You’re driving your car to work by yourself; the street signs and stores are whizzing past you while you’re in the comfort of your own car, but it is getting a little quiet. As humans we always want to keep ourselves busy or engaged, you stop at a red light and turn to your phone to play some tunes to keep you entertained but oh? Kate Hudson’s new podcast episode? Well, you wouldn’t want to miss that.
It’s through this cycle that each person revels in listening to people talk as they work, drive, do homework or even at the gym. But before delving into why celebrities specifically are beginning to start their own podcasts, why are people so drawn to the idea of podcasts and just listening to people talk?
Podcasting also gives people a sense of community and understanding. It’s comforting to hear someone talk about things that you also struggle with or have struggled with, making an individual feel less alone and stranded. There are so many podcasts out there focusing on telling people about their mental health, what they did in specific situations, and giving them advice on many different things.
Along with deep talks about mental health and life-enhancing advice, studies show that people mostly listen to podcasts for entertainment, to hear different people’s opinions on a variety of topics, whether it’s to learn new things or just because you’re bored but too busy to watch a show so, you just do the next best thing and listen to people talking about things you’re interested in.
“The main reasons for podcasts’ popularity are that they cover more niche topics, can be enjoyed on your schedule, listened to while doing other things, and are easily accessible.” a journalist on Wiredclip said.
This leads us to the world of celebrities. One major thing that celebrities talk about on their podcasts is their lives, their magnificently drama-filled lives. Which- you guessed it- might as well be TV shows by themselves serve as another form of entertainment for the listeners. And people being people, want to know what happens in other peoples’ lives. Especially famous people. It’s basically like a talk show but you can listen to it anywhere.
Which brings me to the other major reason that people are increasingly creating more podcast series: exposure. Because of the fact that they’re easily accessible and almost anyone with a phone can listen to them with a click of a button, it greatly increases the podcasts’ chances of becoming successful.
These podcasts are also a medium through which people can advertise their products as well as do PR for other companies as well which may depreciate the value of each podcast.
“Celebrity podcasts can sometimes feel like a PR exercise rather than compelling listening…” Quora user, Afzar, said. “Celebrity podcasts often serve as a platform for the celebrity to promote themselves, their projects, and their brand. This can lead to a strong emphasis on self-promotion and a lack of authenticity in discussions.”
It isn’t just the celebrities themselves who talk about their lives, it’s their fans who do as well. There are so many podcasts out there speculating each thing about their beloved artists’ lives, albums, music videos, and even social media posts trying to find the message their idols are trying to communicate through social media.
Overall, celebrity podcasts, although most of them are interesting the amount of celebrities taking part in it without having much depth in what they’re talking about, is unnecessary. But majority of the people are here for it and listen to their favorites religiously.
