SCA’s LiSTNR has taken a handful of guests into the World of LiSTNR as part of its Audio Amplified event, overlooking the harbour at Sydney’s Campbell’s Stores.
After taking a trip through a tunnel lit up in LiSTNR green – that would not have been out of place as a Vivid installation – guests found themselves in the bedroom of an average Australian. People watched as a live actor rolled out of bed and began his morning routine, switching on some of LiSTNR’s news podcasts as he ironed his shirt and got ready for the day.
Then it was through to the next room, where guests found themselves in the gym with another average Australian. As she worked out on the treadmill, she flicked through LiSTNR’s catalogue of health and wellness podcasts and some of the upbeat music mixes to get her through the last set.
Next, guests joined another average Australian on his commute to work. He wasn’t too annoyed when his train was delayed – stuck in the city circle again – because it gave him more time to catch up on some of the radio catch-up podcasts that LiSTNR offers, particularly the Marty Sheargold Show. Once he got to work at his open plan office, it was headphones back on and back into the world of LiSTNR to get him through the day.
Finally, guests entered a home kitchen where the last average Australian was cooking dinner for her family with a glass of wine after a long day. Winding down, she flicked through a series of LiSTNR’s cooking and lifestyle podcasts, before ultimately deciding to end the day with a giggle, putting on Hamish and Andy.
After the interactive experience wrapped up, guests were taken back downstairs, where a special guest panel kicked off the afternoon.
Taking to the stage were head of factual and drama content at LiSTNR, Jennifer Goggin; host of The Howie Games, Mark Howard; host of It’s A Lot, Abbie Chatfield; and CEO of SCA, Grant Blackley. Hosting the proceedings was Grant Tothill, general manager digital audio.
Speaking about why he loves podcasting so much, Howard said “For me, I work as a broadcaster on radio and TV – which is absolutely brilliant – but it doesn’t have the same connectivity, it doesn’t have the same intimacy that podcasting does.”
This proved to be a theme that arose many times over the day. The panel covered a number of topics, from the statistics behind long form content consumption, all the way through to why a porn star talking about her worst client has been Chatfield’s most memorable podcast moment to date. No matter where the discussion went, however, it came back to the fact that podcasting allows a deep connection between the presenters, guests, and audiences.
This was cited by Blackley as one of the reasons that audio continues to grow despite an increasingly fractured media landscape.
Grant Blackley
“We’re not like the TV industry, Blackley said. “There is less consumption because of the digital disruption by streamers, and the same for magazines and newspapers. Audio doesn’t have that problem, radio doesn’t have that problem, and the advent and development of podcasting has grown the audio marketplace.”
Goggin followed up from an audience perspective, saying that “podcasting was the democratisation of broadcast in a lot of ways.
“Audio has always been really strong as a companion. We don’t want to be sitting in silence, and what audio can offer us through education, connectivity, and immersion is just so powerful. I think that’s what people are gravitating towards.”
As the session began to wrap up, Blackley dropped a particularly interesting hint about what may be in store for the future of the company.
“One day you might even see that we’re no longer called SCA, you might see us called LiSTNR,” he said.
“When I joined the company just over seven and a bit years ago, it fundamentally was a radio company called Austereo, and it was a television company called Southern Cross Broadcasting, which became Southern Cross Austereo.
“I could see a world where if [LiSTNR] is in the centre of our universe, and it is driving all of our growth and ambitions, and houses all of our product – maybe there’s a natural extension there.”