Podcasts have become one of the most popular forms of entertainment, and for good reason. You can pretty much do anything while listening to one; driving to work, doing laundry, working (either at home or in the office.) Podcasts are a great way to get useful information on the go. According to the latest Infinite Dial survey from Edison One and Triton Digital, in 2020, 37% of Americans (age 12+) listened to at least one podcast each month. Up from 32% in 2019. The continued growth of podcast listening is expected. In 2020, an estimated 100 million people listened to a podcast each month. It’s expected to reach 125 million in 2022.
Although the desire for podcast have grown, unfortunately, like many forms of entertainment it lacks women of color in the forefront (hosts, producers, etc.) According to the Columbia Journalism Review “The iTunes Top 100 chart is dominated by shows featuring white hosts even as research shows the share of the podcast audience comprised of non-white listeners is growing fast.”
Some popular media streaming services, such as Spotify, are trying to change that. Their Sound Up program – an incubator program for the next generation of podcasters from underrepresented backgrounds. Sound Up’s inception was born on the goal to tackle representation disparities, and particularly cater to women of color in the audio space.
Kacie Willis is the host of You Heard Me Write. She brings together Atlanta-based creatives from different disciplines and backgrounds through art. The series has amassed wide popularity, recently trending on the platform. Each episode features emerging writers, musicians, sound designers and dynamic thinkers who collaborate on a multimedia project, without knowing the identities of their counterparts. We had a chance to chat with Kacie about how she got started, advice for the next generation of podcasters, and why it’s important for society to value the Arts.
How did you get into podcasting?
I’ve been an audio nerd my entire life and worked as a freelance theatrical sound designer pre-pandemic. In 2019, I was selected to participate in the Spotify Sound Up podcast accelerator and that was pretty much the catalyst for my journey into podcasting. The entire program showed me that podcasts quite purely are a form of audio storytelling. There were no limits on the types of stories that could be told. You Heard Me Write admittedly seemed like a crazy idea in my own head. Once I started to workshop the concept during Sound Up and received feedback from the program mentors it became apparent that there was no need to limit the possibilities for the show just because the concept was niche.
Any advice for the next generation wanting to get into that field?
My honest advice would be to hang around as many creative people as you can. Learning from other people is one of the best ways to get inspired to share and create stories. I’ve had countless conversations with my peers where one of them will randomly tell a story about their life or their perspective on an issue and I’ll just be like, “Man, this would make a great podcast episode!”
The Arts don’t get nearly as much respect as it deserves, considering it is the backbone of so many things that we enjoy. How are you using this podcast to show people just how important the Arts are?
As a person who has worked in the arts my entire career it sometimes feels like I’m being a little preachy when I talk to others about the importance of arts and culture in our society. I hope that this podcast serves as a tangible example of what is possible when complete strangers form a bond through creative collaboration. It shows how the arts can help us transcend our biases, assumptions and fears about folks in our communities that we may not interact with on a regular basis.
What’s your favorite thing about podcasting? Did you have a particular episode or guest that you enjoyed doing/having on the show?
My favorite thing about podcasting is providing a platform for folks that I really admire to be able to shine. It’s commonly known that I am not one who naturally seeks out the spotlight, so my role as producer on the show is definitely my favorite because I get to shape and cultivate the vibe of each episode and interact with some amazing artists and designers from behind the scenes. I know that it sounds corny but, every episode really is my favorite in completely different ways because every group of artists and their resulting artwork was so different. I’m also just grateful that our guests trusted our team to provide a safe recording environment during the pandemic which as you can imagine provided a whole host of challenges that we were able to navigate together.
How important is it to have more women of color on the airwaves?
I think having more women of color, specifically with subject matter expertise is important because so many of us in our respective fields know what it has felt like to be the only woman or person of color in the room. Sharing these experiences on the airwaves can potentially shed light on unique perspectives that can provide insight for both POC and non-POC alike. The more space that we can provide for women of color and really all marginalized people to share their voices, the more opportunity that we have to bridge societal knowledge gaps and hopefully set the groundwork for a more equal playing field in both work and life.
You can check out the podcast here:
Candace Green is a Birmingham, Alabama transplant by way of Washington DC. She enjoys reading, writing, cooking and eating amazing food, and Marvel movies. She is an author and blogger. You can follow her on IG: c_dog93
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