Doing radio, making friends, and having fun: Exploring the motivations of independent audio podcasters

This article presents an exploratory, empirical investigation of one under-studied type of user-generated content: independent audio podcasting. While other forms of user-generated content, particularly blogging, have received significant attention from scholars, research on podcasting, particularly on podcasters themselves, is still uncommon. I address this gap through the development of a preliminary profile of independent podcasters and their motivations for podcasting. Results from a web-based qualitative questionnaire indicate that podcasters fit the profile of Pro-Ams (older, educated, professional males) working primarily in the niche markets of the long tail. The study found six major categories of motivations for podcasting: technology/media, content, interpersonal, personal, process, and financial. Comparisons are also drawn between motivations of the podcasters reported in this study and previous research on the motivations of bloggers.