Introduce Wide Variety Of American Music, Old & New

My name is M.D. Spenser. My background is primarily in writing and journalism, but I have always been passionately involved with music.

My listeners are music-lovers around the world -- people who listen closely to music, who like being introduced to music they haven't heard before, and who enjoy music from a variety of genres and all different eras, rather than having each song sound just like the one before.

I started The Big Fat Wide Americana Hour in 2016, though I'd had it in mind for a few years before that.

The reason was simple. I think there is a lot of great music being made -- music that many people would love, if they heard it -- that is not supported by the big record companies.

I thought if I could lure people in with familiar music, like Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Guy Clark and Lucinda Williams, for example -- and then expose my listeners to other great songs that aren't backed by the machine -- I could accomplish two things: First, I could help these listeners broaden their music experience, and even enrich their lives in a small way.

And I hoped, too, that I could help these wonderful but lesser-known musicians make their livings. Because I think their work enhances our culture and enriches all our lives.

It didn't take me long to release my first episode. But it did take me quite a while to get good at editing and in having transitions during which, for example, a song fades out at the same time as my announcements begin.

Also, I use my voice much better now, and I edit the shows more skillfully, as well. Sometimes I cringe when I listen to my early shows. But there is no way to get better without starting out, doing it, and practicing. That's the way you hone your skills.

Each one-hour show takes me about 20 hours to produce. I do have a day job -- under another name I am a journalist -- but I am so passionate about this podcast that I often work late into the night.

I need to create a playlist that is varied -- in accordance with the show's concept -- and that will allow me to create a show that is one hour long to the exact second. It's a mark of professionalism.

I need to load the songs into the editing program. I need to write a script that is the proper length. I need to record the announcements and then load them into the editing program, as well. And then, by hook or by hook, I need to make the total time come out to 1:00:00 -- one hour, zero minutes, zero seconds.

So far -- four and a half years in -- I have not made any money from podcasting. I would love a sponsor, and -- seeing as my audience is composed of music lovers who listen closely to the songs -- a manufacturer of high-end audio equipment would be ideal.

Creating the shows is a challenge, and completing them -- and then hearing from listeners around the world -- is fulfilling. Even though I have, as yet, earned no money, and even though each one-hour show takes me about 20 hours to produce, I would miss it terribly if I stopped.

I worked my way up to more than 1,000 plays per month. However, then I had to switch host sites, and it is taking me a while to for people to find me again, and for popular websites to find and use my new RSS feed.

Because the fact is that I reached those lofty numbers -- around 14,000 plays in a year -- largely through my RSS feed being on popular websites. It was not primarily though my promotional efforts on Facebook and Twitter, but through big websites finding me and deciding to feature my podcast.

I use Audacity to produce the show. It's not perfect but it works, and I am far more proficient at it now than when I began. As I mentioned earlier, I now know how to talk over a song that is fading out -- or one that is fading in -- and the show has a faster-paced, more professional tone to it now than it did at the start. No dead air between songs, or between the end of a song and the start of an announcement.

I alluded to this earlier: the most effective marketing for me has been, quite simply, to be as professional and entertaining as possible, and then wait for popular sites to pick up my RSS feed.

Beyond that, I do use Facebook -- including some paid marketing -- and Twitter, as well. On Facebook, I now have 6,500 followers, so my posts promoting each show are seen by thousands of people who have previously shown an interest in the show. Still, in my experience, doing the most professional job you can and hoping a big site will pick up your show (with the RSS feed) is the the main engine of growth.

Don't worry if you don't know everything before you start. Experience is a great teacher. I edit the show more tightly now than I did at the beginning. I have learned to use my voice much better than I did when I first started. In fact, listening to some of my early shows makes me cringe now.

But the best way to learn and to hone one's skills is by doing. Plunge in; figure out out as you go. Hold yourself to a high standard -- put the show out at the same time every week, and make it the same length to the very second. That is professionalism.

With that practice, your skills will improve. And you will look back on your early shows and realize just how much better you have become.

My home page is bigfatwideamericanahour.com. There is also a Wikipedia page for M.D. Spenser, which has information about the show.

Beyond that, my M. D. Spenser Facebook page is very active -- kind of ground zero for news and promotion. And my Twitter feed is quite active, as well @mdspenser.