“Until I die”: Nigel Marsh’s plans for Five Of My Life
The Five Of My Life (5ML) is a podcast with a twist on the standard celebrity interview. The show is hosted by Nigel Marsh who asks his guests to talk about their favourite film, book, song, place and possession.
Podcast Week’s Trent Thomas caught up with Marsh to talk about how the podcast has evolved over the last few years and what to expect from the show’s future.
Marsh has interviewed a broad range of guests on his show from former Prime Ministers to artists and said it boils down to who he is interested in talking too.
“Julia Gillard fascinates me, as does the bloke who set up Sculptures by the Sea. It’s people who I am genuinely interested in. At the moment I am walking a tightrope. In 30 years time when it’s world famous, and people are begging to come on, I’ll be able to interview people who I just find interesting, who have absolutely no profile. And that won’t matter. But at the moment I have to do a judicious balance of the Kevin Rudd‘s, the Julia Gillards, the Will Anderson‘s and the Charlie Teo‘s. All of them are fabulous but I want to get it to a stage where it’s the format that’s famous and it will enable me to get on the brave firefighter from Wollongong who has got an interesting story and you haven’t had to have heard of her.”
The show launched in late 2018, and when asked about who the show has evolved in that time, Marsh said that it has developed in two key ways.
“The first thing that has evolved is that I am a less shit interviewer and on my day I can be quite good. The second thing is that it is still small but it’s found a place. People are starting to ask if they can come on rather than the other way round. People when they are asked to come on are saying yes more often. We had our two highest download months in a row and it’s going in a nice way. And I’m even more convinced in the beauty, power and uniqueness of the format. Five Of My Life is different and unique. There are lots of interview podcasts, which are great, and it’s people talking to each other. The format is what makes this different.”
When asked about the future Marsh said that protecting the format is the key.
“My humble aspiration is to release one episode every three weeks until I die, and then hand it over to my son for him to do the same. That’s the simple thing. The second thing is not to let anyone fuck it up. If I could get Oprah Winfrey, but she wanted to do six things not five, the answer is no. If I could get Tom Cruise and if he wanted to choose a TV series, not a film, the answer is no, it’s about polishing the diamond. And the diamond is the format.”
Marsh also said that it is also important to grow the show in the right way and to not be impatient.
“If Five Of my Life was on the front page of The Guardian or on The Australian every single day then people will have heard of it a lot. It’s about building its profile without spoiling it and without being too impatient. And as much as I want the David Attenborough’s and the Barrack Obama‘s or the Elon Musk‘s, that isn’t the point of the show. But I’d like to have your next-door neighbour, as well as Michelle Obama. I don’t want to chase, downloads and fame for the sake of it. I’m passionate about the beauty of the format.”
[Listen to The Five Of My Life here]
Shots fired as Abbie Chatfield takes her podcast to LiSTNR
Abbie Chatfield has signed with SCA to bring her candid podcast, It’s A Lot to LiSTNR, after the show initially launched on Nova.
Chatfield describes herself as the “anti-influencer influencer” and uses her platforms to talk about subjects such as mental health, body image, sex, vaccination, and bullying. On It’s A Lot, Abbie and her guests tackle topics that are often considered taboo.
New Zealand Podcast Ranker dominated by ZB and ZM hosts
Triton Digital released the first edition of Podcast Ranker for New Zealand last week. The top 10 of the podcasts ranked by monthly listens featured series from NZME/iHeartRadio, Audioboom, LiSTNR and Stitcher Media.
The podcast of the breakfast show from NewsTalk ZB host Mike Hosking topped the chart. That series was one of six NZME/iHeartRadio programs in the top 10. Australian chart-toppers that also featured near the top of the NZ ranker included Audioboom’s Casefile True Crime and LiSTNR’s Hamish & Andy.
In the ranking of the top networks, NZME/iHeartRadio easily topped the chart with 717,960 monthly listens and 3.2m downloads. Audioboom, Stitcher Media, MediaWorks Radio and Kast Media rounded out the top five.
Chris Jagger and Jerry Hall star on Hot Pie network
Austin based podcast network Hot Pie Media officially launched this week with an impressive array of programming. One of the three founders of the company is Chris Jagger (brother of Mick) who co-hosts one of the series with his former sister-in-law Jerry Hall. Their podcast together is called Jerry’s Hall of Fame and features Jerry paying tribute to some of the great music to come out of Texas that was connected to her years growing up in the Lone Star State.
Hot Pie Media produces, manages, distributes, promotes and monetises content. Its broad range of podcast topics include the arts, business/finance, comedy, crime, curiosity, and entertainment, to food, health, history, inspiration/spirituality, kids/family, Latino, lifestyle, music, news/politics, science/technology, society/culture, and TV/film.
Hot Pie Media’s podcasts include:
• Award-winning actor Chris Noth, “Mr. Big” from Sex and the City, joins Hot Pie Media to host new podcast, Old Man Take a Look at My Life.
• Emmy Award-winning actor Judge Reinhold hosts his new comedy podcast, Judge Reinhold’s Legal Briefs.
• From Rockstar to Wildlife Advocate, hosted by John Kay, founder and lead singer of the band Steppenwolf.
• Chris Jagger and his son, UK celebrity chef Arthur Potts Dawson (Mick Jagger’s nephew) co-host a foodie podcast Whatcha Got Cookin’.
Hot Pie Media’s music shows and specials are helped by having Shery Daly as a partner. Daly worked with The Rolling Stones for nearly 40 years, running their London management office and was personal manager to Charlie Watts for more than 30 years.
The Rolling Stones exclusive music specials include On the Covers of The Rolling Stones, Blues Licks and Paint it Blue. Hear the stories behind the rare Stones cuts and out-takes culled from their archived recordings.
Acast and BBC renew deal for podcast sales
BBC podcast aired outside of the UK are allowed to carry advertising and in the past that has been sold as part of an arrangement the British media group has with Acast. Just last week Acast revealed it had renewed the partnership and will continue to monetise BBC podcasts through advertising across international markets including Australia.
Acast and the BBC first started working together in 2018, when the BBC first opened up advertising space in its podcasts internationally. Since then, Acast and the BBC have worked to increase the number of listeners as well as the revenue for the BBC’s podcast portfolio, which covers news, drama, factual and entertainment. During this period, the BBC has launched over 300 new shows.
PodSpot Studios adds two new locations in Sydney and Gold Coast
PodSpot Studios, the first network of purpose-built studios founded by content creator and former breakfast radio host Dave Matthews, has launched in two new locations as it gears up for further national expansion amid Australia’s podcasting boom.
PodSpot Studios is a collaboration between Matthews’ podcast production company PodSpot and the ASX-listed WOTSO Property (ASX:WOT), which owns and operates a portfolio of coworking spaces Australia wide.
The new PodSpot Studios, located in WOTSO Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast and WOTSO Neutral Bay in Sydney, are available to WOTSO members, content creators, thought-leaders, entrepreneurs, and small business owners to hire from October 25.
Nova Podcasts launch Home Hacks with founders of ‘Mums Who’
Do you love to organise your home? Do you get a kick out of finding simple shortcuts and hacks? Desperate for expert tips to help you simplify your life? Nova’s new original podcast Home Hacks, which launched on Saturday 23 October, is the podcast for you.
Join the founders of ‘Mums Who’, Karlie Suttie and Rachael Hallett, to learn their best shortcuts, tips, tricks, and hacks to help manage your home and create spaces you feel relaxed in. Each weekly episode will focus on a different small space in your home. The bite sized episodes aim to keep things nice and simple and ensure listeners won’t get overwhelmed.
Home Hacks will provide practical tips on everything from organising your makeup storage to easy changes you can make to your laundry and broom closet to increase its functionality. The series will also feature seasonal tips, for instance, how to pack away your Christmas decorations so you avoid having thousands of tangled fairy lights next year.
Guardian Australia launches new climate podcast, Australia v The Climate
Former PMs, high-ranking politicians and climate experts blow the whistle on how Australia became an international climate change pariah in the new Guardian Australia podcast series, Australia v The Climate.
Guardian Australia will release a special investigative podcast series ahead of the Cop26 global climate summit, scrutinising Australia’s role in the climate crisis over more than two decades.
The five-episode special series will launch in the week leading up to the summit, taking listeners inside the special deals, bullying, and brief moments of hope that have marked Australia’s role in international efforts to address global heating.
Australian Podcast Awards has record entrants
This year’s Australian Podcast Awards (APAs) powered by Acast, has seen a record number of entries in 2021 with thousands of individual entries recorded across the country.
A state-based analysis of entries reveals Tasmania and The Australian Capital Territory more than doubled their entries whilst New South Wales saw a 40% increase, making them the fastest-growing podcast regions.
Matt Deegan, director at the Australian Podcast Awards, said:
“It’s incredible to see Australian podcasting go from strength-to-strength, year-on-year. What started as a niche medium has now grown at scale, with many Australian podcasts leading the way when it comes to both content and audience reach.”
“We’re thrilled that we have once again recorded a record year of entries to the Australian Podcast Awards – a true testament to the great breadth of podcasting talent and content here locally.”
