Let me say right at the beginning that I am in favor of people getting paid to appear on podcasts, and I hope that becomes the norm before too long.

I cannot speak to every podcast’s way of doing things, only my own experience. Which is: I typically appear for free in a studio and get paid when the show is performed elsewhere. That’s also how I treat the guests of my show.

My show is distributed by Earwolf. I have no idea of how much money Earwolf makes, but I can tell you that although it seems one-to-one with a television network, it isn’t. I may be naive but I’d be very surprised if Earwolf was making profits on par with, say, NBC.

I imagine it will take some time to figure out the structure to pay guests, when the number of guests varies so wildly from show to show. I think it can be done. Of course, businesses being businesses, there is no doubt reluctance to do this.

I have done shows where a token amount is given, pretty much saying, “I recognize that you are doing me a favor.”

And these favors came about in the earliest days of comedy podcasting, when it was people who already had successful careers asking other people with successful careers to come on an bullshit for an hour. But this is important: exposure.

I know that is the world you are not supposed to use. But it’s actually true. Podcasts have a worldwide reach. In the years that I got paid nothing to do podcasts, my audience grew from those appearances more than any other single thing I’d done.

The exposure you get from a podcast is arguably way more valuable than, say, the exposure you get at a theatre. This is not to say people shouldn’t get paid; it is to say, don’t shrug off the exposure you get from them and how it can help your established career.

I understand some of my colleagues see this differently.

There is also the argument, as privileged as it sounds, that podcasting is a voluntary activity. Also, unlike many other media, it is very easy to make your own and publish it to the world.

Quick sidebar on the subject of podcasts behind a paywall: if you can’t pay for them, I feel you. I have things I would like to buy but cannot afford. Luckily there are many free podcasts of excellent quality.

If you CAN afford them and just don’t want to: shut up, I guess? It never occurred to me to tell an artist whose free work I enjoyed that I didn’t feel like their work was worth paying for & it should always be free. I guess I’d keep that thought to myself.

So back to paying guests: I believe the blame is not the podcast newtworks’ alone for the way things are; we have all contributed to this system as it now stands. That includes me.

And again, I think this could change. But it might not! Guests get paid to appear on talk shows but not on news shows. I never got paid to appear on morning radio, and I had to wake up in the dark to do it. WHO WAS THERE TO FIGHT FOR ME THEN

So those are my thoughts. I think we are in a transitional period with this stuff, and I think applying the old arguments to this newish medium requires a little more nuance in the conversation.

And YES I wrote this from a bathtub filled with krugerrands while lighting a cigar with a $10000 bill and pouring champagne into my top hat, so no need to ask.

THE END

@PFTompkins Oooh! Do *charging* guests to be on a show next!

@PFTompkins Ridiculous. I have had two reality stars want payment for my show. REALITY STARS

@PFTompkins tfw pft leans back, cracks his knuckles, and says “Hey, you got a minute to talk about podcast monetization?”

@PFTompkins Do guests on major TV talk shows get paid? I’ve always wondered about that.

@PFTompkins @PFTompkins as long as Eban Schletter never sees a single solitary dollar for contributing nothing and having what may be the easiest job in the podcasting universe I’m fine with paying anyone to appear, seriously Paul you’ve been carrying that guy for way to long

@PFTompkins Would there be a difference in compensation between a guest who was booked to solely entertain, and a guest who is on a promotional tour and looking to advertise a show/video/book?

@PFTompkins I’d be very happy to see my favorite podcast guests get some of those sweet, sweet zids. For the record, #Threedom and #HollywoodHandbook Pro Version alone are worth a Stitch Prems subscription.

@PFTompkins exposure only matters so much when you’re starving

@PFTompkins Right now the whole point is that any old schmuck can make a podcast, and 1% of those schmucks are incredibly gifted. If only rich/endorsed schmucks can buy their first guests, then the schmuck population gets a lot smaller and we get stuck with worse content.

@PFTompkins Depends on the show. On @ConsumedPodcast, I’m almost always talking to people who are promoting a new book, TV show, etc., and who aren’t getting paid for similar interviews for print, digital, TV, etc. Podcast is a medium for different kinds of shows.

@PFTompkins Paul, I can say that “exposure”, no matter how immaterial it is, is important. If it wasn’t for your appearances on CBB, I would’ve ignorantly thought of you as that guy from VH1.

@PFTompkins It’s an Interesting discussion and one that will have many opinions. I guess I feel that if I were giving my comedic services for a company’s gain and they made money off it then a little compensation would be warranted.

@PFTompkins What it comes down to is, if more people wish to be on podcasts than there are people who want them on their podcasts, the price to appear will be zero. It appears exposure helps careers. Until that changes, this will only be a problem for people who dont need the exposure.

@PFTompkins @PFTompkins hello i think your a friend?- my question is this earmark network exclusive to comody or are they open to other subject matter?

@PFTompkins It drives me crazy when people complain about having to pay for Stitcher Premium. It’s only $5 a month and you get new episodes of tons of shows every WEEK. That’s a way better deal than Netflix but everyone is fine with paying for that.

@PFTompkins That was a very fine read.

@PFTompkins Interesting

@PFTompkins This a good thread. I learn much.

@PFTompkins Interesting thread. How about a paid podcast I.e. Bret Easton Ellis on Patreon?