The professionalization and industrialization of the productive model of Argentine podcasts
A study of the business models of local networks and production companies between 2019 and 2020
Abstract
This article aims to analyze the particular situation of podcast production in Argentina between 2019 and 2020. To carry out this investigation, we considered the content, its commercialization, its distribution, and its modes of production. What makes this analysis relevant is the current moment or state of podcast production in Latin America and, specifically, in Argentina. Sellas and Bonet (2019) consider podcasts to be non-industrialized cultural productions.
Our investigation adopts a descriptive methodology to describe, analyze, and categorize the models studied in each case study (nine, in all). We use two main methods of gathering information: analysis of contents and features in apps, user profiles, websites, and other spaces; and in-depth, semi-structured interviews with key actors.
This article finds that podcasts have entered the digital radio ecosystem as cultural products that are rarely made in a professional, profitable manner. In the Argentine context, even the most popular podcasts have amateur or self-financed production values, due to the difficulty of generating revenue. This leads to contents with a mostly conversational aesthetic, with little investment in narrative formats. Spotify emerges as a key platform and a double-edged sword for industrialization and professionalization: it can open podcasts up to a wider audience, but it also makes them extremely reliant on the financing and production models of the local market.
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