experiences. I raise the concern about taking revenue from creators, and we explore whether growing listening could make that trade worthwhile. Rob and James also discuss open RSS, HLS video, and Podcasting 2.0 as ways to expand access. That includes discovery built around places and local interests, along with AI production tools that help humans make better content. Adding video should not make the audio listener a second-class audience. The conversation still needs to work when someone cannot see the screen. The question is how we keep podcasting open to a wide range of voices while competing in a much bigger media world. More reach matters. So do audience trust, creator choice, and a business that can sustain the work. Key Topics – Podcast Week NYC: the business summit, upfronts, CreatorFronts, and Podcast Movement – Remembering Todd Cochrane and the value of speaking up – Platform discovery versus open podcast distribution – Audio and video measurement, advertiser trust, and the download – James’s proposal to share revenue with podcast apps – Netflix, YouTube, and rising video production expectations – Open RSS, HLS, and location-based podcast discovery – AI production assistance and respecting the audio listener Guest: James Cridland Editor of Podnews, co-host of the Podnews Weekly Review, and 2026 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee. – Podnews Daily Newsletter and Podcast: https://podnews.net – Podnews Weekly Review: https://weekly.podnews.net Host: Rob Greenlee – New Media Show on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheNewMediaShow – Rob Greenlee: https://robgreenlee.com – Rob Greenlee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robgreenlee – Podcast Hall of Fame Inductee & Chair: https://podcasthall.com – New Media Show: https://NewMediaShow.com – Adore Network Audio: https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-audio – Adore Network Video: https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-video – Apple Podcasts Audio: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-audio/id392545649 – Apple Podcasts Video: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-video/id392545647 AI Disclosure AI tools helped organize and draft these show notes from the completed Episode #688 transcript, and I hand-edited for clarity and accuracy. The conversation and perspectives are human-led, and Rob Greenlee retains editorial responsibility. The New Media Show is human-hosted with human guests. The post Podcasting’s Identity Crisis: Who Controls Podcasts Now? | James Cridland #688 first appeared on New Media Show.

Getting views, streams, and downloads is not the same as building a business. Subscribers aren’t automatically customers, and a successful YouTube channel doesn’t necessarily mean you have built something sustainable. In New Media Show #687, Podcast Hall of Famer Rob Greenlee talks with Creator, Educator, Author, and Entrepreneur Roberto Blake, founder of Awesome Creator Academy, about what comes after becoming a content creator and why more creators need to think of themselves as independent media companies rather than defining themselves by one format or platform. Roberto argues that being a podcaster, YouTuber, streamer, or blogger is increasingly just a distribution choice. The bigger issue is the value you create, the audience relationship you build, and what you actually own. We get into the shift from audio-first thinking to broader creator media, why professionalism is more about preparation and performance than polished production, and how AI is changing the economics of being a creator. Roberto sees some of the strongest uses of AI in the operational work around content, including research, data analysis, transcription, organization, editing workflows, and other tasks that can free creators to spend more time on judgment, ideas, and relationships. A major part of the conversation is about turning attention into a real business. Roberto describes his framework as “reach, reputation, revenue,” or in a business context, “traffic, trust, transaction.” Getting attention is only the beginning. The real value comes from earning trust and then creating products, services, memberships, intellectual property, or other business models around that relationship. We also talk about what creators should own. That includes their brand, intellectual property, expertise, direct audience relationships, and the parts of the business that can survive changes at YouTube, Spotify, Apple, or any other platform. Roberto breaks creator businesses into three broad paths: entertainer, lifestyle brand, and thought leader, with different revenue and growth opportunities for each. The conversation goes much deeper into AI, human creativity, likeness rights, AI labeling, and synthetic AI media. Why Roberto believes the bigger risk isn’t simply AI-generated entertainment, but the potential misuse of synthetic media by institutions or people trying to manipulate audiences. The larger point is simple: Creators should stop thinking only about the next piece of content and start thinking about what they are building around it. Key Topics: – Moving from content creator to independent media company – Why podcasting, YouTube, and streaming are becoming distribution choices – Audio-first versus audio-only thinking – Professionalism versus production polish – Using AI for creator operations, research, editing, and workflow – Reach, reputation, and revenue – Traffic, trust, and transaction – Building direct audience relationships – Owning your brand, expertise, and intellectual property – Entertainer, lifestyle brand, and thought-leader business models – Building revenue beyond platform advertising – Why taste and personality may become more important as AI lowers the skill barrier – Human authenticity and real-world connection – AI likeness, voice cloning, and long-term IP value – AI labeling and the risks of treating every use of AI the same way – Awesome Creator Academy and Roberto’s approach to creator growth Guest: Roberto Blake Creator, entrepreneur, educator, and founder of Awesome Creator Academy Roberto Blake https://robertoblake.com Awesome Creator Academy https://www.awesomecreatoracademy.com YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@robertoblake Host: Rob Greenlee New Media Show on YouTube https://youtube.com/@TheNewMediaShow Rob Greenlee https://robgreenlee.com Rob Greenlee on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/robgreenlee Podcast Hall of Fame https://podcasthall.com New Media Show https://NewMediaShow.com Adore Network Audio https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-audio/ Adore Network Video https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-video/ Apple Podcasts Audio https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-audio/id392545649 Apple Podcasts Video https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-video/id392545647 AI Disclosure AI tools helped organize and edit this episode and create the above show notes from the completed Episode #687 transcript. The conversation, perspectives, editorial direction, and final editing were performed, and responsibility for the episode remains human-led. The New Media Show is human-hosted. The post Don’t Just Make Videos: Build a Creator Media Company | Roberto Blake #687 first appeared on New Media Show.

Podcast media creator publishers may already have more revenue opportunity than they realize. The challenge is not always finding more listeners. It can be understanding what inventory is actually available to sell, what to sell, whether campaigns will deliver, and where revenue is being lost. In this episode #686 of the New Media Show, Rob Greenlee talks with Sean Howard, CEO and co-founder of Flightpath.fm, about the growing complexity behind new media podcast advertising and why better forecasting, campaign management, publisher data, and revenue optimization are becoming more important. Sean explains how Flightpath grew out of a problem he experienced from both sides of the business. As an ad buyer, he found that publishers often did not know how much inventory they really had available. As a publisher, he saw the same problem from the other side: uncertainty about whether sold campaigns would actually deliver. Flightpath was built to bring those pieces together through traffic management, prediction, pacing, and cross-platform revenue visibility. The conversation also gets into dynamic ad insertion and the value of the podcast back catalog. Sean argues that publishers relying too heavily on baked-in ads may be leaving significant revenue on the table because listeners keep consuming older episodes long after release. Rob and Sean also discuss a larger issue facing content creator publishers today: platform dependence. As podcast companies expand across multiple hosting platforms, YouTube, Spotify, video, HLS, and other distribution systems, publishers need better access to their own data and a clearer understanding of the business risk that comes with relying too heavily on any one platform. The bigger question is whether the next stage of media and podcast revenue growth may come not only from finding more audience, but from better understanding and monetizing the audience publishers already have. Discussion Highlights – Hidden revenue in existing podcast inventory – Why forecasting and campaign delivery remain difficult – Dynamic ad insertion and back-catalog monetization – Frequency capping, pacing, and ad performance – Publisher ownership and access to data – Platform risk and using multiple hosting platforms – YouTube, Spotify, HLS, and video monetization – AI and revenue optimization – Flightpath’s role as a publisher intelligence and traffic management layer – Why better data can help sales and operations make better decisions Key Topic Timestamps: 00:00 Hidden revenue opportunities publishers may already have 01:00 Sean Howard and what Flightpath does 03:00 Why Flightpath was built around forecasting and campaign delivery 05:00 Fragmented platforms and the growing complexity of monetization 07:30 HLS, open standards, and the return of video podcasting 11:00 Audio and video advertising collide 12:30 Using publisher data to identify campaign and platform problems 15:00 Why publishers need access to their own data 17:00 Dynamic ad insertion and the untapped value of the back catalog 19:00 Spotify, YouTube, and changing control over ad inventory 21:00 Choosing a hosting platform is becoming a business risk decision 23:00 Why publishers may need to work across multiple platforms 26:00 Measuring hosting platform performance and revenue impact 27:30 Publisher autonomy and Flightpath’s platform strategy review 31:00 Forecasting, pacing, and Flightpath’s Revenue Optimizer 35:30 Where AI fits into forecasting and sales recommendations 38:00 Podcast platforms evolving into intelligence and decision systems 39:00 Using publisher data with AI and LLMs 43:00 Advertising, subscriptions, Spotify, and YouTube 44:00 Apple video, Spotify, and the HLS opportunity 46:00 Podcasting becomes a more professional media business 48:00 Why publishers need an independent intelligence layer 50:00 Who Flightpath is built for 53:00 Flightpath onboarding and supported platform integrations 55:00 Closing thoughts and where to learn more Guest Sean Howard CEO and Co-Founder, Flightpath https://flightpath.fm https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanhoward Host Rob Greenlee Rob Greenlee Website: https://RobGreenlee.com Listen and Watch New Media Show https://NewMediaShow.com Adore Network Audio https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-audio/ Adore Network Video https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-video/ Apple Podcasts Audio https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-audio/id392545649 Apple Podcasts Video https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-video/id392545647 AI Disclosure AI tools helped organize and edit this episode and create the above show notes from the completed Episode #686 transcript. The conversation, perspectives, editorial direction, and final editing were performed, and responsibility for the episode remains human-led. The New Media Show is human-hosted. The post Hidden Revenue: What Media Publishers Are Leaving Behind | Sean Howard, Flightpath #686 first appeared on New Media Show.

As AI makes it easier to create more content, human relationships may become more valuable, not less.  In Episode #685 of the New Media Show, host and Podcast Hall of Famer Rob Greenlee talks with Alex Sanfilippo, founder of PodMatch and host of Podcasting Made Simple, about why relationships between hosts, guests, audiences, collaborators, and communities are becoming an increasingly important part of podcast growth. The conversation explores podcast guesting, better host-guest matching, AI-assisted workflows, audio and video podcasting, RSS and HLS, creator-owned communities, and why direct audience relationships matter as large platforms gain more control over discovery and monetization. Human Connection Wins Alex built PodMatch around a simple problem: podcast hosts could find guests, but finding the “right guest” and managing all the administrative work surrounding an interview took an enormous amount of time. The goal is to automate the work around the conversation without automating the human connection itself. Rob and Alex discuss why great podcast conversations create relationships that can continue long after an episode is published. Better Guests, Better Conversations A strong podcast guest should arrive ready to lead with value, not simply promote a book, company, or product. Rob and Alex discuss why: – Every interview should feel different – Guests should bring something new to each conversation – Hosts need to listen rather than simply read questions – Generic AI-generated pitches are easy to recognize – Guest and show alignment matters more than volume – Meaningful conversations are more likely to be shared Alex also explains how PodMatch is using AI to improve host-guest alignment while reducing research and administrative work. Audio, Video and the Changing Podcast The conversation expands into the growing convergence between podcasting and YouTube. Alex remains audio and RSS-focused but believes podcasting and YouTube are increasingly influencing each other. Podcasting brings depth and long-form conversation while YouTube brings visual discovery and engagement. Rob and Alex also discuss the HLS video format, alternative enclosures, separate audio and video feeds, and why the current publishing ecosystem can still feel unnecessarily complicated for creators. Build Relationships You Own As major platforms change algorithms, monetization rules, and distribution policies, creators have another reason to develop direct relationships with their audiences. Newsletters, private communities, memberships, events, collaborations, and other owned audience pathways can turn large platforms into discovery and recruiting channels rather than the entire creator business. Alex sees this community layer becoming an increasingly important part of PodMatch. Discussion Highlights – Why human connection becomes more valuable as content expands – How PodMatch matches podcast hosts and guests – Solo, co-hosted, and interview podcast formats – Podcasting versus YouTube content strategies – RSS, HLS, audio and video podcast distribution – What defines a podcast in 2026? – Why guests should lead with value – Creating unique conversations instead of repeating talking points – Why generic AI podcast pitches fail – Using AI to improve guest-host alignment – Podcast collaborations, review swaps, and podrolls – Building creator-owned communities – Turning platforms into audience acquisition channels – Why trusted relationships may be the creator’s strongest long-term asset Chapter Markers 00:00 When content becomes unlimited, human connection becomes scarce 01:45 Introducing Alex Sanfilippo and PodMatch 03:25 Why podcast conversations matter 07:10 Guests, co-hosts, and solo podcast formats 13:05 Podcasting meets YouTube 17:00 Finding the platform where your audience lives 20:25 Audio, video, RSS, and HLS complexity 27:25 What is a podcast now? 30:05 Why podcast guests need to lead with value 33:00 Every interview should be different 35:20 Listening creates better conversations 38:15 Why unique interviews get shared 41:15 The problem with AI-generated podcast pitches 44:20 Finding real guest-show alignment 48:45 Why Alex has become more selective about guesting 50:40 Using AI for PodMatch alignment 54:35 Podcast collaborations, reviews, and podrolls 57:15 Podcast relationships become communities 58:45 Building audiences beyond rented platforms 01:03:00 Creating relationships with your true fans 01:05:15 Community and the future of PodMatch 01:06:20 Where to connect with Alex 01:07:00 Closing thoughts About Alex Sanfilippo Alex Sanfilippo is the founder of PodMatch, a platform that connects podcast hosts and guests while streamlining the administrative work around podcast interviews. He also hosts Podcasting Made Simple, where he helps independent podcast hosts and guests grow their influence, audiences, and businesses. Guest Links PodMatch https://podmatch.com Alex’s free podcast host and guest resources https://podmatch.com/free Podcasting Made Simple https://podmatch.com/episodes About the Host Rob Greenlee is a 2017 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee, Chair of the Podcast Hall of Fame, Founder of Trust Factor Lab, and longtime new-media executive, creator, strategist, and industry leader. Listen and Watch New Media Show https://NewMediaShow.com Adore Network Audio https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-audio/ Adore Network Video https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-video/ Apple Podcasts Audio https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-audio/id392545649 Apple Podcasts Video https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-video/id392545647 AI Disclosure AI tools helped organize and edit this episode and create the above show notes from the completed Episode #685 transcript. The conversation, perspectives, editorial direction, and final editing and responsibility for the episode remain human-led. The New Media Show is human-hosted. The post Human Audience Growth in the AI Era | Alex Sanfilippo #685 first appeared on New Media Show.

AI can now reproduce a person’s face, voice, movement, and likeness with increasing realism. The bigger question is becoming: Who gets to control that identity, authorize its use, and potentially get paid when it has commercial value? In Episode #684 of the New Media Show,  Host Rob Greenlee talks with Anne Kavanagh, co-founder of Royall.ai, about building a new permission and licensing layer around human identity. The conversation is not about stopping or being anti-AI. It is about establishing something that has largely been missing: proof and authorization before use. Your Identity Becomes an Asset You Control Royall.ai is developing what Anne describes as a biometric vault where people can register elements of their identity, including voice, face, likeness, and body motion. Those assets can be fingerprinted and watermarked, creating the foundation for detecting use, approving or rejecting it, and potentially licensing it commercially. That changes the discussion from simply asking whether AI can clone someone to asking whether the person actually gave permission. A creator could potentially say: Use my voice for this campaign, but only for six months. Allow my likeness to be used to train this model, but pay me. Do not use my identity for this purpose at all. The central principle is simple: You own you. Protection and Opportunity The same technology designed to identify unauthorized use could also create legitimate new markets for human identity. Anne describes a future where AI companies, studios, agencies, platforms, and brands could license verified human data rather than simply collecting material from the public internet. Creators could choose whether their voice, face, movement, or content can be used for AI training and receive compensation when they opt in. This becomes especially important as synthetic media becomes indistinguishable from human media. Rob also raises another possibility: as AI-generated content becomes abundant, verified or certified human-created content may itself become more valuable. Podcast Archives Create Another Rights Problem The discussion gets particularly relevant to podcasting. A podcast owner may control thousands of hours of archived conversations, but that does not necessarily mean the owner has the right to license every guest’s voice for AI training. Rob explains that the New Media Show archive has previously attracted interest for conversational AI training, but licensing complete conversations would require permission from the guests whose voices appear in them. Royall.ai is exploring infrastructure that could help identify those participants, request consent, manage permissions, and create licensing transactions across large content libraries. That could become a significant issue as decades of podcast, video, music, and creator archives become valuable training material. Discussion Highlights – Who should control your voice, face, and digital likeness – Creating a biometric identity vault – Consent before AI use – Detecting unauthorized likeness and voice usage – Licensing human identity for AI training – Getting creators paid for authorized use – Deepfakes, scams, and identity theft – Why trust is critical to biometric infrastructure – AI disclosure versus AI-assisted creation – The rise of verified human-created media – Creator contracts and synthetic likeness rights – Licensing podcast archives for AI training – Why guest consent matters – Royall.ai as an identity and permission API layer Chapter Timestamp Markers 00:00 Who controls your likeness and voice identity? 03:00 Introducing Anne Kavanagh and Royall.ai 07:00 How the idea behind Royall.ai developed 09:00 Verified identity, authorization and licensing 10:00 Creating a biometric vault for voice, face and motion 18:00 Detection, reporting and takedown tools 20:00 Opting into AI training and getting paid 24:00 Building a training-grade voice model 28:00 Identity protection becomes an economic opportunity 34:00 Why this is a human issue, not just a creator issue 38:00 Deepfakes, students, scams and identity theft 40:00 The trust challenge of storing biometric identity 43:00 Building a registrar for human identity and likeness 45:00 Royall.ai as part of the technology stack 48:00 The principle: You own you 53:00 AI tools, disclosure and audience trust 59:00 Could certified human content become premium? 01:02:00 Synthetic podcast hosts and transparency 01:04:00 Creator contracts and consent for AI training 01:05:00 Licensing podcast archives and guest voices 01:08:00 Who controls your existing content libraries? 01:11:00 How Royall.ai early access works 01:14:00 Public images, copyright and identity ownership Anne Kavanagh Guest Links Royall.ai is currently onboarding users through an early-access process, with registration, fingerprinting, watermarking, detection capabilities, and enterprise/API integrations discussed toward the end of the episode. Royall.ai https://royall.ai Host, Rob Greenlee and Show Links New Media Show https://newmediashow.com New Media Show on YouTube https://youtube.com/@TheNewMediaShow Rob Greenlee https://robgreenlee.com Rob Greenlee on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/robgreenlee Podcast Hall of Fame https://podcasthall.com AI Disclosure AI tools helped organize and edit the episode to remove filler words; this description was created from the completed full transcript of episode #684. The recorded conversation, human performances, perspectives, editorial direction, and final responsibility for the episode remain with Rob Greenlee and Anne Kavanagh. The New Media Show is human-hosted. The post Own Your Identity: Who Controls Your Voice, and Likeness? | Anne Kavanagh, Royall.ai #684 first appeared on New Media Show.

Podcasting has one advantage that much of digital media struggles to maintain: trust. In Episode #683 of the New Media Show, Rob Greenlee talks with Mike Kadin, CEO and co-founder of RedCircle.  What does that trust mean for podcast advertising as AI, video, HLS, YouTube, Spotify, and changing audience behavior reshape the business? Long-form shows create a different relationship between creators and audiences than short-form social content. That relationship has always been one of the reasons host-read podcast advertising can work so well. But what happens when AI can recreate the host’s voice? Mike makes an important distinction. The value of a host-read ad is not simply hearing a familiar voice. It comes from the host’s language, personality, experience, humor, and actual judgment about the product. RedCircle does not use AI-generated versions of creators to perform host-read advertising. Mike believes cloning the host’s voice without the actual human endorsement could undermine the very trust that makes the advertising valuable. Authentic Host Reads Still Matter Rob and Mike talk about the difference between reading advertising copy and genuinely recommending something a creator has used. RedCircle has seen similar shows, with similar audience sizes, run by the same advertiser and using the same talking points, produce very different results. One of the biggest differences can be the quality and believability of the host read. That also puts responsibility on creators to work with products they can credibly talk about. Mike explains that RedCircle will sometimes hear from a creator who tried a sponsor’s product and did not like it. Rather than force an endorsement, the company can take that feedback back to the advertiser and cancel the spot. That kind of process helps protect the relationship between the creator and audience. Using AI to Find Better Brand Matches Mike also talks about a newer RedCircle capability called Show IQ. Over the years of running campaigns, RedCircle has accumulated information on its creators’ interests and brand affinities, as well as historical campaign performance. Show IQ uses that information to help identify creators who may be a natural fit for a particular advertiser. This is an example of AI being used behind the scenes to improve the match rather than replacing the human doing the endorsement. The goal is to put advertisers with creators who can actually speak credibly about their products. Spotify, YouTube and Control of Podcast Monetization The conversation shifts to the growing influence of large consumption platforms. Spotify is experimenting with ways for listeners to move past advertising more easily. YouTube has already offered similar jump-ahead behavior around portions of videos that viewers commonly skip. Mike does not see this as some unexpected attack on podcasting. Spotify and YouTube have built massive distribution platforms and naturally want to control more of the economics that happen inside them. For creators, diversification becomes increasingly important. A creator can use YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms for distribution, but should also keep building direct relationships through websites, newsletters, subscriptions, and communities. No single distribution platform can be expected to always put the creator’s interests first. RedCircle Is Moving Into Video RedCircle has also started expanding beyond its traditional audio focus. Creators can now upload video through RedCircle and send it to YouTube, an expansion of its earlier audio-to-YouTube tools. Mike says YouTube was the obvious first priority because that is where the largest existing video audience is today. RedCircle is also watching Spotify video, Apple Podcasts video, and HLS as podcasting becomes increasingly multi-format. The advertising systems will eventually need to evolve along with the content. HLS Creates New Advertising Questions A significant part of the conversation focuses on HLS and Apple’s new video-podcast approach in this episode. Podcast advertising has traditionally been built around audio downloads. The video introduces a much more complex environment. An Apple Podcasts episode may still automatically download its audio before the listener ever presses play. If that listener later watches the video version, the advertising decision may already have been made. That makes traditional real-time programmatic video advertising harder to apply to podcast video. For now, audio advertising may become a common advertising format, whether someone is listening or watching. That works technically, but it is not necessarily the best video experience. Rob and Mike discuss the need for a new type of podcast video advertising that works whether someone hears the ad, watches it, or moves between both experiences. Audio and Video Are Converging, But Not Cleanly Rob raises a question he is dealing with directly on the New Media Show. Should a show have one combined audio-video experience, or should creators continue producing separate audio versions? The New Media Show has distributed separate audio and video feeds for years. HLS makes it easier to move between listening and viewing, but that convergence can also lead to compromises. Great video production does not automatically guarantee the best audio experience. The reverse is also true. Mike agrees there is a reasonable argument for preserving more flexibility between the two formats. Measurement Is Getting Harder Podcast measurement was already complicated. Now creators may have traditional podcast downloads, Spotify streams, YouTube views, Apple video consumption, social views, and various advertising impressions. Those numbers do not all mean the same thing. That creates an operational problem for creators trying to sell advertising and for brands trying to understand what they purchased. Mike believes technology needs to simplify this increasingly fragmented environment. Mike compares it to the music industry, where tools were developed to distribute music and aggregate results across many different services. Creator media increasingly needs the same kind of cross-platform infrastructure. What Is a Podcast Now? The episode also returns to a question the New Media Show has discussed for years. What exactly is a podcast? Mike admits he has two answers. As a longtime software engineer and RSS believer,  Mike still thinks of a podcast as episodic media distributed through RSS. As the CEO of a podcast technology and advertising company, he sees younger people entering the business who do not know what RSS is and think of a podcast as the kind of long-form conversational content they see on YouTube. At some point, audience behavior begins defining the medium. Rob and Mike also discuss industry efforts such as the AMP work around definitions and measurement. Mike supports efforts to build standards but says they only become truly meaningful if the major platforms where people actually consume podcasts implement them. Where Podcasting Goes Next Mike believes the industry has to follow audience behavior. Creators are becoming multi-channel because audiences already are. Audio, video, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, RSS apps, and social platforms are increasingly parts of the same creator-media business. The opportunity is to build better tools that allow creators to distribute, monetize, and measure it all without having to manage the complexity themselves. HLS is one part of that transition. The larger change is podcasting becoming a much broader medium for audio and video creators while trying to preserve the trust that made it valuable in the first place. Discussion Highlights: – Why long-form podcasting creates deeper audience trust – Why authentic host reads still perform – AI-generated advertising and creator voice cloning – Why RedCircle does not use synthetic host reads – RedCircle Show IQ and better creator-brand matching – Dynamic versus baked-in podcast advertising – Spotify and YouTube gaining more monetization control – Why creators need direct audience relationships – RedCircle’s move into video – Why YouTube was its first video priority – HLS and podcast video advertising – Audio versus video ad creative – Separate audio and video podcast experiences – Cross-platform measurement problems – Alternate enclosures and adoption – What defines a podcast now – The need for meaningful industry standards – The future of multi-channel podcast monetization Chapter Timestamp Markers 00:00 Podcasting, trust and long-form media 01:00 Introducing Mike Kadin of RedCircle 02:00 Why trust matters in podcast advertising 03:20 AI-generated ads and audience trust 06:10 Why RedCircle avoids cloned host reads 09:00 Authentic creator endorsements 11:00 Why some host reads outperform others 12:20 RedCircle Show IQ 14:00 The future of host-read advertising 15:30 Dynamic versus baked-in ads 17:20 Spotify and ad skipping 21:00 YouTube and platform control 22:20 Creators need direct audience relationships 24:00 RedCircle moves further into video 26:30 HLS and podcast video advertising 31:00 Opportunities for video host-read advertising 33:00 Ads that work in audio and video 36:30 Separate audio and video feeds 40:00 The fragmented consumption experience 42:00 Podcast measurement gets more complicated 44:30 HLS and alternate enclosures 47:20 What is a podcast now? 52:00 Standards and the major platforms 54:00 Measuring advertising by performance 56:00 The multi-channel future of podcasting 58:00 Closing thoughts Mike Kadin Guest Links RedCircle: https://redcircle.com Host and Show Links New Media Show https://newmediashow.com New Media Show on YouTube https://youtube.com/@TheNewMediaShow Rob Greenlee https://robgreenlee.com Rob Gree

When AI content becomes abundant, what becomes scarce? In Episode #682 of the New Media Show, Host, Rob Greenlee talks with growth and brand strategist Jaymi Bauer. Jaymi is CEO and co-founder of Vaquera Group, creator of Resonance Design, and founder of a new women’s vitality venture called Reign.Care. She and Rob previously worked together at Microsoft during the Zune and Xbox eras, giving both a long view of how technology continually reshapes media and human behavior. The conversation is not anti-AI. It is about understanding where AI is powerful and where human creators may still have the advantage. The Human Signal Jaymi states that humans feel trust before they intellectually recognize it. We respond to tone, presence, energy, emotion, authenticity, and whether something feels genuine.  AI can increasingly reproduce human language, imagery, voices, and creative patterns, but Jaymi believes audiences will continue seeking something deeper: content rooted in real human experience. Her advice to creators is simple: Become better at AI while becoming even more human. AI as Amplifier, Not the Source Rob and Jaymi explore AI as a creative and production layer rather than the original source of meaning. AI can: Research faster Organize ideas Improve production Expand visual possibilities Help creators distribute content Personalize discovery Build new interactive experiences But the strongest output still begins with a strong human seed: an idea, experience, perspective, story, or creative intention. Jaymi shares her experience of heavily using AI on a book proposal. The result was polished, but she felt it had become hollow and disconnected from her own creative voice. That became a reminder that efficiency does not automatically create resonance. Why Human Content May Become Premium As synthetic media becomes harder to distinguish from human-created media, Rob raises the possibility that creators may eventually label content as human-hosted or human-created, rather than simply labeling AI content. Jaymi believes genuine human interaction may eventually feel more valuable precisely because it becomes less common. That could increase the value of: Live conversations Human-created storytelling Live music and events Real relationships Distinctive personal perspectives Physical experiences Trusted communities The future may not be human versus AI. It may be human creativity amplified by AI. Creators Need AI Literacy Jaymi strongly advises creators not to ignore AI. Her view is that creators should learn the tools, experiment with them, understand their limitations, and explore what they make possible. But they also need stronger critical thinking and editorial judgment. Rob and Jaymi discuss how experienced professionals may have an advantage here because they have lived through multiple cycles in technology, media, business, and the economy. Knowing when AI is wrong, when to stop refining, what matters, and what audiences actually value may become increasingly important skills. AI Changes Discovery Too. AI is not only creating content. It is increasingly sitting between creators and audiences. Rob discusses how platforms such as YouTube use AI to analyze media, understand content, personalize recommendations, and decide who should see what. That means creators are entering an environment where AI may influence: Creation Editing Distribution Metadata Search Recommendations Audience targeting Personalization The creator still provides the human idea, but AI increasingly shapes how that idea reaches the world. A More Interactive Media Future The conversation also explores AI-powered audience participation. Rob describes emerging platforms where synthetic personalities, expert knowledge bases, and human audience members can participate in shared conversations. Instead of traditional one-way media, future shows could include creators, audiences, and AI agents discussing topics together. That could make podcasts, livestreams, sports media, education, and communities considerably more interactive. Discussion Highlights -What Jaymi means by the “human signal” -Why trust is often felt before it is understood -AI-generated media versus human-created media -Why creators should become “superhuman,” not anti-AI -AI as a creative amplifier -The importance of critical thinking and editorial judgment -Why AI-generated work can feel polished but hollow -How experienced professionals can work effectively with AI -AI’s growing role in discovery and recommendation -Personal LLMs and creator knowledge models -Human and AI participants inside future media experiences -Why live and human-created experiences could become premium -The possibility of labeling media as human-hosted -Creativity, trust, and relationships as long-term advantages Chapter Markers 00:00 Why the human signal matters 01:32 Introducing Jaymi Bauer 02:48 What is the human signal? 05:35 Can AI reproduce human connection? 09:15 Staying human while using AI 11:22 Collective AI knowledge versus individual human knowledge 13:30 Why audiences may eventually reject synthetic sameness 16:04 Will AI-generated entertainment satisfy us? 18:35 AI as a new creative tool 21:05 Lessons from Xbox and immersive media 23:10 Why gamers still want human creativity 25:10 How humans remain valuable 26:38 The dystopian side of AI 28:10 Could AI eventually give humans more freedom? 30:05 Creativity as a human advantage 31:15 Why creators need AI literacy 33:15 Becoming “superhuman” 34:25 Jaymi’s AI-generated book proposal mistake 36:00 Using AI as a first draft 37:20 Better prompts start with better human thinking 38:25 When AI becomes inefficient 40:20 Humans as AI tutors and experts 42:15 What happens when AI gains real-world experience? 45:10 Human truth and durable brands 48:10 AI becomes the discovery layer 51:00 Personal LLMs and expert AI models 52:20 AI-powered audience participation 55:00 Humans and AI in the same conversation 57:10 AI companionship and relationships 59:55 Will human-created media become premium? 01:01:05 Hybrid human and AI production 01:03:10 Where to find Jaymi 01:04:00 Jaymi’s new vitality venture 01:05:40 Closing thoughts Jaymi Bauer Guest Links: Jaymi Bauer on Substack https://jaymibauer1.substack.com “The Human Signal” https://jaymibauer1.substack.com/p/the-human-signal Vaquera Group https://vaquera.co Reign https://reign.care About the Host:  Rob Greenlee is a 2017 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee, Chair of the Podcast Hall of Fame, founder of Trust Factor Lab, and longtime new-media executive, creator, strategist, and industry leader. Through The New Media Show, Rob explores the changing intersection of podcasting, video, creator-led media, artificial intelligence, platforms, audience ownership, trust, monetization, and the future of human-created media. Host and Show Links New Media Show https://newmediashow.com New Media Show on YouTube https://youtube.com/@TheNewMediaShow Rob Greenlee https://robgreenlee.com Rob Greenlee on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/robgreenlee Podcast Hall of Fame https://podcasthall.com AI Disclosure AI tools were used to assist with organizing and editing to remove filler words; this episode description was created from the completed full transcript of episode #682. The recorded conversation, human performances, perspectives, editorial direction, and final responsibility for the episode remain with Rob Greenlee and Jaymi Bauer. The New Media Show is human-hosted. The post The Human Signal: What Becomes Valuable in AI Creation Era | Jaymi Bauer #682 first appeared on New Media Show.

In Episode 681 of the New Media Show, host Podcast Hall of Famer Rob Greenlee welcomes Alban Brooke, Head of Marketing at Buzzsprout, for a deep conversation about one of the biggest structural changes in podcasting: the evolution of podcast hosting from audio-file distribution to a broader audio-and-video creator infrastructure. For most of podcasting’s history, the hosting model was relatively straightforward. A creator uploaded an audio file, the host generated an RSS feed, and that feed distributed the episode to listening apps worldwide. That podcast hosting model is changing. Video is once again becoming a significant part of podcasting, and podcast hosting platforms are being asked to do much more than store an MP3 and maintain an RSS feed. They increasingly need to manage video encoding, HLS streaming, direct platform connections, YouTube publishing, Spotify video, Apple Podcasts video, transcripts, analytics, AI-assisted publishing tools, and the traditional audio experience simultaneously. Buzzsprout, which launched in 2009 as an audio-only podcast host, has now made a major move into video. Alban explains that the turning point was Apple’s decision to support HLS video streaming into Apple Podcasts. Once Apple committed to HLS, Buzzsprout saw an opportunity to preserve one of podcast hosting’s original promises: “Upload once and let the hosting platform handle the complexity of getting the show everywhere.” Buzzsprout’s current video workflow allows creators to upload video and distribute it to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube while continuing to deliver audio to traditional podcast apps. The technology underneath that process, however, has become much more complicated. A podcast host may now be managing RSS feeds, HLS playlists, multiple video resolutions, platform APIs, direct uploads, audio extraction, transcripts, and the different requirements of Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon, iHeart, and other services. Alban argues that creators should not have to understand most of that. If podcast hosting is doing its job properly, the technical complexity should disappear into the infrastructure. Creators should be able to concentrate on making the show. That leads Rob and Alban into a larger discussion about RSS and what it still represents. RSS itself is not magical, Alban says. What matters is what RSS enables: a direct and portable connection between creators and their audiences.  A creator using an open podcast feed can switch from one hosting company to another without rebuilding their audience from scratch. The relationship is not entirely controlled by a recommendation algorithm or a single platform.  Alban contrasts this with YouTube and other social platforms, where algorithms ultimately determine how much of a creator’s content reaches subscribers. A creator can build a large audience on a platform and still experience dramatic changes in reach when the algorithm, product strategy, or monetization model changes. Podcasting offers something different. Alban describes media distribution as a spectrum ranging from discovery to delivery. At one end are platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, which are extremely effective at helping users discover content. The platform decides what it believes each person wants to see next. At the other end are systems such as RSS and email, where the user intentionally subscribes and expects to receive what that creator publishes. The opportunity for modern creators may be to use both. YouTube, social video platforms, and algorithmic platforms can enable discovery. RSS can provide reliable delivery and audience portability after that relationship is established. That combination may become one of podcasting’s greatest advantages. HLS, RSS and the Future of more Open Video Podcasting Rob and Alban explore how HLS video could extend those same open-distribution principles into video. Apple’s implementation currently involves a direct API relationship, but the podcast ecosystem is also experimenting with the alternate enclosure tag in RSS, which can place another media format inside the RSS feed. Buzzsprout has already experimented with alternate enclosures on selected shows, although Alban explains that the company is approaching broader implementation carefully because video creates dramatically larger bandwidth demands than audio. A bot downloading thousands of MP3 files is one problem. A bot repeatedly requesting multi-gigabyte video assets is another larger issue. The larger objective, however, remains open distribution. Alban believes HLS has the potential to enable multiple podcast applications to support video without forcing creators to confine their entire video audience to a single closed platform. Can Video Damage the Audio Experience? The conversation then turns to one of the most important creative questions raised by video podcasting. What happens to audio listeners when the video version becomes the source for both experiences? Alban shares an example of watching a video podcast on Netflix where George Clooney and the host repeatedly discussed an object visible on camera without ever explaining what it was. A viewer understood the conversation. An audio listener would have had no idea what they were discussing. That is exactly the kind of problem Alban wants creators to avoid. His recommendation is that podcasts remain audio-first in their communication, even when video is an important part of the production. That does not mean ignoring video. Creators can use cameras, sets, graphics, demonstrations, lighting, and other visual elements. But when something important is happening on screen, the host should provide enough verbal context that the audio listener can still follow the conversation. Rob raises the other side of the issue. There is a real difference between producing a video podcast and producing a highly visual YouTube show. YouTube creators may use graphics, demonstrations, rapid editing, screen captures, text, and visual storytelling that cannot realistically be translated into audio. If every visual element must work perfectly for someone with their eyes closed, video creativity can become constrained. That may eventually create two related but distinct production approaches: shows built as unified audio/video podcasts and shows designed primarily as visual media. Why Platforms Want Video Alban believes the major platforms have obvious reasons for encouraging video.  Video keeps audiences looking at the screen. YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms benefit when users remain inside their applications, continually moving from one piece of content to the next. Short-form vertical video takes this even further. Alban says he deliberately limits his own use of platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels because he finds the experience almost too effective at holding attention. Audio works differently. A podcast can accompany the listener while running, driving, traveling, cleaning, mowing the lawn, or simply living life. Alban describes audio as a companion to life, while highly addictive video shorts platforms will increasingly compete to become the dominant activity itself. We should remain strongly optimistic about audio. Why Apple’s Move Changed the Market Rob asks why Apple chose this moment to place renewed emphasis on video, even though video podcasts have technically existed within Apple’s ecosystem for many years. Alban points to several forces coming together. YouTube has aggressively embraced podcasts and repeatedly highlighted the enormous amount of podcast viewing happening across its platform. Spotify has expanded its video strategy. Meanwhile, members of the open podcasting community have spent years exploring HLS as a more practical way of distributing video. Once Apple embraced HLS, Buzzsprout concluded that the technology had enough platform support to justify a major investment. Buzzsprout then built its video product around simplifying distribution across Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and traditional audio apps. Why 1080p Video Matters Buzzsprout also decided to support 1080p video, something Rob sees as increasingly important as podcasts move from phones and laptops onto large television screens. HLS can provide different video streams depending on the device and connection. A mobile device (phone, pad, or glasses) may not need the same resolution as a large television or large-screen laptop or desktop computer. But as Apple Podcasts expands onto Apple TV and YouTube continues to report substantial podcast consumption on television screens, creators need source video that looks good in the living room. Rob and Alban agree that this is another sign that podcast distribution is becoming much broader than that of traditional listening apps. Audio Is Not Going Away Despite Buzzsprout’s investment in video, Alban does not believe every podcast needs cameras. Some content is inherently better as audio. Scripted audio, documentary storytelling, intimate conversations, educational programming, and many other formats can deliver everything the audience needs without video. Alban does not believe audio needs a technological gimmick to survive. Spatial audio, immersive sound, and advanced codecs can create interesting experiences, but the central power of podcasting remains remarkably simple: “The human voice and a compelling story.” Good audio recorded decades ago can still be powerful today because the idea, voice, and storytelling remain meaningful. Video is therefore additive rather than a replacement for audio. Is Podcast Hosting Becoming a Commodity? Rob then challenges Alban with another industry question: Simply storing a media file is no longer difficult. Most hosting platforms can generate RSS feeds, distribute episodes, and provide common pu

In Episode 680 of the New Media Show, host Rob Greenlee welcomes Steven Goldstein, founder and CEO of Amplifi Media, for a timely, future-leaning discussion. We have entered the Liquid Content Era. A podcast conversation can now become an audio episode, full-length YouTube video, Spotify video, Apple Podcasts video, vertical clips, social posts, articles, newsletters, searchable transcripts, and potentially AI-discovered answers. The underlying content may be the same, but the way people encounter and consume it varies by platform. That creates an enormous opportunity for creators. It also creates a measurement problem. Podcasting built much of its advertising business around the download. That metric helped turn an emerging medium into a legitimate advertising marketplace, but Steven argues that it no longer adequately represents how audiences consume modern shows. Downloads were created in an era when bandwidth was limited and podcast applications often downloaded episodes to devices before the listener played them. Today, streaming is increasingly immediate, video consumption is growing, audiences move between devices, and clips can sometimes reach more people than the original episode. The question is no longer simply:  How many times was the podcast downloaded? The better question may be: How many people actually listened to, watched, encountered the advertising, and engaged with the creator’s content across the entire media ecosystem? Why advertisers need this change. Large brands already buy television, web, streaming video, social, and other digital media through dashboards that provide comparable impression-based reporting. Podcasting remains fragmented across RSS analytics, platform dashboards, YouTube views, Spotify data, and different definitions of what constitutes meaningful exposure. That fragmentation makes podcast media harder to buy at scale. Steven explains that advertisers do not want separate teams manually reconciling podcast audio, video, clips, and platform metrics. If podcasting wants to attract substantially more advertising investment, it needs to fit more easily into the systems marketers already use. That leads into one of the episode’s central topics: the AMP Accords. The Alliance for Measurement in Podcasting was formed to address three persistent problems: Defining a podcast Standardizing exposure metrics across platforms Creating a more consistent way to evaluate advertising effectiveness. The AMP Accords describe their goal as establishing cross-platform measurement standards spanning open RSS and closed platforms. One of the biggest proposed shifts is moving toward a 30-second play as a standardized exposure metric across audio and video. Steven is less concerned about whether 30 seconds ultimately proves to be the perfect number than he is about establishing a common starting point. Media measurement has always evolved. Steven draws on his experience in radio, where audience measurement moved from handwritten listening diaries to electronic Portable People Meters. The change was disruptive. Some formats gained audience under the new methodology, and others lost it. But advertisers demanded better information, and the industry eventually adapted. Podcasting is facing a similar moment. The industry should not allow the pursuit of a perfect measurement system to delay the adoption of a more useful one. The AMP framework also addresses advertising impressions and audience measurement. That matters because an advertiser ultimately wants to know whether someone actually received an advertising message, not simply whether a media file was automatically delivered to a device. Rob and Steven discuss the tension this creates for established podcast measurement. Some publishers remain strongly committed to the download because it has provided consistency and an open measurement methodology for many years. Steven gives the download credit for helping build the podcast advertising business but believes the medium now needs to move forward. The shift becomes even more important when video enters the equation. YouTube has become a major podcast-consumption platform with sophisticated analytics on views, watch time, audience behavior, retention, and discovery. Spotify has added video. Apple is expanding its video capabilities through HLS. Meanwhile, audiences increasingly move fluidly between audio and video rather than seeing them as completely separate media products. This raises another difficult question: What exactly is a podcast now? The AMP Accords propose a broad podcast definition that encompasses audio or video and open or closed distribution, provided the program remains meaningful without requiring constant visual attention. Steven likes the basic framework but emphasizes that audiences will ultimately shape the word’s meaning. People already call shows “podcasts” based on format and experience rather than on technical infrastructure. Most listeners do not know whether a show uses RSS feeds, direct platform uploads, streaming video, or another delivery method. Rob raises a concern about defining podcasting too strongly through an audio lens. If a video must always function perfectly with the viewer’s eyes closed, does that discourage creators from investing in richer visual storytelling? That question becomes increasingly important as video production matures. A modern video podcast can include visual demonstrations, graphics, archival material, set design, screen sharing, camera movement, and other elements that provide additional value to the viewer. Rob argues that creators should retain the freedom to build excellent audio and excellent video experiences, even when the two versions are not identical. The discussion then moves to another major part of liquid content: short-form video. Shorts or Clips were initially treated primarily as promotional tools designed to push people toward the full episode. That assumption is changing. Some audience members may never consume the full show. They may know a creator entirely through Shorts, Reels, TikTok, or other excerpts. Steven describes this as both an opportunity and a potential problem. If a creator publishes the four best moments from an hour-long conversation, some viewers may decide those clips provide everything they wanted from the episode. That means short-form may represent a separate audience, not simply a funnel into long-form media. At the same time, social clips have become an increasingly important discovery mechanism. Creators cannot simply ignore the places where audiences spend their time. That is the essence of liquid content: the audience determines where and how the media gets consumed. Artificial intelligence adds another layer. Steven believes creators should increasingly think beyond traditional SEO, Search Engine Optimization, toward AEO, Answer Engine Optimization. AI systems are increasingly becoming discovery engines themselves. Instead of searching through a list of websites or podcast episodes, a user may ask an AI system a specific question and receive a direct answer assembled from available sources. That shift could be especially valuable for niche creators. A podcast with deep authority in a narrow subject may become an important source of AI-generated answers if its content is well-structured, transcribed, accessible, and clearly associated with expertise in that category. Rob expands the discussion into recommendation systems. YouTube already uses AI extensively to determine which content should be presented to which audience. Similar systems will increasingly influence discovery throughout digital media. That creates a harder competitive environment. Steven argues that mediocre content will be crushed. As audiences face effectively unlimited choices and algorithms become better at filtering those choices, simply producing acceptable content may no longer be enough. Shows need differentiation, relevance, expertise, strong personalities, or storytelling that holds attention. That does not mean every successful podcast needs millions of listeners. Steven points to niche podcasts serving highly specific professional communities. A show about HVAC systems may never become a mainstream entertainment hit, but it can still become an extremely valuable business if it reaches the right technicians, manufacturers, buyers, and industry decision-makers. Influence within a valuable niche can matter more than raw audience scale. The conversation closes by examining the tension between short-form and long-form media. Consumers are time-starved. Summaries, clips, AI-generated takeaways, and compressed content are becoming increasingly useful. Yet long-form is not disappearing. Joe Rogan, Acquired, Dan Carlin, and other successful long-form creators demonstrate that audiences will still spend hours with content when the storytelling, expertise, personality, or subject deserves the investment. The real challenge is earning the audience’s time. In the Liquid Content Era, creators are no longer simply publishing episodes. They are building adaptable media assets that can move across platforms, formats, screens, algorithms, and audiences. The measurement systems now need to catch up. Topics Covered in This Episode: -What Steven Goldstein means by the Liquid Content Era -Why one piece of content now becomes many media products -Why the podcast download is becoming less representative of consumption -What podcasting can learn from radio and television measurement -Why advertisers need unified cross-platform metrics -The AMP Accords and the future of podcast measurement -The proposed 30-second play standard -Plays, audience, ad impressions, and ad audience -Audio versus video measurement -Apple HLS, YouTube, Spotify, and platform competition -Why the definition of a podcast co

In Episode 679 of the New Media Show, host and Podcast Hall of Famer Rob Greenlee welcomes Samara Beth Hurley, founder and CEO of Samara Beth & Co., for a wide-ranging conversation about experiential branding, audience trust, personal authority, storytelling, live events, artificial intelligence, and the growing value of real human relationships. Creators have more ways than ever to attract attention through podcasts, video, social media, newsletters, events, books, speaking, search, and AI-powered discovery. But attention is only the beginning. The deeper challenge is turning attention into trust, trust into authority, and authority into relationships that can support a lasting creator brand or business. Samara brings more than 30 years of experience across events, experiential branding, public relations, marketing, publishing, coaching, speaking, and business strategy. She explains why memorable experiences engage more than the mind. They involve emotion, physical presence, environment, story, and multiple senses, making them more likely to remain with an audience. The central idea of the episode is that content may introduce people to a creator, but experiences can make that creator memorable. From Attention to Experience: Why creators need more than visibility, impressions, downloads, views, or followers.  Samara explains that an immersive experience can involve all five senses and create a much deeper memory than a conventional piece of content. This can happen through an in-person event, retreat, workshop, book, video, virtual presentation, conversation, or carefully designed brand interaction. The goal is not simply to be seen. The goal is to make people feel something meaningful and consistent enough that they remember the creator, trust the message, and understand the value behind the brand. Samara also explains why events should be reverse-engineered around the desired audience result. Before selecting the venue, visuals, entertainment, content, or promotion, creators should determine what they want people to believe, feel, remember, and do after the experience. Credibility, Confidence, and Congruence: One of the central frameworks Samara shares is her three-part trust formula: – Credibility – Confidence – Congruence Credibility comes from experience, demonstrated knowledge, proof, media appearances, testimonials, awards, published work, results, and a consistent record of showing up. Confidence develops through practice. Samara discusses how speaking, presenting, selling, training, and communicating become stronger through repetition rather than waiting to feel completely prepared. Congruence means that the person audiences encounter across a website, podcast, social profile, book, stage, event, media appearance, and personal interaction should feel recognizably connected. Omnipresence With a Strategy: Samara describes herself as an “omnipresence fairy godmother” and explains why creators need to appear across multiple relevant platforms, media formats, and public channels. But omnipresence does not mean publishing without direction. Creators need a strategy that connects social media, podcasts, video, PR, books, articles, television appearances, events, awards, websites, and public profiles. Rob and Samara discuss the danger of throwing content onto platforms without a clear understanding of the audience, purpose, brand position, or desired business outcome. A creator may be visible everywhere but still be difficult to understand. The strongest public presence creates repeated, credible signals around who the person is, what they know, what they stand for, and why their work matters. Personal Brand Versus Business Brand: Samara explains the distinction between a personal brand and a business brand. A personal brand is connected to the individual’s name, expertise, story, reputation, values, speaking, publishing, and long-term legacy. A business brand may be structured so it can grow beyond the founder, employ a larger team, scale independently, and potentially be sold. Not every creator needs both. – A coach, speaker, consultant, author, or experienced executive may only need a strong personal brand. – A founder building a company that can eventually operate without them may need a separate business identity and brand architecture. Turning Personal Stories Into Authority: How frequent moves, career changes, family experiences, loss, divorce, business transitions, and personal reinvention shaped Samara’s current work. The conversation examines when personal experience becomes a valuable market asset rather than simply a private story. Samara argues that people connect to stories because stories help audiences see themselves inside another person’s experience. A strong creator does not need to reveal every private detail. A personal experience can be adapted, anonymized, reframed, or presented as a client, family, or community example when appropriate. The purpose is not personal exposure for its own sake. The purpose is to make knowledge relatable, memorable, and useful to the audience. Samara also describes how she integrated memoir elements into her business book, “WIN YOUR BRAND: The Unapologetic Playbook for Becoming Iconic”. Her personal stories support the larger lessons about branding, resilience, visibility, relationships, and authority. When the Brand Leaves the Screen: Why in-person events, retreats, masterminds, workshops, intimate gatherings, and community experiences may become more important as digital content becomes more abundant. Large conferences can provide scale and visibility, but smaller events can create stronger relationships. A person may speak to thousands of people from a major stage but only build genuine relationships with a smaller number through meals, conversations, workshops, shared activities, informal gatherings, and follow-up. Samara believes the market is moving toward more intimate experiences where participants can meet one another, build trust, share knowledge, and form partnerships. The most valuable part of an event may happen over coffee, dinner, a walk, a workout, a shared hotel stay, or a conversation after the scheduled programming has ended. Those interactions can create referrals, clients, collaborations, partnerships, friendships, and long-term business value. Creating Immersive Virtual Experiences: Not every creator or audience member can travel. Storytelling, visual design, direct eye contact, shared activities, gifts, music, food, demonstrations, physical materials, and guided participation can make virtual experiences more engaging. A virtual event cannot fully replicate physical presence, but it can be designed to foster stronger emotional engagement. Storytelling remains one of the most powerful tools. When a creator describes a setting, emotion, challenge, sound, physical feeling, or moment in detail, the audience can begin to experience that story even when they are not physically present. Samara supports the use of AI for research, workflow automation, idea development, organization, operational support, and production assistance. But warn against using AI in ways that create a false impression or weaken the audience’s confidence in the creator, thereby breaking trust. Rob discusses his decision to label The New Media Show as human-hosted and his earlier consideration of creating an AI-generated co-host or clone. They explore how synthetic voices, avatars, cloned appearances, generated scripts, and automated media could become increasingly difficult to distinguish from human-created work. The risk is not simply that AI content exists. The larger risk is that an audience believes it is interacting with a real person and later discovers that it was misled.  Transparency, consent, rights, voice protection, likeness protection, and responsible disclosure will become more important as these technologies improve. Many of these tools remain inconsistent. They may produce images that do not resemble the person, use generic language, miss the creator’s personality, or create more work rather than saving time. Samara advises creators not to purchase every new tool simply because an early price or lifetime deal appears attractive. The AI marketplace is crowded, and many products have not yet reached a reliable level of quality. Creators should begin with a clear problem, test the technology, measure the result, and determine whether the tool actually improves the work. Professional photography, original video, custom design, trusted partners, and human creative judgment continue to matter. Content Repurposing Versus New Content: The conversation also explores the tension between repurposing existing material and creating new content for specific platforms. AI can help extract clips, rewrite posts, summarize interviews, search archives, and transform old material into different formats. But audiences and platforms may still respond more strongly to content created for the current moment. Samara explains that her social media team encouraged her to reduce some repurposing and create more original, audience-directed content. The larger lesson is that efficiency should not replace relevance. Creators need a balance between extending the value of existing work and continuing to produce fresh ideas, stories, and perspectives. Relationships Are the Long-Term Advantage: The episode returns repeatedly to the value of relationships. Platforms, algorithms, content formats, AI systems, and business models will continue changing. A creator’s strongest long-term assets may be credibility, relationships, reputation, trust, lived experience, professional network, and the ability to create meaningful human connection. AI can help operate the systems behind a business. AI can automate repetitive tasks, support follow-up, o