Rwandan podcasters have been referred to as upon to prioritise constructing audiences, genuine storytelling and collaboration over quick monetisation because the nation’s podcasting business continues to develop.
The decision was made throughout a dialogue by skilled podcasters held on Friday, August 28, at Braxo Hub in Remera. The discuss introduced collectively Fabrice Rutayisire of Ballerzone Podcast, Peace Mwiza of Thoughts Over Matter Podcast, Arafat Mugabo of The Voices Podcast with Arafat, and James Munyaneza of The Context Podcast.
Titled “Podcasting, the New Media Frontier,” the discuss was organised by Braxo Hub and Bait Al-Sudan. Braxo Hub is a coworking and expertise centre, whereas Bait Al-Sudan is a collective of Sudanese creatives in Rwanda working in arts, media and tradition.
The audio system mentioned challenges going through podcasters, together with manufacturing prices, discovering company, monetisation, viewers progress and adapting to altering media consumption habits.
Munyaneza, who has labored in conventional media for greater than 20 years, mentioned podcasting provides media establishments and younger creators a possibility to adapt to altering viewers habits.
He urged creators to determine the communities they need to serve as an alternative of trying to attraction to everybody.
“Plenty is not the factor,” Munyaneza mentioned, encouraging creators to determine a distinct segment and persistently present worth to it.
He additionally urged African creators to inform tales primarily based on their very own experiences and realities, saying they’ve a possibility to contribute extra of their views to the worldwide digital info area.
Monetisation was additionally recognized as a significant problem, with the audio system cautioning creators in opposition to anticipating quick monetary returns from podcasting.
For Rutayisire, aspiring podcasters mustn’t look ahead to good situations earlier than beginning. He gave an instance that he started podcasting with out prior data of the sphere or entry to a devoted studio.
“You don’t need to be good. You don’t need to have all the pieces to start out,” he mentioned, encouraging creators to make use of out there instruments, together with smartphones.
He mentioned beginning with a small viewers mustn’t discourage creators from pursuing their concepts.
Mugabo suggested aspiring podcasters to not abandon their current sources of revenue too rapidly.
“Don’t take into consideration quitting your job, however use your job to advance your podcast in order that it turns into the way forward for your job,” he mentioned.
He mentioned creators can spend cash on gear and manufacturing solely to obtain a small variety of views after publishing, however inspired them to stay targeted on producing content material.
“I don’t care if my video obtained 20 views or 30 views,” he famous.
Mwiza mentioned her expertise with Thoughts Over Matter Podcast confirmed the significance of figuring out the place an viewers is concentrated. The podcast initially explored totally different audio distribution channels however later targeted extra closely on YouTube after recognising stronger viewers engagement there.
She additionally emphasised collaboration, encouraging rising creators to attend business occasions, join with different creators and search alternatives to work collectively.
“Don’t stroll the sport alone,” she mentioned.
