Podcast revolution: the rise and rise of audio storytelling
In 2009, newspapers prophesied the death of the radio drama. However, as of 2020, audio fiction has become the fastest-growing strand in publishing, with tech, media and film companies crowding in. Richard Brooks explores the new geography of sound in this crossposting from The Conversation.
The state of audio drama in 2020 is wildly different from ten years ago when audio, or rather radio drama, was in decline across much of the English-speaking world. Drama had been dropped from radio stations in the US, was being phased out from popular listening in Canada and faced budget cuts in the UK and Ireland.
The roots of the reinvention go back to the early 1980s. Adaptations like the BBC’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Lord of the Rings and NPR/BBC’s Star Wars changed how radio drama was viewed. They gave rise to a later audio movie style and inspired a new generation of independents.
These “indie” producers pioneered the revival of the medium. Digitisation of sound-design during the 1990s and 2000s put the means of production back into the hands of hobbyist creatives. However, getting shows to audiences was costly and difficult; that was until podcasting delivered stories direct to iPods in 2003.
Just for the record, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was not an adaptation. Douglas Adams originally wrote it as a radio comedy & the books & TV series were the adaptations.