Scott Bourne: “podcasting is here to stay”
Defined simply, podcasting it is a technology that allows you to listen to audio (and video) when you want, where you want, and how you want. It is to audio and video what blogging is to writing: A simple technology with revolutionary implications for both producers and consumers of content. Got something to say, or a performance you’d like to share? Podcast it, and they will come.
According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project (research that is now a year old), 29 percent of Americans over the age of 18 who own MP3 players have listened to podcasts. The popularity of podcasting is being fueled in part by how easy it is to create a podcast (especially if you use a Mac). But as you might expect, there’s a lot more to creating a quality podcast than meets the eye. If you’re considering a leap into podcasting, who better than a seasoned broadcasting professional to help you navigate these waters? That’s exactly what Scott Bourne is building a business around with his Bourne Media Group, a company he founded in Gig Harbor, Washington.
As someone who had a big hand in the creation of Internet broadcasting back in the 90s, Scott is uniquely positioned to do this well. But I’ll get out of the way and let him tell the story himself…
How’d you get started in broadcasting?
I was always interested in radio and when other kids were dreaming of hitting home runs or playing in the Super Bowl, I was dreaming about being on the radio. I spent an entire summer hounding the folks at my favorite radio station for a job when I was 16. They finally relented and let me push a broom for $1.25 an hour. That was the start.
On your website, www.bournemediagroup.com, you state “we helped invent Internet audio.” Who do you mean by “we,” and can you tell me more about your role in that?
I founded NetRadio with Scot Combs, a Minneapolis radio producer and with the help of two venture capitalists, Terry Mahoney and Rob Griggs. I was the company CEO. You can read a little about that here at: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.03/scans.html
It was my idea. And it started after seeing Rob Glaser (The founder of Real Networks) demonstrate a beta version of Real Audio 1.0 That led me to believe it would be possible to start a radio station on the Internet.
You must feel like a bit like a proud parent watching the proliferation of Internet radio. What are you focused on doing with your company, Bourne Media Group, today?
Well I do get a chuckle now and then when people act like using push technology to deliver audio is a new thing. I did it ten years ago when NetRadio partnered with a now defunct company called Pointcast. While there was no RSS involved, it had most of the elements of what we now call podcasting.
With Bourne Media Group, I hope to help companies understand and navigate the podcasting landscape. While we do all sorts of audio production, it’s the podcasting that I personally find most interesting.
Looking at your website I see that you’re also interested in photography. How have you been able to combine your interest in photography with your skills in broadcasting?
I do two podcasts right now that focus on photo-related issues. One is just getting started call ApertureTricks and it’s all about a new piece of software from Apple called Aperture – which is a photo workflow tool. I do another podcast called Photofocus (www.photofocus.com) and it’s more general. I am about to launch a third podcast that will incorporate some photo elements as they relate to Apple’s iPhoto called the iLifeZone with Chris Breen the editor of MacWorld and Derrick Story, the co-author of iPhoto The Missing Manual.
Are you a big Mac user?
I am a Mac guy but I can use a PC if I have to. I just like that Macs work right out of the box. We use them to produce our podcasts and get quick and easy results. I also appreciate not having to spend half my day hunting down and deleting spyware. And by the way, I am using my MacBook Pro as my primary computer now and loving it.
Me too. I LOVE my MacBook Pro. And thanks to Apple releasing Boot Camp a couple days ago, it’s now a snap to boot into Windows natively on the same machine (something I’ll occasionally do for testing). But enough about that. I’ve heard some respectable people say that podcasting is a fad. What’s your take on it? Who/what is it well suited for?
Well I remember when people said the Internet was a fad too. Any new technology, particularly one that may disintermediate present-day business, is immediately discounted. But I think podcasting is here to stay. Here’s why. It’s not so much that you can listen to (or watch) shows on an iPod. While important, the two biggest things driving podcasting are the democratization of media and putting the audience in control. Those are the two points that make podcasting a really big deal. The fact that you can have a Tivo – like experience with a radio show is also a big deal. People are busy and they no longer want the content providers to be in control of the time and place a show is delivered.
I also think that you need to look at the numbers. As of January, Apple has sold 42 million iPods. Add to that the millions they have sold since plus all the third-party personal media players, Tivo boxes, PDAs and cell phones that are out there and you have an audience that starts to rival the size of network television. People are going to do business where the audience is and portable devices are where the audience wants to be.
I could go on here but it would start to get boring. There is a business case for podcasting for nearly any business. You can use podcasts as training tools, to spread the word about new products and services to your customers and prospects, to establish your brand with any community, to provide a community service, to communicate with your investors and vendors and to open channels of communication with your employees. I’d be glad to discuss it more at length with any interested party.
One of the things I’ve noticed about podcasts is that a lot of them are poorly recorded and mastered, which makes them difficult to listen to. How hard is it to produce a quality podcast? Perhaps you’d be interested in teaching a Biznik class on the subject? I bet you’d get a lot of takers…
Well of course I’d be willing to teach a class on recording and yes it is hard to do it properly without training. But even when you know what you’re doing the equipment gremlins can get you. It happened to me today when working with a new piece of gear in my studio. Stuff goes wrong and then you get to face the fun challenge of figuring out how to fix it!
What’s the value of a networking group like Biznik to a successful business owner like you?
Well Bourne Media Group is a new venture for me. I had some very onerous non-competes expire after long periods of time and I am ready to share my experience with interested companies. I need all the help I can get spreading the word about what I do. I also have found networking to be rewarding on a personal level. In the past, I have made strong friendships that lasted outside the business environment with people I met while networking. Most networkers have an entrepreneurial bent that I find attractive and I like hanging out with people who have a dream.