Want to know more about your favorite musician? Podcasts can help you
St. Vincent is one of many musicians launching a new podcast series to engage with her fans in a different way. Image: Robyn Beck/AFP
As the coronavirus pandemic has halted live music events, music enthusiasts are turning to audio streaming platforms to stay up-to-date with music. In an effort to quench fans’ thirst for knowledge, musicians are increasingly launching their own podcast series.
Among them is Jimmy Eat World frontman and lead vocalist Jim Adkins, who has recently announced the new “Pass-Through Frequencies” podcast series.
The show, hosted by Fender Guitars, will find Adkins delving into the craft of songwriting and the creative process behind some of music’s biggest hits with the help of various special guests.
While Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus will appear on the first installment of “Pass-Through Frequencies,” Steve Aoki, Death Cab For Cutie‘s Ben Gibbard, Tegan Quin, Fun’s Nate Reuss and David Bazan are set to participate in future episodes. The podcast launches Thursday, August 6 via Jimmy Eat World’s official YouTube channel, and following episodes will drop on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“The creative process has as much reward and mystery as it did 26 years ago when I started writing songs with Jimmy Eat World. I am still totally fascinated. In this series I chat with music people about their process, preparation and execution. As well as whatever may get thrown in on the side,” Adkins said of his new endeavor.
American rock band Grateful Dead has adopted a similar approach in their own podcast, “The Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast“, whose first installment premiered in early July to mark the 25th anniversary of their final concert.
While Adkins hosts “Pass-Through Frequencies”, “The Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast” is led by Nashville-based singer and Grateful Dead fan, Rich Mahan, as well as rock journalist Jesse Jarnow.
Each episode of the documentary-style series examines the creation of the band’s fifth studio album, “Workingman’s Dead”, with the help of guests from the Grateful Dead universe.
“Many of the unsolved mysteries of the Dead world will also be explained,” the band teased at the time of the podcast’s release.
Attracting big players
As podcast consumption continues to rise around the world, Amazon’s audiobook service Audible is betting on musicians to broaden its audience beyond the regular audiobook listener and fend off growing audio-storytelling competition from Spotify.
The company announced in July a series of original audio productions combining storytelling and music, and featuring artists like St. Vincent, Alanis Morissette and Miracles frontman Smokey Robinson.
While details about their respective Audible Originals are still under wraps, Robinson said that he was “humbled” to share his story and his music with “the millions of Audible listeners who are looking for authentic stories told in ways they’ve never experienced before.” NVG
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