ANDthere were ten million before the pandemic, but, according to llatest research (June 2023) by NielsenIQ for AudibleAmazon company among the major suppliers together with Spotify, Storytel And Spreaders, there are currently over sixteen million podcast listeners. They are conquering not only Gen Z and Millennials, but also many over 55s. Who conceived them, coordinated them and brought them to the attention of the public they are increasingly women who are establishing themselves even in ideally masculine sectors such as science, crime news, finance and geopolitics.
The success of Elisa True Crime
At the top of the ranking of the most loved podcasts is Elisa De Marco, better known as Elisa True Crimefrom the name of the podcast, which turned his passion for crime reporting into a job. An episode a week has kept the public captivated for almost two years stories that explore, with respect, the psychological aspect of victims and executioners. Now he has launched the new series Invisible crimes – The crimes next door.
«Since I was a child I have looked for tools that would allow me to reconstruct the dynamics of crimes clearly. I started by creating in-depth videos on YouTube and soon the proposal to create podcasts arrived. Following me – he says – are mainly women, of all ages. Perhaps because we feel more in danger, we identify with these stories from which we try to learn. It happens that listeners thank me because through my content they recognize alarm bells in relationships.”
Self-taught, she follows every creative phase alone, supported by her husband Edoardo Coniglio for the technical aspect. «The assembly – he specifies – varies, depending on the case, from two to five days, immersed in scrupulous research and verification of the material».
Elisa De Marco, known as Elisa True Crime
At podcast school with Rossella Pivanti
For aspiring podcasters who want to undertake a training course, Rossella Pivanti, among the first independent Italian podcasters who collaborates with the major Italian brandsholds courses with lessons in storytelling, audio editing, marketing and practical experience in the recording studio.
«I have a majority of students, I provide them with skills to independently create their own podcast, publishing it for free on Spreaker or Spotify. Until recently, podcasts hosted by women mainly dealt with topics considered feminine. We managed to dismantle the cliché also thanks to training projects such as Sound Up, promoted by Spotify for women who have a narrative idea, but lack technical skills. We create new narratives without gender distinction” he explains, recalling his arrival in this sector, with a degree in screenwriting and long experience in radio, in 2017, when audio production in Italy was dominated by men.
Sara Poma for Chora Media: first Italian podcast company
He echoes her Sara Poma, author and curator of audio content for Middle Chorathe first Italian podcast company born in 2020, which until tomorrow, Sunday 18 February, offers the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Music, in Milan, Chora Volume 1, festival with the most loved voices in the audio entertainment scene.
«We rode a happy wave, we were born when the first podcasts were appearing in Italy and people were ready to add this new habit to their digital diet. We have entered a fragmented context by offering a complex catalog that responds to a continually growing need for narratives that excite and inform at the same time” explains Poma.
Thus they reach a large target. «We give space to female voices that in other contexts, due to the gender gap, might struggle to emerge» he adds, confiding in the hope that his podcasts, in which he mixes history and intimacy, will also Before, in which he tells the story of Maria Silvia Spolatofirst woman to declare herself lesbian in Italy, e Daughtersa journey to Argentina marked by dictatorship in search of a disappeared mother – attract an increasingly heterogeneous audience.
Science for all with Beatrice Mautino
As it happens for It takes a science edited by the science communicator Beatrice Mautino and the journalist Emanuele Meniettiof the online newspaper The post.
«There is a certain numerical balance between disseminators and disseminators, but we women are less visible. In my small way, I try to show that there is space for us too. It is important to make collective decisions in the scientific field” says Mautino who created the podcast during the pandemic, prompted by the numerous requests to clarify what concerned the virus received on social media.
Still maintains an active dialogue with its audience: «When constructing the episodes we often take inspiration from their requests to delve deeper into current affairs» gloss. Also for this reason, the formula used to reach people who had never been interested in science but felt the urgency of knowing the impact it has on their lives is combine rigorous construction of contents and lightness in exposition.
Mautino and Menietti take care of the writing and recording of the episodes, while the Il Post technicians manage the editing.
«In the podcast – he specifies – I can explain more complex concepts in a more direct way, without distractions, images or special effects. There are only our voices which, over time, become familiar.”
Podcaster, a new professional category
A large, ever-expanding family, in fact, has been created around this means of information and entertainment which proves to be complementary with other expressive formats – like the book for example Manipulators (Mondadori) recently published by Elisa True Crime – but above all it works like a company you become fond of.
«A new professional category is being consolidated that cannot be reduced to those who lend the voice, but includes roles such as technicians, project managers and sound designers which are also starting to be covered by women» finally underlines Poma.
Podcasts are free, but they generate a lot of revenue: there are sponsorships, adverts, paid extra episodes, merchandising. All you need is a microphone and a thirst for knowledge to cross the new frontier of communication together.
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