Rob Greenlee From Microsoft On Podcasting Podcast Season 1 rob greenlee Music Radio Creative

Rob Greenlee from Microsoft talks podcasting and radio. Host of the New Media Show and content manager of podcasts on the Windows Phone, Xbox Live and Zune.

How Rob’s Passion For Podcasting Started

Rob had no background in broadcast or radio from a professional level and was really a marketing guy. In 1999 he started doing a radio show talking about the web and internet making week after week for about six and a half years. He eventually built his own home studio and started doing his show on a pre-produced basis and really got it out there working with XM Satellite Radio  and CNET Radio broadcasting his show to 15 radio stations via satellite syndication. A podcaster turned content manager, Rob has been managing content catalogues for 9 years now, 6 years of those have been working for Zune in Microsoft.

Rob’s Role With Podcasters And Microsoft

Rob manages the content catalogue. He works with content providers and pulls together twice weekly features and promotions of content for listeners of the platform. He acts as a liaison to content providers making him the single point of contact for the company.

Top Mistakes In Podcast Submissions

Rob is very active on Twitter and often tweets about podcasting trends.

The top podcast submission mistakes include using artwork that’s not really the right size. It has to be square. Rob sees a lot of content providers that submits podcast with the artwork at a rectangular shape which creates a squashed look. Another mistake is not having series metadata on the podcast feeds. It doesn’t have to be long or be a massive undertaking but just a good show description so anyone looking through a catalogue can quickly glance at the album art and look at the description for the show and see if it’s something they want to subscribe to.

Will Microsoft Take On iTunes?

Rob says that if you’re talking about competing at the scale of which iTunes built their podcast area Microsoft is behind on that and has been behind for at least 3 years and certainly iTunes is the biggest player and it’s hard to compete with them. They’ve build a huge base of users and most podcasters think of iTunes first but the bigger picture is that users want podcasts on their phones and devices and Microsoft has been there for that and we’ve been pushing to improve it. Apple may be the Kingpin of podcasts but there is definitely still room for other competitors.

How Do You See Radio’s Future?

Radio is moving towards podcasting. Radio is a local phenomenon and there future is going to be catering to very specific genres in local markets. Currently, radio is struggling with a balance between national level content, local content and even global content which they completely don’t get. Rob thinks that it is still yet to be decided on what’s going to happen to broadcast radio but feels that radio will be primarily focused on local weather, traffic, sports and local news. The music part will stay but eventually may fade.

Do Radio Stations Really Get Podcasting?

If a radio station or a radio talent wants to make their radio show a podcast they can certainly do that but to be successful the radio aspect puts you in a situation where you’ll likely be less successful as a podcast. On demand radio is the dominant future and podcast radio will perhaps be in second place. I personally used to be a big radio listener and now I’m exclusively listening to podcasts. It is much more convenient and there is no limitation in terms of time and place.

Rob’s Other Side

Aside from being a successful content manager, Rob is a marketing guy and holds the title for the Guinness World Record for the largest glass of orange juice. He built this enormous glass for the Florida Department of Citrus holding in 720 gallons of orange juice!

Connect With Rob Greenlee

You can reach Rob Greenlee via Twitter or visit his own personal website.

Will Podcasting Become Bigger Than Radio?

We don’t know the answer to this until it happens but let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

SHARE:

9 Responses

  1. The guest totally contradicts himself in one paragraph he states “Radio is moving towards podcasting.”
    In the next paragraph he totally contraicts what he just said as he states “

    “If a radio station or a radio talent wants to make their radio show a podcast they can certainly do that but to be successful the radio aspect puts you in a situation where you’ll likely be less successful as a podcast”

    So which is it?
    You decide?

    Personally I believe there are a lot of savvy smart and talented people who used to work in terrestrial radio that could do an incredible job of launching their own net radio station. However as easy as it is, its more involved cost wise. The large the audience grows the more it costs in streaming bandwidth. Also the larger you audience grows the more you must pay in Royalties for music, yet without a large fan base one cannot charge a reasonable fee for commercial spots which one needs to support the medium.

    Independent radio stations on the net come and go daily. As one starts up perhaps a few others die.
    The only ones able to afford wide streaming are the terrestrial radio stations that also stream.

    1. Thanks for the considered feedback on the episode Duke. I appreciate it!

      I guess that reveals a major difference between streaming online radio stations and podcasts. It has been my experience that if you host a spoken word podcast you can get “unlimited” listeners and downloads with many of the major podcast media file hosts such as Spreaker, Libsyn and Blubrry. The same can be said for releasing videos on YouTube where Google foots the bill for hosting and you pay in the form of banners and ads that may appear on your video content.

      You’re right in that streaming music radio is one corner of the internet which, in the majority of cases, the more listeners you have the more you pay in bandwidth and royalties.

      As for Rob’s comments, from what I understand, his second statement implied that doing a radio DJ style “at the audience” show in podcast form may not be as successful as the one-on-one, intimate feel many popular speech based podcasters tend to go for.

      The fun thing is that there are no hard and fast rules and answers in the new media space. I like the words of New Media Expo’s Rick Calvert to describe it, “this space is a meritocracy”.

      May the best content rise to the top 😉

  2. I hear from this episode of your podcast that Izabella is keen on gardening. Being podcast aficionados that you are, you might be interested in a gardening podcast that I produce with a friend. It’s UK based so is applicable for you guys in the Isle of White (I’m based in Cambridgeshire). You can find it at: http://www.plantadvice.co.uk/podcast

    I’d be interested to hear what you think of it.

    Keep up the excellent work with your podcast.

    Regards, Richard

    1. Yes, indeed, Izabela’s perfect day is one in our garden here on the IoW.

      I know it was a little “off topic” for us to start talking about aquaponics and gardening with Rob on our podcast but this just proves that you truly never know who may be listening in that will enjoy hearing about it!

      I’ve just taken a look at your podcast website – looking great – you’re up to episode 8 so far. How are you finding podcasting Richard?

      I know Izabela will have some thoughts and, I’m sure, will listen in too.

      Thanks Richard!

      1. Off topic is when some of the best, spontaneous moments can happen.

        In answer to your question, I’ve been producing podcasts for a long time for my friend who owns and runs Zen Internet here in the UK, but the PlantAdvice podcast is my first foray in-front of the microphone myself. I can’t say I feel 100% comfortable with it at the moment, but do really enjoy it. I don’t have a problem hearing my own voice as such, but would like to become more professional at presenting.

        Lots of editing of ums and ahs at the moment as I don’t feel comfortable leaving them in just yet; I know you’ve been through that dilemma yourself recently and you’ve been a radio DJ! It’s a fun journey though.

    2. Thanks for the link Richard – I shall give it a go! Although I am still very much a beginner. My most recent garden hurdle involves trying to figure out why my strawberries flower and fruit in November? lol

      1. You’re welcome Izabela and we all have to start somewhere, I’m still learning lots myself. I’ll pass your request on to my friend George who’s the professional horticulturist and come back to you. I suspect it’s because we’ve had a very mild Autumn coupled with the mild micro-climate of the Isle of White being very southerly in the UK and surrounded by water.

  3. First, kudos to Mr. Greenlee for his foray into the realm of podcasting on his own, as a result of a more traditional radio experience. I am experiencing a similar path.

    Quite frankly, it would be great to hear of formidable competitors to Apple’s iTunes, however, I do not believe Microsoft will ever be able to compete and gain foothold in the podcasting space against Apple. Google or even perhaps a new media player would be more likely to rise to such a competitive position.

    As far as the prediction on the future of local radio (As mentioned) – This concept has existed in the US for as long as I can remember. All terrestrial radio is a local endeavor in the US (Local sports, news, politics, traffic & weather) and every major city (Even smaller) is a local market station.

    1. Thanks for your thoughts on this episode with Rob Greenlee, Val. It’ll be interesting to watch how Microsoft grow their podcasting platform for sure!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *