16 May, 2005

By Macworld staff

People are ready for podcasting because "radio is so boring now," according
to iPodder creator Adam Curry.

Speaking of his new podcast show, soon to 'air' on US digital radio station
Sirius, he told Wired: "These are things we haven't heard on radio for the
past 20 to 30 years. Using the theatre of the mind, using sound as art -
this is something we've forgotten how to do in radio."

Curry notes the case of the Catholic priest who podcasted from the Vatican
around the time the pope died. "He was walking through places you could not
go, deep inside that complex, and it totally blew me away. There hasn't been
any place on the radio dial where you'll hear those kinds of shows," said
Curry.

Podcasts also benefit because the FCC does not regulate them, explains
Curry. "Although they are required to abide by the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act - which creates some funky restrictions", he adds. "You can't
do things like play two songs by an artist back-to-back. Silly. But they are
more free than FM radio, and this makes interesting things possible."

But the one thing podcasting lacks is advertisers. "We really need more
listeners to come in, to make podcasting in general more attractive for
advertising," he admits.

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