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Sometimes playing with the rules is like writing an es-

say with an assigned topic, and this is exactly what most

current Chinese podcasters, who are also former profes-

sional media practitioners, are good at.

“I still believe that there is space to cast industry observer, witnesses that 2020.
work around the system and do some- in the U.S., leading production agen- “Since these people only constitute
thing interesting,” Qi adds. cies such as New York Times, NPR a minority of the whole Chinese soci-
and Gimlet media coexist with inde- ety, it’s definitely problematic that they
take up 90 per cent of the resources of
podcast as a medium,” Yang explains.
“Podcast should be accessible to eve-
ryone,” he says.
Yang also observes that most
podcast shows are conversations and
talks. He thinks such tradition can be
traced back to the country’s tradition-
al broadcasting system.
“Talk shows or phone-in pro-
grammes are typical. That’s all we
know about audio. We’ve never lis-
tened to anything else,” he adds, refer-
ring to the lack of narrative and fic-
tional shows telling intriguing stories
in China’s podcast market.
But Yang also believes Chinese
podcasts have great potential to de-
Yang Yi (middle) conducts an interview for podcast Left-Right. velop and create their own way. How
(Photo courtesy of Yang Yi) diverse podcasts are professionally
and institutionally produced in more
An “Unhealthy” Industry pendent podcasts covering trivia such mature Western markets can be learnt
Yang Yi, chief operating officer as pizzas or elevators. and applied to China’s context.
(COO) of JustPod, a Chinese digi- Data from Edison Research and “To a certain extent, we are stand-
tal audio company which specialises Triton Digital, which conducts mar- ing on the shoulders of giants,” he
in podcast production established in ket research for businesses and media says.
2018, thinks the current Chinese pod- organizations, shows that 55 per cent
cast industry is “unhealthy”. of Americans aged 12 or above have
“It’s not an ideal situation. What’s listened to a podcast in 2020.
the point of only having independent In China, most listeners were
podcasts in this field?” Yang says, re- young and single, highly educated and
Edited by Savoki
ferring to the situation that most pod- living in big cities, according to the Edited by Savoki
Zhang
casters are independent or amateur, Audience and Consumption Research Zhang
while there are few podcasts produced conducted by PodFest China, an an-
Sub-edited by Laurissa
by big companies. nual conference for Chinese podcast- Sub-edited by Laurissa
Liu
Yang, who is also a long-term pod- ers and others involved in the field, in Liu