Tag: Sound Up Bootcamp

In ‘Search Engine Sex’ Podcast, Rowdie Walden Wants to Answer Your Questions

June 17, 2020

In 2018, Rowdie Walden signed up for Spotify’s Sound Up Australia workshop hoping to bring his idea—answering the internet’s most-searched-for questions about sex and relationships—to the platform. The weeklong mentoring session for Indigenous Australians resulted in Search Engine Sex, Australia’s first Spotify Original podcast, which does exactly that.

From the signs of a healthy relationship to preventing STIs, each week Rowdie wants to take the questions that are often considered taboo and bring them into an honest conversation with the help of a rotating cast of experts and, of course, search engine analytics.

For the Record caught up with Rowdie just ahead of the podcast launch.

What can listeners expect from your podcast?

I can tell you what not to expect. If you’re looking for an academic, education-focused sex, health, and well-being podcast, this is not it. Search Engine Sex addresses the questions that have been in the back of your mind. You can expect to have a laugh and hear some thought-provoking conversations with incredible people. We’ve got everyone from sexologists to ex-bachelor contestants, so hopefully you’ll be surprised by the people you’ll hear from.

I also think you can expect some good tactical tips on a range of things. When it comes to talking about sex, it’s key to find an accessible channel for people. If you are from a religious or cultural background that doesn’t allow you to talk about sex, we want you to both feel comfortable listening to this podcast and also find it beneficial. It’s not smutty, but it’s not boring. If I had to put it in a category, I’d say it’s “infotainment.”

Search Engine Sex comes to us in part by way of Spotify’s Sound Up Australia, which invited Indigenous Australians to join an intensive podcasting workshop. Why was this experience meaningful to you?

There aren’t a lot of mainstream Indigenous-focused media outlets in Australia, and I think Spotify’s Sound Up has helped fill that gap. It was kind of surreal to be in a room full of other Indigenous people who had completely different ideas and different takes on what a call for Indigenous podcasters represented. They all came with very important stories to tell. 

It is so unprecedented for the oldest storytelling culture in the world to have a massive platform, and now Spotify has helped create that. It’s such a refreshing moment in the history of Australia media, where the door is open for you, as an Indigenous Australian, to tell your story. I think this also speaks to the diversity of the Spotify user—it’s a platform that reaches everyone, with something for everyone, no matter your sex, culture, religion, or anything else you identify with.

Why is it important to bring Indigenous voices into audio experiences?

There’s the cliché idea of representation that comes to mind: If you can’t see yourself, you can’t be it. You could probably list on one hand the amount of mainstream Indigenous stories that have made it into pop culture. This experience is all about breaking down the barrier of where a stereotypical Indigenous voice belongs versus actually where Indigenous voices can be.

Why do you think Spotify is the right partner for Search Engine Sex?

For a podcaster, Spotify is aspirational. To have the chance to work with and be endorsed by such a powerhouse company is incredible. The audience that they have through music is exactly the demographic I see for this podcast, so it was kind of a no-brainer. They’re giving people like me the keys for success. I honestly don’t think this exists anywhere else. I am still very touched that such a mammoth company has taken interest in this little idea about internet analytics and sex.

Speaking of which, and to close—why do you think it’s important to have open conversations about relationships and sexual health?

I think it’s important to have conversations around sex that talk to the breadth of what sex is, so that it then becomes part of pop culture and something we openly talk about. Sex is great and bad. It’s embarrassing and humiliating and sticky and messy and also really lovely. So, that breadth of how we talk about sex is more important than just talking about sex as a topic. Sex and relationships take many forms, and we want to explore this. That’s what we’re aiming to do.

Take a listen to Search Engine Sex here.

Spotify Cultivates Female Podcasters of Color with Sound Up’s Return

September 17, 2019

Podcasting continues to grow as one of the most influential ways for people to share their voice with the world. And while female podcasters of color are making their mark in this territory, there’s still a significant opportunity to bridge the gap in representation. Just consider that 22% of podcasts in the U.S. are hosted by women, and even less than that are hosted by minority women.

Spotify’s immersive Sound Up accelerator program was created to tackle this issue head on. Returning for the second year in a row, the program is designed to uplift and amplify the voices of women of color. The intensive, week-long program lead by longtime facilitators Rekha Murthy and Graham Griffith trains the next generation of leading podcasters through education, mentorship and support from Spotify.

We hand selected 10 participants from over thousands of applications for this year’s class. The aspiring podcasters were invited to Spotify’s New York offices for daily sessions, working directly with podcasts’ biggest power players to cultivate storytelling, production, and marketing skill sets. The experience culminated with a pitch session in which participants competed for the opportunity to have their podcast pilots funded, produced, and featured on Spotify.

“It was such a pleasure to help usher these creators into podcasting,” says Juleyka Lantigua–Williams, CEO of Lantigua Williams & Co. and a speaker during the week. “Thanks to Spotify’s training, more women of color can shape the future of podcasting. These women have so much to say, and I simply cannot wait to hear all of it.”

This year’s participants include: Alyssa Castro, Christina Orlando, SK, Janae Burris, Kacie Willis, Michel Rosario, Rebecca Jackson-Artis, Shayla Martin, Yvette Ankunda and Mohini Madgavkar, who were provided one year Journalist PRO Licences courtesy of Hindenburg Systems during the program. At the end of the course, Christina Orlando, Janae Burris, Shayla Martin and SK were awarded $10,000 each to fund their proposed podcasts. 

“The response to the Sound Up program has been incredible, so we’re proud to bring it back a second year,” said Spotify’s News and Documentary Lead, Natalie Tulloch. “At Spotify, it’s vital to give voices and platforms to those that would not normally have the opportunity, and the women that come through these doors continue to amaze us with what they have to say. The participants have unique backgrounds, personal stories, and pivotal experiences that others resonate with, and we’re thrilled to give them the chance to share it with the world.”

Past alumni of Sound Up have received podcast development deals, connections to industry leaders, and production grants to take their concepts to the next level. Dope Labs, one of the three podcast winners from Sound Up 2018, and recently renewed for a second season, is a new original podcast that launched this past February, diving deep into the intersection of science and pop culture.

“It was surreal to be back and sit on the other side of the pitch competition,” said Dope Labs co-host Titi Shodiya. Titi serves as a scientific auditor at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. “I’ve learned so much from this program and have honestly watched my dreams become reality by launching a podcast on something I’m so passionate about. Seeing women of color raise each other up is really inspiring, especially in the podcast space because there aren’t that many of us. And last month at Spotify’s office, there was a room full of exactly that. I cannot wait to for all of their podcasts to debut and continue to change the podcast landscape.”  

Spotify is committed to reaching beyond the borders of music to being the leading audio-first platform and top destination for podcasts. Through programs like Sound Up, Spotify provides curated listening experiences to connect users with culture in a visceral and personal way, while inspiring a new wave of cultural and socially-minded podcasts. 

Read on to learn how the accelerator program has expanded to London and Australia, amplifying the campaign’s impact on a global scale.

Sound Up Bootcamp UK Amplifies Diverse Women’s Voices

December 21, 2018

This autumn, hundreds of podcast hopefuls submitted their pitches for an original show. Ten were awarded the opportunity to learn how to bring their stories to life. Ultimately, three finalists emerged, who will go on to make their own podcasts, thanks to Spotify UK’s first-ever Sound Up podcast bootcamp.

The week-long, intensive bootcamp for up-and-coming podcasting producers was specifically created to help foster talented—but often underrepresented—voices in the field. To qualify for consideration, Sound Up applicants had to identify as a woman or non-binary person of colour.

“We wanted to look at ways in which we could highlight diverse voices in podcasting,” says Alexandra Adey, UK Podcast Partner Manager at Spotify, “and to give people the tools to make content if they weren’t able to do so previously.”

Inspired by the success of a similar Spotify event in New York, Alexandra and her London-based team invited ten creatives to join the budding podcasters for five days of talks, master classes, and studio time. Attendees heard from industry experts on how to develop and improve their skills in sound design, editing, branding, production, social media, and storytelling.

At the end of the week, they pitched their podcast ideas to a panel of external judges, all prominent figures from across the UK audio industry. Three winners were selected: Sangeeta Pillai, Kym Oliver, and Olorunfemi Fagunwa. They were rewarded with ongoing technical and marketing support from Spotify, as well as free software packages and studio time to help bring their podcasts to life.

“A lot of women from my culture don’t even listen to podcasts, because [the topics are] not relevant to them. I think if we make content that speaks to what they care about, and open up spaces for them, I think there will be a lot of engagement,” says Sangeeta, whose Masala podcast focuses on “lovely warm chats over a cup of tea” with other women “doing something fantastic in their field.”

Sound Up also leaned into the democratising power of the medium. As Alexandra shared, “Podcasting is fantastic because in one respect it’s a very level playing field … A good podcast creates its own little fan club or listening gang. And it gives you room to hear content you wouldn’t hear on mainstream radio.”

Accessibility, in a different sense, is especially important to Kym Oliver. A wheelchair-user, she values the fast-track options to creativity that a podcast readily offers. Her winning submission was for an audio play about a failed fictional reality TV star.

“A podcast is super accessible,” she affirms. “You can just put your thought out there. And I don’t think people historically went into it thinking, ‘I’m gonna do a podcast, I’m gonna become a millionaire!’ They did it because they wanted their voices to be heard. It’s an audience-driven thing.”

Kym further shared that her week at Sound Up “was collaborative, it was loving, it was sharing, and everyone was supporting each other. And even the generosity of the people who were coming to give the master classes was really inspiring.”

The third winner, Olorunfemi Fagunwa, is the force behind the podcast Notorious, “about women in history who are known as being disruptors or troublemakers in some ways. We want to throw a light on women around the world who are often overlooked or not paid attention to, and get a sense of their time and space.” Her work focuses on interviews with historians, researchers or people who might have known them. First up: Winnie Mandela and Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti.

Sound Up is now sounding off—helping to amplify voices and increase diversity—and it’s clear that the podcast revolution is on.

Sound Up Bootcamp: London Edition

September 7, 2018

If you’ve ever listened to a podcast and thought, “I could do this,” we want to hear your voice. Spotify is inviting aspiring podcasters in the UK who identify as a woman of colour to apply for the Sound Up UK week-long residential podcasting workshop, which will be held in London on November 5-9. Applicants don’t need to have any prior podcasting experience, just passion for the medium and an eagerness to bring their great ideas to life.

Sound Up UK follows our first Sound Up Bootcamp in New York, which received thousands of applications. Ten lucky finalists were invited to attend the programme, which consisted of a week of mentoring and networking with podcasting and radio greats. At the end of the week, three of the finalists were awarded $10,000 to produce their podcasts.

“The Sound Up Bootcamp in the US was an absolutely huge success, with over 18,000 applicants, showing just how much enthusiasm and talent exists in the field of podcast creation in 2018,” says James Cator, Spotify Head of Podcast Partnerships, EMEA. “The UK is a leading light in the world of podcasts, so we’re expecting to see a similarly enthusiastic response from ambitious podcast creators there. We are hugely excited to be able to support and promote more diverse and talented voices in the field of podcasting, and to give them a creative platform to share their work with the widest possible audience.”

We are hugely excited to be able to support and promote more diverse and talented voices in the field of podcasting, and to give them a creative platform to share their work with the widest possible audience.

James Cator, Spotify Head of Podcast Partnerships, EMEA

The ten finalists chosen to attend the London Sound Up Bootcamp will learn about the art of podcast creation; from learning about their audience and formulating a concept and story arc, to legal and licensing, graphic design, and technical studio skills. The course is designed and facilitated in partnership with the ShoutOut Network, whose company mission is to “find the next generation of voices.” This will culminate in a pitch session to a panel of industry experts, who will select three participants to receive support to further develop and record their podcast idea.

“The US Sound Up Bootcamp has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my career,” says Natalie Tulloch, Director of Content Partnerships, Spotify. “The week was so much more than planned. It was a privilege being in the room with an amazing group of women. During the course of the week, it was more than learning about the business of podcasting—it was therapy, bonding, and plenty of laughter. We could not have done it without the amazing women in the podcast community in New York City who supported the initiative.”

Now women of colour in the UK have an opportunity to shape that community as well. Interested podcasters should apply before midnight on September 17 at http://bit.ly/soundupuk. We can’t wait to hear what you have to say.

Amplifying Female Voices of Color Through the Power of Podcast

July 11, 2018

Podcasts are taking over. As it stands, one-third of Americans tune in, with 12 percent of listeners streaming 10 hours or more a week. Needless to say, it’s an exciting storytelling medium—and one that can have a major impact when it comes to representing diverse voices. And while women of color have been breaking ground in podcasting well ahead of the latest boom, there’s plenty more to be done, with a recent study showing that only 22 percent of podcasts are hosted by women, and even fewer when it comes to minority women.

In order to begin shifting that imbalance, Spotify hosted the first-ever Sound Up Bootcamp, a weeklong June intensive for aspiring female podcasters of color. The goal of the program was to bring more diverse voices into the podcast world—specifically voices belonging to women of color.

“Podcasting is more accessible to makers than most other media—production costs are lower, and the gatekeepers fewer,” says Rekha Murthy, a podcast and radio veteran with over 20 years of experience who co-taught the workshop. “More people are starting to take advantage of that opportunity. I’ve learned more about the experiences and perspectives of people of color through podcasting than anywhere else. I’ve come to a better understanding and appreciation of my own identities as a woman, and as a woman of color, thanks to podcasts. I’m sure some of that is because I intentionally seek out these voices. But also, they are there in ways I rarely find in, say, broadcast radio. There are also not enough.”

Sound Up Bootcamp featured daily sessions for 10 women of color who had been selected from over 18,000 applicants. Murthy and her colleague Graham Griffith led conversations on topics ranging from identifying an audience to honing a breakthrough message. Over the course of the week, attendees also learned from experts in the field about the art of podcast creation, from initial ideation to editing, producing, and marketing.

The women in attendance included Titi Shodiya, Kristina Ogilvie, Janina Jeff, Shonté Daniels, Amanda B, Tiara Darnell, Ivy Le, Doreen Wang, Gabriela Quintana, and Sun H. At the end of the course, 3 of the women—Titi, Kristina, and Janina—were awarded up to $10,000 each to fund their proposed podcasts. You can read more about each of the winners, their backgrounds, and their groundbreaking ideas here.

Murthy is optimistic about the medium’s ability to reach women of color, and the palpable enthusiasm in the room of bootcamp participants—each with a unique and provocative story to tell—only fueled that belief.

“What excites me about podcasting is that it’s still new, and we have an opportunity to shape the field into something that looks and sounds more like our country and our world,” added Murthy. “I think we’ll also find that’s where success lies.”

Greg Herman, video and non-music programming manager at Spotify, agreed. “It all begins with the creators,” he said. “Once you begin writing podcasts for people outside of the standard male demographic, you naturally grow a wider audience. It really begins with getting your message out there.”

For many of the women in the workshop, personal inspiration came from some fresh voices already being broadcast in the podcast universe. Spotify’s Christina Choi, Senior Producer and Senior Partnerships Manager, shared a few favorites of her own with the group.

“Code Switch features interesting stories from a diverse group of journalists,” she said. “Ear Hustle is a fantastic podcast produced by inmates at San Quentin State Prison telling stories about prison life. Nancy is hosted by two Asian American hosts about LGBTQ culture. 2 Dope Queens is a comedy podcast featuring two black female comedians talking about society and pop culture. And Another Round is currently off at the moment, but it was one of the first podcasts hosted by women of color.”

Other podcasts that came up in conversation as fuel for creativity included The Nod, which “gleefully explores all the beautiful, complicated dimensions of black life.” Good Muslim, Bad Muslim dives into “the good and the bad about the American Muslim female experience.” The Mash-up Americans is “your guide to hyphen-America.”

And while the list goes on, much of it has yet to be written. If the powerhouse women represented at Sound Up Bootcamp have anything to do with it, that chorus of voices is about to get a whole lot louder.