In this Slogging AMA, we had the pleasure of being joined by the founder and CEO of Radio.co, Podcast.co and Matchmaker.fm, James Mulvany. James is a veteran in the broadcasting industry and a leader in radio ad podcasting. Check out his insightful conversation with our community members below.
This Slogging thread by Jack Boreham, Mónica Freitas, James Mulvany, Sara Pinto and Limarc Ambalina occurred in slogging's official #amas channel, and has been edited for readability.
Hey @channel, please join me in welcoming our next AMA guest, James Mulvany, the founder of http://Radio.co, http://Podcast.co and http://MatchMaker.fm. Radio. co is a live streaming and radio management platform that powers over 5,000 channels worldwide.
http://Podcast.co is a platform that publishes and distributes podcasts, while http://Matchmaker.fm helps connect creators creating conversations in the form of podcasts. James is a veteran in the media/broadcasting industry, helping brands and entrepreneurs use audio to grow.
Please feel free to ask James anything about:
1. His work and what he does
2. About online media/broadcasting and where the industry is going
3. His platforms and what they do
4. Podcasting and Radio
5. What his ambitions are for his platforms
Hi James Mulvany, so excited you're here! How did you start in radio? What drew you to it?
Hi Mónica Freitas - Yes, I started in radio in the mid-2000s. I’d just finished school; I was passionate about music. I used to DJ, and I think I loved the idea of being able to share music and communicate with people, so radio seemed like a really interesting industry to me. I initially started getting work experience working for local radio stations and found it fascinating how you could broadcast online.
I started figuring out how I could start my radio station and broadcast online. Whilst I was doing this - I was also learning to code and was interested in building websites. My first ever online business was designing logos and banners. Within a couple of years - I’d merged the two interests and then launched a company called http://Wavestreaming.com whilst I was in university - supplying streaming media services to the industry.
James Mulvany Oh, so you started pretty early in life. How hard was it to create your radio? Did you face a lot of setbacks, or was it a smooth process?
Hi James Mulvany, glad to have you here! What are your plans for the future regarding all three platforms? Does http://Podcast.co cover worldwide podcasts as well?
Hi, Sara Pinto, that's quite a broad question and a lot to answer in one! We have lot’s of exciting things on our roadmap for next year, but our general ethos with all of our products is to constantly grow and evolve them. Suppose you want to be more specific with your question. I’ll try and do my best to answer.
& Yes, http://Podcast.co is a platform to host/distribute podcasts - we also have a production arm that works with businesses and brands in creating podcasts. We’ve been very successful in this area this year, so one of the things we’re launching in 2022 is our creative agency, called http://Create.co
Mónica Freitas Yes, in those days, there were not very many good tools or platforms around. That’s one of the reasons that I ended up building http://Radio.co - to make it super easy for folks to get started.
James Mulvany Aww, interesting. Would you say it's easier now since there are so many platforms? On the other hand, isn't it harder to get noticed? There are so many creators and podcasts, and radio stations. Can't it get to get your message out there?
I think it’s always been the same. There has always been competition; anyone looking to gain traction - no matter what platform, needs a solid plan and a good understanding of their audience. I see too many people launch brands and expect overnight success, then give up too quickly when it doesn’t happen.
James Mulvany, I love your platforms, having used Matchmaker for the last year. What made you come up with the platform? How much success has it seen?
Thanks, Jack Boreham - for those who don’t know, http://MatchMaker.fm is a community-based platform connecting podcasters with guests. It started life as a marketing funnel. We came up with the idea as we were looking at ways to promote our http://podcast.co product and, looking at the podcasting space, realised a lot of shows were interview-based. So we set up two pages, one targeted towards podcasters looking for guests and the other page for guests/experts looking to get featured on shows. Both pages had a google form on them, basically like an MVP - we then realised there was an opportunity to create a product to connect the two groups of people, so we started working on the idea for MatchMaker. Initially, it was a bit of a pet name for the project - but we liked it, so it stuck!
Hi James Mulvany. Honored to have you here! HackerNoon manages our podcast, but we had trouble getting it to Joe Rogan status. What advice do you have, or most important tips do you have for managing a podcast?
Secondly, do you think traditional radio is dying thanks to online radio and podcasting platforms? Do you think radio tuners won’t even be installed in automobiles?
Hi Limarc Ambalina, there are plenty of tips and guides on how to grow your show over on our blog here! https://www.podcast.co/reach
Remember Joe Rogan started his podcast back in 2009. Success doesn’t come overnight; there is no magic formula - work hard, be consistent and have a crystal clear idea of who your audience is and what content they want.
I don’t think traditional/analogue radio is anywhere near dead yet. However, there are certainly more people listening to the radio using the internet/streaming both home and on the go. Many tuners in the home in peoples kitchens have been replaced with smart speakers, and in cars, people are listening through apps too.
James Mulvany Oh, thank you, it was general, but I got the idea! That's exciting! Do you think http://Create.co, at some point, will also include http://Radio.co, so that it can create maybe more radio content?
Yes, possibly, although our focus at the start is podcast content.
James Mulvany, That's a wrap on this AMA. Thank you for joining us James, it was an absolute pleasure to have you!!
