Combing the Stacks

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► Tell us about you and your podcast

The three of us met while we were in graduate school at the University of Florida in the mid-2000s. We didn't know each other before meeting but were bonded by a shared love of music (especially live music) and pop culture. Our backgrounds are very different, so our preferred musical genres cover a wide spectrum of popular music.

Fast forward to the start of 2020 in which each of us were living in a different part of the country. We decided that we wanted a chance to have our traditional conversations about music, but in a more interactive format. We kicked around some ideas before deciding that a chronological journey through popular music, starting with the 1960s, was a great idea. This led to the idea of a podcast and a three segment format where we each handled a long-form biography of the artist.

We rooted our album choices on two separate lists: the Best Ever Albums Top 100 lists for each decade (for regular episodes) and the Rolling Stones Top 500 Albums of All Time (for bonus episodes). In June 2020, we kicked off season 1 with a total of 34 episodes and 6 bonus shows. As of March 2021, we had moved into the 1970s where as of October 2021 (when I write this synopsis) we are at episode 21 of 34.

Our listeners have been a pleasant surprise. Our largest listening group is between the ages of 18-25 who are devouring music themselves. These listeners double as our most active listeners and participate with us through YouTube and Twitter primarily. Our second largest listening group is long-time music fans who listened to the music as teenagers. This group is between the ages of 55-75. They tend to seek out shows on specific artists that they love. Finally, we have a large group of music fans in between our core demographics who just love music and discussing it. These are steady listeners who listen to most if not all of our episodes.
 

► Why & how did you start this podcast? 

Podcasting seemed a natural outgrowth of the types of conversations we have when we are together. Many of our friends and colleagues have said that the show sounds exactly like sitting on a couch with the three of us and we hope to make it a platform in which you can be interactive with our discussion, even if it is after the show.

In a utopian world, our podcast would lead to us finding a collection of like-minded souls who would attends shows/festivals together, cultivate playlists and simply discuss music across genres and time periods. One of our great goals is to have fans who are both novices and lifelong music fans, musicians and non-musicians, and fans in a variety of countries who share the common bonds of music, history, and current events.

One of the neat things about starting a podcast with little to no experience is the ability to listen to your shows from a growth standpoint. When we began the show, we were a true DIY outfit, recording into our phones, trying out segments, and experimenting with audio and formatting. As time went on, we learned some things on our own and applied the feedback of others to create a more polished show. The whole process of starting a podcast went from idea to first episode in two weeks. While I sometimes wish that we had taken time to learn (and feel our early shows are not reflective of our current ones), it does fit into the idea of a band that started out playing house parties and bars on the weekend with hopes of one day making it big!
 

► How'd you find the time and funding to do this podcast?

We release a show every week with a staggered format. For three weeks of a month, we cover three albums in long-form from the Top 100 albums for that decade as ranked by besteveralbums.com. The fourth week is referred to as our "Cold Listen/Hot Take" show in which we collect albums that did not make the Best Ever Albums list, but did make the Rolling Stones Top 500 list, and do shorter, more review based shows.

Our editing process takes around 3 hours per week. We start by doing a montage of songs for the opening, selecting pre-segment audio and formatting the show's opening segments. Once we record, we then edit the show for sound, add post-show audio based on our discussion, and advertise across our platforms. This doesn't factor in the critical listening of the albums for the show which does take a fair amount of time as well.

Our podcast is very DIY, so all funding is done individually and out of our own pockets. Luckily, the cost of the show on a week-to-week basis is low after the initial investment for equipment, name/licensing of the show, etc.
 

► What do you gain from podcasting?        

We have not looked to monetize our show and are still unsure of whether we ever would take this step. Part of the appeal of the show is the fact that we aren't overly polished: we want an authentic feel with just enough polish to not feel like an amateur production. I believe that any sponsor we would take on would have to be tied into the fundamental missions of the show (i.e. something we would actually use or promote ourselves). A sponsorship would be less of a money-making endeavor and more a continued part of the education process for both us and our listeners.

Podcasting has been a lifesaver (and even more so during the pandemic) because it has moved us from mere fans to burgeoning experts on both 60s and 70s music due to immersion in the material. In addition, we've cultivated relationships with several other podcasts who've both guested on our show and on whose shows we've guested. In addition, podcasting serves as a creative outlet for all of us as we are not the type of individuals to sit on a format and not make changes.
 

► How does your podcasting process look like? 

We record the show through Cleanfeed, edit primarily with Audacity, and publish our episodes with Anchor. While the show is primarily the three of us and our material, we've brought on podcast hosts from other shows with whom we've developed relationships on Twitter as well as friends from our "real lives" who can add context and insight into specific artists or music genres.

When we do interviews, we invited them a Zoom, do a pre-recording discussion, and then record in a Cleanfeed segment with three hosts and the guests.

Each episode is formatted with a pre-recording meeting of no more than 15 minutes in which we bring ideas for the show, discuss non review segments ("Cleaning the Stacks," "Josh's Movie Corner," "The Essential Question") and our music choices for the show.
 

► How do you market your show?

We marked our show primarily through Twitter and YouTube, but are actively looking to expand our reach. We have averaged between 125 and 150 unique listeners a week and have been heard by listeners in 44 states and 42 countries. We get analytic reports each weekend from Apple, Spotify, Anchor and Google to monitor our audience and both its composition and numbers.

We've found that our greatest number of listeners have spawned from our Twitter account as well as word of mouth from the hosts on other podcasts. The numbers seem to indicate that once we can get someone to listen, we're able to keep them. However, expanding our reach to general music fans while covering older music is our biggest challenge.
 

► What advice would you share with aspiring (new) podcasters?

1) Take a few weeks to make practice shows before airing your first show. This is the one major mistake I feel that we made in our excitement to become creators.

2) Find a few people who will listen to your show regularly from a variety of backgrounds. Some should have an interest in the material and some should be lukewarm on the subject. This allows for you to get insight into your target audience and casual listeners as well as get real feedback on what you're getting right and wrong.

3) Be active on Twitter but not too active. We have been able to connect with some very cool people in a very low stress way. Also, make your interactions kind and not adversarial. Luckily, that is our personalities, but it has given us a network of very friendly (and passionate) fans!
 

► Where can we learn more about you & your podcasts?

Twitter: @CombingThe
Anchor: anchor.fm/combingthestacks (this site includes links to 10 other platforms as well)
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7-DWaPDG1AGY-giXO6jhtw
E-Mail: combingthestacks@gmail.com