5 Takeaways From On Air Fest That Tell Us What’s Coming Next In Podcasting

Today, it’s difficult to find a headline that doesn’t mention the perilous state of the audio industry’s future. The media points to slowing ad markets, layoffs, and a general sense of uncertainty. But we at work x work doesn’t share that sense of dread. While we do agree that the future of the audio industry will likely look different than it does today, we disagree that it must change for the worse. We believe the industry is growing and changing. Evolving into something more immersive and less solitary.

On Air Fest’s team of producers and curators at work x work approach the art of podcasting in a multidimensional way that is unmatched in the current landscape. Following their week spent taking over Brooklyn’s Wythe Hotel, here are five takeaways and trends that emerged, further redefining the creative possibilities of sound:

1. Podcasting goes beyond the app
   The inaugural edition of On Air: The Podcast Experience delivered the first-ever immersive installation devoted entirely to podcasts. Listeners physically stepped into newly imagined, tactile worlds of different shows including On Being, Radiolab, The Heart, Object of Sound and My Favorite Murder.
2. Fans want collective listening experiences
   On the debut of On Air: The Podcast Experience, The Associated Press added that it had “listening to a podcast is something one tends to do alone, but a new set of displays has transformed the podcast into a groundbreaking immersive experience.”
3. Creators are taking control
   In an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at smash hit Normal Gossip, host Kelsey McKinney and producer Alex Sujong Laughlin described how they retained both creative and intellectual ownership of the show as they switched networks. The importance of IP and independence mirrored in other media sectors is increasingly apparent in podcasting.
4. Here to each other
   Now in its seventh year, On Air Fest is where partnerships are forged, collaborators meet, and friends reconnect. The festival proved that there’s a thriving community of storytellers and audio creatives who find belonging through their medium.
5. Podcasting is transcending
   Of-the-moment conversations and show launches from multiple networks prove podcasting’s place in the broader hierarchy of art, culture, entertainment and current events.

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