LISTEN UP
The television and film industries have tuned in to the popularity of podcasts,
Payne Lindsey bought a microphone and some audio equipment in early 2016 after being inspired by the 2014 smash-hit podcast Serial. Armed with his $100 setup and the result of his Google search for cold cases in his home state of Georgia, the independent filmmaker jumped into a new form of storytelling.
“I didn’t know what a podcast was,” Lindsey said. But he liked the intimacy podcasts and relished the idea of feeling like he was personally telling millions of people a story.
Fast-forward several months later, Lindsey and his partner Donald Albright ended up with a podcast that made Apple’s top 20 list for 2017. The podcast, Up and Vanished, explored a decade-old cold case about the murder of teacher and former beauty queen Tara Grinstead. The show is now also the basis of a television deal.
Podcasts have been around for years, but have seen a rebirth thanks to easier access to high-quality equipment and a consumer appetite for on-demand media.
About 67 million people listen to podcasts at least monthly, according to research firm Edison Research. Their popularity has gained interest from TV- and movie- industry insiders looking for the next big thing.
“It’s not just a concept we’re buying into. It’s really everything: the way they tell stories, the way they uncover an element of a story,” said Oren Rosenbaum, an agent at United Talent Agency that picked up Lindsey and Albright as clients.
By the time Up and Vanished finished its first season, it had 150 million downloads. It landed at No.18 on Apple’s charts — between another hit, S-Town, and the BBC’s popular Global News Podcast.
Television and film deals for podcasts are on the rise. Production company Annapurna Pictures was inspired by an episode of the internet-culture-focused Reply All podcast and is turning it into a con-man movie starring Robert Downey Jr. and directed by Richard Linklater. Amazon Studios became interested in Lore, a podcast about creepy and unbelievable real events and turned that into an eponymous TV series. Of course, that doesn’t mean the partners are abandoning the podcast. In fact, Lindsey and Albright are working with another podcast network, HowStuffWorks, on a new show called Atlanta Monster. And Up and Vanished will also get another season, exploring a brand new case.
“Obviously, the podcast goes on,” Lindsey said. “We will not forget what was special about this in the first place.”