Raw, Unfiltered, Unstoppable: The Podcast Election Thats Changing Media Landscape
We're living through the first true Podcast Election - a perfect case study of how media power is fundamentally changing.
Trump has been on 12 podcasts
Kamala has been on 6 podcasts
Here's why this matters for business…
The facts
Across all the podcasts that Trump went on, he got a quarter of a BILLION views.
And that’s without including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and endless posts across social media.
Here’s a snippet of the views across some of the podcasts:
Rogan's hit 100M+ views across all platforms…
Compared to traditional media:
> Harris-Trump debate: 67.1M
> Biden-Trump debate: 51.3M
Not even close.
A shift in media power
We're seeing a mass exodus from traditional media and a move to new formats. Why?
Because their portrayal of subjects - whether it's Trump or any public figure - has become so slanted that direct channels are now essential.
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Think about the limitations of old formats.
Presidential debates: rehearsed, filtered, controlled.
Now compare that to a 3-hour podcast conversation.
There's nowhere to hide. No teleprompter. Just raw authenticity.
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This shift is happening because:
Traditional media trust is eroding
People crave unfiltered content
Long-form shows true personality
No editing can mask authenticity
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On a separate note, if I was running these media conglomerates, I’d be buying up these podcasts.
Just like Spotify did with Joe Rogan. Who is now the largest podcast by audience in the world.
This is bigger than politics
This will not just happen in politics, this will happen in business as well.
Top executives will want to find ways to engage with an audience and win the popular vote by being authentic.
Just look at the shift Zuck has made over the last few years and how sentiment around him and Meta has changed as a result.
Soon, we’ll be seeing people like Tim Cook and other top executives follow suit.
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We're witnessing a fundamental power shift. Media is moving direct to consumer and creators now wield as much influence as traditional media outlets.
I believe this trend will only continue. Creators will hold a huge amount of power over the next decade.
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It's the dawn of a new media era where people will engage more and more in channels where you get real authenticity and direct connection.