No Mercy / No Malice: The Podcast Election

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway – "No Mercy / No Malice: The Podcast Election"

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Introduction

In the episode titled "No Mercy / No Malice: The Podcast Election," Scott Galloway delves into the transformative role of podcasting in contemporary politics, particularly focusing on its impact during the recent election cycle. Galloway explores how podcasts have emerged as a dominant medium, reshaping political campaigns and influencing voter behavior, especially among younger demographics.

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The Ascendancy of Podcasting in Politics

Galloway begins by asserting the unprecedented influence podcasting held in the recent election. He underscores that podcasting became the "mass medium of our time," directly contributing to the political landscape in ways traditional media could not match.

Scott Galloway [01:51]: "The election proved that podcasting is the mass medium of our time."

He highlights key instances where podcast platforms served as pivotal stages for political figures. Notably, former President Donald Trump's appearances on popular podcasts like "The Joe Rogan Experience" garnered massive audiences and significantly boosted his visibility among young male listeners.

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Podcasting vs. Traditional Media

A significant portion of the discussion contrasts podcasting with traditional media outlets such as cable TV and radio. Galloway emphasizes that podcasts offer a more intimate and flexible environment, allowing hosts and guests to engage in lengthy, unfiltered conversations without the constraints of time slots or editorial oversight.

Unnamed Speaker 2 [04:07]: "It was the testosterone election. The only thing I'm fairly certain of is what medium played a pivotal role for the first time in young people's decision to violently pivot to Trump. Podcasts."

Galloway points out that traditional media often sanctify existing beliefs, whereas podcasts facilitate the exploration of new ideas and direct engagement with the audience. This difference makes podcasting a more effective tool for reaching and persuading younger, more male demographics.

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Demographics and Advertising Appeal

The episode delves into the demographics that make podcast audiences particularly attractive to advertisers and political campaigns. Galloway notes that podcast listeners are predominantly young, affluent males with disposable income, making them a coveted segment for advertisers and politicians alike.

Unnamed Speaker 1 [07:28]: "The typical listener of my Profg podcast is 35 male and makes about 150k a year."

He contrasts this with the audiences of traditional cable networks like Fox News and MSNBC, which skew older and female, thus less appealing for campaigns aiming to engage younger voters.

Unnamed Speaker 1 [07:28]: "Among Fox's 3.5 million regular viewers, 70% are 50 and over and 45% are women."

This demographic advantage positions podcasts as a superior medium for campaigns seeking to build name recognition and mobilize young male voters.

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Effectiveness of Podcast Advertising

Galloway discusses the economic aspects of podcasting, particularly its advertising revenue potential. He explains that podcast ad revenues are growing rapidly, rivaling and even surpassing those of established digital platforms like Alphabet and Meta.

Unnamed Speaker 1 [10:47]: "I believe Podcast revenue is going to grow faster than that of every other digital platform with the possible exception of TikTok."

The intimate nature of podcasts, where ads are seamlessly integrated into content, leads to higher engagement and trust among listeners. This environment offers advertisers a better return on investment compared to more intrusive traditional advertising methods.

Unnamed Speaker 1 [12:00]: "A listener's guard isn't up. Tom Brokaw never had that kind of relationship with his audience."

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Podcasting's Competitive Edge and Challenges

The conversation then shifts to podcasting's inherent advantages over traditional media, such as lower production costs and greater flexibility. Galloway highlights how podcasters can produce content with minimal infrastructure, allowing for rapid scaling and dissemination.

Unnamed Speaker 1 [15:13]: "The leverage on my time is substantial. The combination of broad reach and low overhead translates to more for less for advertisers and talent."

However, Galloway also acknowledges the challenges within the podcasting landscape, notably the "winner-take-most" dynamic. With over 600,000 podcasts available, only the top 10 capture half of the ad revenue, making success highly competitive and difficult to achieve for new entrants.

Unnamed Speaker 1 [18:10]: "If you're a high school drama student... you're two times more likely to win an Academy Award than have a sustainable pod."

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Political Implications and Future Outlook

Galloway concludes by reflecting on the broader political implications of podcasting's rise. He suggests that the medium's ability to engage and influence voters is only beginning to be fully understood and harnessed. As podcasting continues to grow, its role in shaping political narratives and outcomes is expected to become even more significant.

Unnamed Speaker 2 [19:05]: "The political power of podcasting is only beginning to be felt. This election was supposed to be a referendum on bodily autonomy. It wasn't."

He forecasts that podcasting will maintain its upward trajectory, with continued growth in both audience reach and advertising revenue, solidifying its position as a critical tool in both political campaigns and broader cultural discourse.

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Conclusion

In "No Mercy / No Malice: The Podcast Election," Scott Galloway provides a comprehensive analysis of podcasting's transformative impact on politics and media. By highlighting its demographic advantages, economic potential, and strategic importance in modern campaigns, Galloway illustrates why podcasting has become an indispensable medium in today's attention economy. As podcasting continues to evolve, its influence on political narratives and voter engagement is poised to expand, marking it as a pivotal force in shaping the future of media and politics.

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Notable Quotes

• Scott Galloway [01:51]: "The election proved that podcasting is the mass medium of our time."
• Unnamed Speaker 2 [04:07]: "It was the testosterone election."
• Unnamed Speaker 1 [10:47]: "I believe Podcast revenue is going to grow faster than that of every other digital platform with the possible exception of TikTok."
• Unnamed Speaker 1 [18:10]: "If you're a high school drama student... you're two times more likely to win an Academy Award than have a sustainable pod."
• Unnamed Speaker 2 [19:05]: "The political power of podcasting is only beginning to be felt."

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This summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights from the episode, providing a thorough overview for those who have not listened to the podcast. By highlighting the strategic advantages of podcasting in political campaigns, Galloway offers valuable perspectives on the evolving media landscape and its implications for future elections.

Transcript

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[Scott Galloway]

Scott Galloway and this is no mercy, no malice. The election proved that podcasting is the mass medium of our time. The Podcast Election as read by George Hahn.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

I'm still in my pajamas, haven't changed since Tuesday night. I'm also drinking a fair amount and.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Toggling between Netflix shows.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Nobody wants this, which is pleasant but uber cliche. That is stupid and monsters, which as.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

The father of two boys, I find.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Just plain disturbing in some. For me, it's Covid again. Even my stocks are going up. So 2021 I've received 22 emails in.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

The past 24 hours.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

When I'm down, I obsess over inconsequential data as a coping mechanism, asking for my thoughts on the election. My reflexive desire or megalomaniacal belief that.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

I can comfort strangers leads me to.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Remind them that nothing is ever as.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Good or as bad as it seems.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

And that the US remains the US.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

The richest and freest country on earth. This election was neither what I wanted.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Nor expected, but I'm still very much looking forward to moving back to America. I just read the previous paragraph and.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

It'S sort of true.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Sort of my disbelief and despair are shapeshifting to anger a narcissist.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

President Biden crowned an untested candidate and asked her in 107 days to overcome the crises of immigration and inflation and the burden of an unpopular incumbency. When two thirds of the country says we're on the wrong track, there's no way someone from the current administration can credibly claim to be a change agent.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Much less the disruptor people are looking.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

For in an age of rage.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

I am going on AC360, MSNBC and Smerkanish to discuss the mail vote.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

This election gave us the opposite of.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

The expected referendum on bodily autonomy.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

It was the testosterone election. The only thing I'm fairly certain of is what medium played a pivotal role for the first time in young people's.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Decision to violently pivot to Trump. Podcasts. And that's what this post is about.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

New forms of media periodically reshape our culture and politics.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

FDR mastered radio, JFK leveraged tv, and Reagan nailed cable news. Obama energized young voters via the Internet.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Trump hijacked the world's attention on Twitter.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

This year it was podcasting.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

The three biggest media events of this fall were the Debate and Harrison Trump's respective appearances on Call Her Daddy and the Joe Rogan Experience. Almost half of adult Americans, 136 million.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

People, listen to at least one podcast a month.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

The global audience is now 505 million, a quarter of the Internet's reach. When Trump went on Joe Rogan, Lex.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Friedman, and this past weekend with Theo Vaughan, he was embracing the manosphere and riding a tectonic shift in media.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

The most efficient way to reach the largest and most persuadable audience that is.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Young men is via podcast. Nothing comes close.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Rogan has 16 million Spotify subscribers and can reach many more people across a.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Variety of other platforms in just three.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Days after the live podcast, his three hour long conversation with Trump was viewed 40 million times on YouTube. The audio downloads likely exceeded 15 million. There will be a lot of second.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Guessing regarding what the Harris campaign should have done.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Getting on a plane to Austin to.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Visit Rogan would have been a layup by comparison. When Trump appeared on Fox News Gutfeld, which averages about 3 million viewers, he reached 5 million people and the full episode has been viewed 2.3 million times on YouTube.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

To reach as many people as he.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Did via Rogan, Trump would have had to do at least three separate one.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Hour hits on cable TV shows with numbers comparable to Gutfeld There is really a handful of those and they're all.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

On Fox, the top rated news channel.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Any other news network would have been.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

A waste of his time.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

The typical viewership for CNN is below 1 million and CNBC's is less than 100k.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Anyway, the comparison is apples to cocaine.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Specifically, the audience on the pods is not only exponentially bigger but also much more valuable. That is younger, more male and more persuadable. What if a campaign could gather the tens of millions of undecided or persuadable voters who may or may not vote and put their candidate in front of them for three hours in an environment that sets the candidate up for success? The Trump campaign achieved this by prioritizing podcasts.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Among Fox's 3.5 million regular viewers, 70% are 50 and over and 45% are women. The number two cable network, MSNBC, reaches.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

1.5 million viewers most days.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Its median viewer is a 70 year old woman. So a big audience of young men versus a small audience of older women. People listen to pods to learn. They watch cable TV to sanctify what they already believe. The former is much more appealing to candidates and advertisers. Rogan's demographic is 80% male, 93% under 54 and 56% under 30. 34 men under 34 are the great white rhinos of advertising, the most valuable.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Beast in the consumer jungle. And they're increasingly difficult to find. The average listener of my Profg podcast.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Is 35 male and makes about 150k a year. This is an audience I sometimes affectionately call stupid.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

They have disposable incomes and are in the meeting and mating years, meaning they're prone to buying all kinds of high.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Margin stuff to try to increase their sexual attractiveness.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

They're also the cohort ambitious politicians want to reach. Both Minnesota Representative Dean Phillips, who launched a short lived primary challenge to Biden.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

And Massachusetts Representative Seth Moulton, who who.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Loudly called on the President to drop.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Out after his disastrous debate performance, have come on the Prof. G pod and been nice to me and they'll likely come back. It's not my charm.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Both want to be president and recognize.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

They have to build name recognition with young men. The calculus is simple math.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Just as newspapers lost relevance to Google.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

And meta cable news is losing relevance to podcasts.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

We have transitioned from a fossil fuel.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Based economy to an attention economy full stop.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

If you command attention, revenue will follow.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Note the best performing Tech IPO of 2024 is the fourth most trafficked site in the U.S. yet the company was.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Valued at only $5.7 billion when it.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Debuted on the NASDAQ seven months ago.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Since then, the market cap of Reddit is up 274%. The only ad supported medium growing as.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Fast as Meta, TikTok, Alphabet and now Reddit is podcasting.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Podcasting revenue grew 18% this year, similar to Alphabet at 15% and Meta at 17%. Podcasts share of attention is well ahead.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Of their share of ad revenue.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

This delta will converge.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

I believe Podcast revenue is going to grow faster than that of every other digital platform with the possible exception of TikTok. My guess is that next year Pod's ad revenue will grow by 20 plus percent.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Listenership will continue to grow as well, and the ARPU, like those of Meta.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

And Alphabet will increase dramatically too, as advertisers discover this is where young, successful.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Consumers have been hiding. Podcast CPMs now are about $18 for.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

A 30 second ad and $25 for a 60 second ad.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

When people approach me in the wild, it's easy to.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Discern where they've been exposed to my content. A high five in some Broey banter video if they greet me like a.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Friend they haven't seen in a while.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Podcast, it's a very intimate medium. You are physically in somebody's ear in.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

A private setting, washing the dishes, working out, walking the dog.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

It's just you and them. That's one reason advertisers like podcasts, as.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

The audience's I'm being sold to screen is more porous.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

A listener's guard isn't up. Tom Brokaw never had that kind of.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Relationship with his audience. That level of intimacy also makes podcasting a great medium for interviews.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

In his conversation with Rogan, Trump seemed.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Unusually relaxed and comfortable, a guy you could grab a beer with.

[Unnamed Guest]

I always got more publicity than other people, and I didn't. It wasn't like I was trying. In fact, I don't know exactly why. Maybe you can tell me why.

[Scott Galloway]

Oh, I could definitely tell you.

[Unnamed Guest]

You said a lot of wild shit, maybe.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

And that's typical for a pod.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

The medium has a zeitgeist, where hosts generally try to present their guests in a good light. Unlike cable tv, the hosts aren't looking.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

For a gotcha moment. We let the guest run. Initially, people accused Pods of being radio.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

They aren't. Pods aren't shackled to the clock for the listener or the podcaster. They're on demand, that is streaming, and.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Hosts decide how much time a topic deserves or doesn't. Think about this.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

One of the Key commercial advantages of movies over TV was the producers control over the cadence and length of their content. They didn't have the 21 or 41 minute guardrails that network TV later imposed. Rogan thought Trump's story was worth three.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Hours of his audience's time, not one or four. TV anchors and radio hosts are asked.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

To create differentiated art using a one size canvas.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Broadcasters sink a lot of capital into state of the art studios. Satellite trucks, transmitters, fiber optic cables, people, et cetera. Podcasts don't need any of that stuff. That capex was a moat that created.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Leverage for the networks and their shareholders, who captured most of the medium's profits. They controlled the means of production. The moat's now been crossed. When I go on CNN or another.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

TV network, I travel to a studio staffed by numerous skilled technical people. The network pays their salaries and benefits.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

And gives them offices and snacks.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

A decent TV studio can easily run 400k.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

It's also inefficient.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

My show on CNN, Weak Flex, took.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

A dozen or more people the better.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Part of a week to pull together 21 minutes of content. Awesome content, but still. Now my studio looks like a pretentious footballer's dopp kit. I doubt it cost $1,000. Assembled by my tech guy, Drew, it travels with me everywhere. Any place that has broadband or just cell reception, I have a studio that can produce content. I'd speculate a third of my podcasts are done from somewhere other than my home studio. Think about how efficient that is.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

It enables me to host or co.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Host three pods a week and appear on many more.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

That kind of portability wasn't physically possible pre Covid. Meanwhile, net neutrality ensures that any podcast I go on is available to anyone, anytime. There is no technical reason I could not, in theory, reach every one of the 5.25 billion humans on the planet with a digital device.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

In broadcast and cable tv, the platform.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Has always been bigger than the talent.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

In podcasting, it's the other way around. There is little sustainable enterprise value in a podcast company.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

What matters isn't capex or infrastructure. It's talent. That's why a lot of individual podcasters are getting rich, but not a lot.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Of podcast company shareholders. All you really need to start is.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

A computer and an Internet connection. You don't have to run the obstacle course of suits you'd encounter trying to.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Get into TV or radio or any other old media. Which is another reason advertisers love podcasts.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

There are fewer hands in the talent's.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Pocket and fewer hands in their pockets.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Resulting in a greater ROI on ad spend. Low capex means the profits can be enormous. Once a podcaster covers the costs of producing two pods a week.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Like two or three producers and a.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Part time sound engineer, the Prof. G.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Podcast Portfolio Prof. G Prof. G Markets Raging Moderates will register 2025 revenue of approximately $10 million. We employ five producers, two analysts and a technical director and sound engineer.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Few businesses garner $1 million plus per employee.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Pivot, the podcast I co host with.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Kara Swisher does more revenue with even fewer resources.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Note Vox, our distribution partner is responsible for ad sales.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

The pods that make the jump to.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Light speed, covering their fixed costs and few do are very profitable businesses. The best part a as I have.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

A great team with some people I've worked with for over a decade or more, I spend 8 to 12 hours.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Total per week on the pods.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

The leverage on my time is substantial. The cocktail of broad reach and low.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Overhead translates to more for less for advertisers and talent. All the moons have lined up and podcasting is on an upward spiral. But as with most everything digital, podcasting.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

Is a winner take most or all proposition.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Because everyone has access to everyone.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

A scant handful of pods, those with.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

The biggest listenerships, capture nearly all the ad revenue.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

By some estimates, of the 600,000 podcasts.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

That produce content each week, the top 10 get half the revenue. Put another way to build a business.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

In podcasting that pays people well and keeps the attention of a host with.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

High opportunity costs, you likely need to be in the top 0.1% by listenership.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

The odds of success are admittedly long. If you're a high school drama student.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Who goes on to join SAG aftra, you're two times more likely to win an Academy Award than have a sustainable pod. As a member of UCLA's crew team, I was 3.5 times more likely to.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

End up in the Olympics than telling.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Dick jokes and making a good living on a successful podcast. I could do this all day.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

The political power of podcasting is only beginning to be felt. This election was supposed to be a.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Referendum on bodily autonomy. It wasn't. Historically, the candidate who raises the most money wins. She didn't.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

In each election, the victor is likely.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

To be whoever best weaponizes an emerging medium. He did. By far the most potent media weapon.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

This time was podcasting.

[Scott Galloway]

Life is so rich.

[Nate Sloan]

Many songs are written to make us dance, others to deal with heartbreak. But it's the rarest song that makes us feel freaky. I'm musicologist Nate Sloan and I'm songwriter Charlie Harding. And on this week's episode of Switched On Pop, we delve into a trilogy of new releases from well established freaks, Lady Gaga, Tyler, the creator and a long awaited return, the Cure. Listen to the musicology of freaky songs on Switched On Pop, presented by Nissan.

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