A music podcast is a genre of podcasts covering topics related to music and musicians, which often includes reviews, interpretations, new releases, musician interviews, music history, music creation, and music theory.

History

Music podcasts date back to the dawn of podcasting when former MTV VJ

Adam Curry Adam Clark Curry (born September 3, 1964) is an American podcaster, announcer, Internet entrepreneur and media personality, known for his stint as a VJ on MTV and being one of the first celebrities to personally create and administer Web site ...

and tech columnist and former

TechTV TechTV is a defunct 24-hour cable and satellite channel based in San Francisco featuring news and shows about computers, technology, and the Internet. In 2004, it merged with the G4 gaming channel which ultimately dissolved TechTV programming ...

Host John C. Dvorak coined the term

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

. Among the first music podcasts was ''AudioFile Airwav'', a digital audio counterpart to the

music series '' AudioFile'' which featured interviews with popular musicians, digital music trends and music related gear reviews. Created and hosted by

Kris Kosach Kris Kosach is an American television host and radio personality, producer, and writer. She is best known for her work as one of the first VJs on MTV2 and as a Music Host for TechTV. She has also hosted multiple shows for Travel Channel. Career Ko ...

, AudioFile Airwav was initially available only through techtv.com and syndicated on TechTV Radio until it was uploaded by

James Kim James Kim (August 9, 1971December 4, 2006) was an American television personality and technology analyst for the former TechTV international cable television network, reviewing products for shows including ''The Screen Savers'', ''Call for Help' ...

to the iTunes Music Store in 2005. It remained there until the company was sold to Comcast. Another early music podcast, called '' Coverville'', was started in 2004. ''

Accident Hash Charles "C.C." Chapman is an American author, marketing consultant, and frequent speaker about content marketing. He is a former manager of PodShow's Podsafe Music Network, and was a prominent figure in the community of podcasting and podsafe ...

and Irish & Celtic Music Podcast'' and began podcasts the following year. Positive Feedback Magazine began hosting one of the earliest music podcast in the Fall of 2005. The show, hosted by Austin Jackson, was called the ''Boston Audio HiFi Industry Podcast''. In each episode, Austin Jackson would take user-submitted questions and spend thirty minutes interviewing musicians and other figures in the music industry. Spotify was one of the earliest platforms to produce music podcasts and has launched the most music podcasts when compared with other platforms. Spotify launched their first Spotify original music podcast, entitled ''Clarify'', in the Fall of 2016. They announced on February 23, 2017, that they would be launching three additional Spotify original music podcasts. The first was entitled ''Showstopper'', which discussed memorable music moments on TV. The next was ''Unpacked'', a podcast focused on interviewing music festival goers across the United States. The third podcast, originally called ''The Chris Lighty Story'' but later renamed to ''Mogul'', was about the life and career of the late music executive

Chris Lighty Darrel Steven "Chris" Lighty (May 8, 1968 – August 30, 2012) was an American music industry executive. He co-founded Violator, a record label, management and marketing company, which represented hip hop and R&B artists such as Busta Rhymes ...

. In 2018, Spotify signed exclusive deals with two more music podcasts—'' The Joe Budden Podcast'' and ''Dissect''. However, Joe Budden took his podcast off of Spotify two years later when he decided that the company was too difficult to work with and was "pillaging his audience." In 2020, Spotify celebrated Latinx Heritage Month by promoting latinx music and podcasts, which included the music podcasts entitled ''Sound Stories: Reggaeton'', ''Made in Medellín'', and ''California Love''. The platform also hosted the Spotify exclusive music podcast entitled ''Transmissions: The Definitive Story of Joy Division & New Order'' and ''The Ringer Music Show''. Spotify launched the platform exclusive country music podcast entitled ''Country Shine with Graham Bunn''. In 2020, The platform released the Spotify exclusive Disney music podcast entitled ''Soul Stories'' on Christmas Day. In 2021, the platform partnered with Dreamville to launch the Spotify original music podcast entitled ''The Messenger''. The podcast was based on Bobi Wine's life. Other music podcasts that are Spotify exclusives include ''Wind of Change'' and '' Lost Notes''. Many other music services, radio stations, and news organizations have produced or funded music podcasts, which are sometimes exclusive to their own platforms. For instance,

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...

released the music podcast ''My 90s Playlist'',

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

and

Wondery Wondery is an American podcast network and publisher of numerous award-winning podcasts, including Dirty John, Dr. Death, and The Shrink Next Door. Wondery was founded in 2016 by entrepreneur and media executive Hernan Lopez. The company was lau ...

launched ''Jacked: Rise of the New Jack Sound'', iHeartRadio released ''Speed of Sound'', and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

launched ''Louder Than A Riot''. Sony Music, however, has stated that they did not intend to only produce music podcasts. In June 2020, iTunes started hosting the music podcast entitled ''The Zane Lowe Interview Series'' hosted by Zane Lowe. The ''Talkhouse'' podcast is also on iTunes. One of the top music podcasts on iTunes was ''Cocaine & Rhinestones'' in 2018. Google launched its first music podcast, entitled ''City Soundtracks'', around the same time Spotify released ''Showstopper''. Music podcasts have also been produced independently by musicians or music enthusiasts. For example,

Sylvan Esso Sylvan Esso is an American electronic pop duo from Durham, North Carolina, formed in 2013. The band consists of singer Amelia Meath (born July 2, 1988) and producer Nick Sanborn (born March 8, 1983). They made their debut with the single "Hey Ma ...

and Pharrell Williams have created their own independent podcasts as well as

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a ...

Music in podcasts and licensing

Creating music for podcast transitions and backgrounds has been a way for music students and obscure bands to showcase their work. For example, Mark Henry Phillips the composer of the music for the podcast Serial. And music podcasts can provide an easy way for obscure artists to get interviews and publicity. Some music podcasts have been removed from platforms for containing music that wasn't licensed by the podcaster, which has been an issue for transition and background music in the podcasting scene as well.

Reception

According to Marcus J. Moore of the Washington Post, the ''All Songs Considered'' and ''Tiny Desk Concerts'' podcasts consistently top the iTunes and Stitcher charts with 2.3 million downloads a month as of April 2016. Forbes mentions ''Washed Up Emo'', ''Song Exploder'', and ''City Soundtracks'' as examples of music podcasts and discusses the profitability of podcasts''.'' Music streaming services began expanding into podcasting because music podcasts are complementary to music and draw a wider audience to their platforms.

Notable examples

Emma Carey of

Esquire Magazine ''Esquire'' is an American men's magazine. Currently published in the United States by Hearst Communications, it also has more than 20 international editions. Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and World War II under t ...

compiled a list of the best music podcasts for discovering and digesting music. The list included ''

Song Exploder ''Song Exploder'' is a music podcast created by Hrishikesh Hirway, who hosted it from its 2014 inception until late 2018 and again from December 2019 onwards. In January 2019, Thao Nguyen became a guest host for the year, with Christian Koons se ...

'' hosted by Thao Nguyen, ''Dissect'' hosted by Cole Cuchna, ''Louder Than a Riot'' hosted by Rodney Carmichael and Sidney Madden, ''

Switched on Pop ''Switched on Pop: How Popular Music Works, and Why it Matters'' is a 2019 nonfiction book written by Charlie Harding and Nate Sloan with illustrations provided by Iris Gottlieb. The book covers pop music from a musicological perspective. The boo ...

'' hosted by Nate Sloan and Chris Harding, ''

Questlove Supreme ''Questlove Supreme'' is a weekly podcast hosted by The Roots drummer Questlove. Episodes are released on Wednesdays on iHeartMedia. A combination of interviews, humor, pop culture and music, the program features guests such as Maya Rudolph, So ...

'' hosted by Ahmir Khalib Thompson, ''Rolling Stone: Music Now'' hosted by

Rolling Stone Magazine ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cove ...

, ''

All Songs Considered ''All Songs Considered'' is a weekly online multimedia program started in January 2000 by NPR's ''All Things Considered'' director Bob Boilen. At first, the show featured information and streaming audio about the songs used as bumper music on ...

'' hosted by

Bob Boilen Bob B Boilen (b. April 10, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York City) is an American musician and media personality. He is the host and creator of NPR's online music show ''All Songs Considered'' and NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts series. In 1979 Bob Boilen p ...

and Robin Hilton, ''Talkhouse'' host by the Talkhouse Media, ''Lost Notes'' hosted by

KCRW KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to program ...

, and ''No Effects'' hosted by Jesse Cohen. Dan Price of Make Use Of Magazine compiled a list of the best 2019 music podcasts that are Spotify originals or hosted exclusively on the Spotify platform. The list included ''Showstopper'' hosted by Naomi Zeichner, '' The Joe Budden Podcast'' hosted by

Joe Budden Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American media personality and former rapper. He first gained recognition as a rapper with his 2003 top 40 single " Pump It Up" and as a member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse. In ...

, ''Dissect'' hosted by Cole Cuchna, ''Microphone Check'' hosted by Frannie Kelley and

Ali Shaheed Muhammad Ali Shaheed Muhammad (born August 11, 1970) is an American hip hop DJ, record producer, and rapper, best known as a member of A Tribe Called Quest. With Q-Tip and Phife Dawg (and sometimes Jarobi White), the group released five studio albums ...

, ''Fest and Flauschig'' hosted by

Jan Böhmermann Jan Böhmermann () (born 23 February 1981) is a German satirist, journalist, and podcast and television host. He also worked as a writer, producer, radio host, and is best known for his activism through publicity stunts. Early life and educati ...

and Olli Schulz, ''MotoGP Podcast'' hosted by Spotify Studios and Dorna Sports, ''Are and Be'' hosted by Spotify Studios, ''David's out for a Good Time'' hosted by David Olshanetsky, ''Under Cover'' hosted by Spotify Studios, and ''Amy Schumer Presents: 3 Girls, 1 Keith'' hosted by

Amy Schumer Amy Beth Schumer (born June 1, 1981) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She ventured into comedy in the early 2000s before appearing as a contestant on the fifth season of the NBC reality competition series ''Last Comic Standing'' ...

. John Kennedy of Clash Magazine compiled a list of the best music podcasts to listen to during the COVID-19 pandemic lock down. The list included ''Tape Notes'' hosted by John Kennedy, ''The Adam Buxton Podcast'' hosted by Adam Buxton, ''James Acaster's Perfect Sounds'' hosted by James Acaster, ''Elevenses'' hosted by Danielle Perry, ''Bugeye's Rock Pop Rambles'' hosted by Angela Martin, and ''Tales From No Man's Land'' hosted by Frank Turner. Bianca Rodriguez of

Marie Claire Magazine ''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on wo ...

compiled a list of the best music podcasts. The list included ''Song Exploder'', ''Broken Record'', ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

'', ''Hit Parade'', ''Tiny Desk Concerts'', ''Riffs On Riffs'', ''Popcast'', ''Your Favorite Band Sucks'', ''Rolling Stone Music Now'', ''Song vs. Song'', and ''Disgraceland''. Anne Bensfield and Pamela Rogers of the School Library Journal compiled a list of the best music podcasts for starting off the year 2021.

Adaptions

Music podcasts have been adapted into other mediums such as ''Song Exploder'', which was adapted into a Netflix original film.

Awards

''Above the Basement'' won the 2020

Boston Music Awards Founded in 1987, the Boston Music Awards are a set of music awards given annually that showcase talent in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. Past shows have featured such notable talent as Aerosmith, Paula Cole, Esperanza Spalding, Boston, Rubyho ...

for best Music Podcast / Radio Show of the Year. The 2020 iHeartRadio nominees for best music podcast included ''All Songs Considered'' by NPR, ''Bobbycast'' by iHeartRadio, ''Broken Record'' ''with Malcolm Gladwell, Rick Rubin, and Bruce Headlam'' by

Pushkin Industries Pushkin Industries is an American publisher of podcasts and audiobooks. It was co-founded in 2018 by Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Weisberg. As of 2021, it hosts over 25 podcasts. History The company was co-founded in 2018 by Malcolm Gladwell and Jac ...

, ''DISGRACELAND'' by iHeartRadio, ''expediTIously with Tip 'T.I.' Harris'' by PodcastOne, ''Song Exploder'' by Radiotopia, ''Sound Opinions'' by WBEZ Chicago. The winner of the 2020 iHeartRadio award for best music podcast was ''DISGRACELAND''. The 2021 iHeartRadio nominees for best music podcast include ''Bobbycast'' by The Nashville Podcast Network, ''Broken Record'' by Pushkin Industries, ''Disgraceland'' by Jake Brennan, ''Dolly Parton's America'' by WNYC & OSM Audio, and ''Song Exploder'' by Hrishikesh Hirway. ''Dolly Parton's America'' by WNYC & OSM Audio won the 2021 iHeartRadio award for best Music Podcast. The People's Choice Podcast Award for Best Music Podcast has been awarded to ''Coverville'', ''Accident Hash'', ''Catholic Rockers'', ''Irish & Celtic Music Podcast'', ''JuRY'', ''The Modern Vinyl Podcast'', and ''

''.

References

External links

Music podcasts
on

Music podcasts
on iHeartRadio
Music podcasts
on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

{{Podcasting Music podcasts