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iHeartRadio presents Podversations,

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a weekly discussion with the biggest names and

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influencers in podcasting. I

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0:46

Hello and welcome back to the iHeart Podcast

0:48

Speakers series.

0:49

I'm will appear some president of iHeart Podcast.

0:51

As you know, we like together together once a week

0:54

to chat with one of our favorite talent

0:56

or producer or an executive in the

0:58

business and talk about podcasts,

1:01

talk about where we see the industry going, talk

1:03

about what they're working on today. We have the chance

1:05

to chat with Alan Coy's, the senior vice

1:07

president of Digital Strategy and Business

1:09

Development and Warner Music Group. We've

1:11

been partners for a couple of years now, working

1:14

on some really interesting podcasts. Together,

1:16

we're going to have a conversation about what they're

1:18

up to specifically at Interval Presents

1:20

and kind of talk about where the industry is

1:22

going. But Alan, thanks for taking some time with us

1:25

today.

1:25

Thank you for having me. Yeah, well, like I said.

1:27

We really enjoyed being partners with you guys

1:29

working on Interval Presents. And before

1:32

we get into some of the specific

1:34

shows, would love to hear from you just as

1:36

you think about the Interval brand

1:38

and slate of shows, can you talk a little bit

1:40

about this, how this came to be, and what the

1:42

brand really stands for for you guys.

1:44

Yeah.

1:45

Absolutely, So, you know the purview

1:47

that I have as sort of you know, in

1:50

my seat in doing business development and

1:52

kind of working with closely with desps

1:54

and consumption platforms on the music side,

1:57

what was clear to me was that we

1:59

as a company and we needed to build out more capabilities

2:02

and strategy around podcasting and storytelling

2:05

to the podcast listenership, the podcast

2:07

audiences audience, which has been growing and

2:09

is you know, kind of becoming a bigger

2:12

part of what people listen

2:14

to when they go to you know, the various

2:16

platforms where they consume content, and we didn't

2:18

really have a lot of infrastructure a lot

2:20

of strategy at Warner Music Group before Interval

2:23

Presents. So we did a lot of work

2:25

internally. I led a lot of it, and we decided

2:27

to create a podcast network

2:30

and we had the official brand launch

2:32

in April of twenty twenty two, but a lot

2:34

of work proceeded that. But now I'd say,

2:37

you know, out of that, we tried to focus

2:39

on places where we can actually provide value

2:41

and leverage, and particularly.

2:43

To our partners and partnerships.

2:45

So when we set out to do this work,

2:47

we said, what does it feel right for

2:50

us to be doing?

2:50

You know, what do we have.

2:51

We have the DNA of a record label, We've

2:53

got access to talent, We've got an

2:55

interesting way of telling stories and sort

2:58

of authenticity in terms of cultural real event,

3:00

and I think we have a good way of finding

3:02

audiences, particularly around some of these you know,

3:04

distribution platforms. So we put all

3:06

that together and we said this should be like the

3:09

culture of music should be at the store, at the center

3:11

of what we do. But when we think about

3:13

content and integgalsents, it's not just about

3:15

music. There are a lot of other content

3:17

like verticals that go well with music,

3:20

whether we're talking about entertainment, lifestyle,

3:23

social impact, social justice, and we can play

3:25

in those areas and feel like we can add value in those areas.

3:28

So once we decided on our content

3:30

filters, we then started looking for our partnerships.

3:32

We're not really set up to do tons

3:35

and tons of shows. Our initial slate includes

3:37

eight shows, six of which are now launched,

3:39

and so we are looking forward to you know, I

3:41

think we're just about to cross the year and a half

3:44

mark and so, you know, looking forward to

3:46

launching our last two shows and you

3:48

know, getting into a year two.

3:49

Yeah, yeah, and some amazing shows.

3:51

And we're talking about shows like rap Radar and

3:53

Holding Court with M and E. K. Williams, who we've

3:55

had on this speaker series before the

3:57

Last Resort. And then you've got a couple of shows.

4:00

Let's talk about those because they're not just from anybody.

4:02

You've got two heavy hitters coming in to launch

4:04

the next two shows with you, guys.

4:06

Do you want to talk a little bit about those? Yeah, well,

4:08

I'd love to.

4:09

So the first is a show called

4:11

Underwater, and it is from

4:13

our partner Jason Derulo, who has been very

4:15

very leaned into this project, and it's a

4:18

really interesting fiction romance

4:20

thriller, and it's actually going to feature

4:23

newly released music from Jason and some

4:25

music that is original and specific

4:28

and exclusive to the podcast. So we

4:30

looked at this as a way to really

4:32

one We couldn't have asked for a better partner

4:34

than Jason. He's been super leaned into this project.

4:37

He's been very thoughtful and leaned

4:39

into thinking about ways to leverage

4:41

the podcast to do some interesting storytelling,

4:44

but also leverage his audience

4:46

on the music side. So we're looking forward

4:48

to kind of creating some synergy there. We

4:50

think it's a really really great story and

4:53

we're really looking forward to kind of the world

4:55

hearing it. We're partnering very closely with

4:58

our friends at Atlantic to make sure that

5:00

we leverage his audience and they can hear

5:02

the podcast and listen to the music, and

5:04

it'll be in conjunction with an upcoming album

5:07

of his. So that's one really cool project

5:09

on the horizon.

5:10

I mean, how often do you get a chance to get

5:12

original music from a musician

5:15

at that level.

5:16

I mean, it's pretty awesome. I'm curious how that

5:18

project specifically came to be how

5:20

was Jason? Was he part of the origin of

5:22

this or how was it born? Jason

5:24

had.

5:26

Formed an early version of the story that

5:29

we then took and made

5:31

it into an actual script. So the actual

5:34

script and story, the narrative for this

5:36

podcast actually comes from an idea that he

5:38

had and we came in to help bring

5:40

it to life. So we partnered with Clamoraudio

5:43

as the audio production partner and Temple

5:45

Hill Production companies behind two

5:48

great companies exactly and really

5:50

made this into it. I think it's

5:52

going to feel very cinematic. So

5:55

Jason's co star we partnered with Alex

5:57

Schipp. She's recently played Storm in one

5:59

of the X Men movies. He recently was in

6:01

the Barbie movie and has a great,

6:03

great singing voice. So there's some really

6:05

really interesting cool things there. We looked

6:08

for ways to leverage what

6:10

we could bring to the table in terms of working directly

6:12

with our labels, infusing the music in

6:14

an authentic way, and hopefully providing

6:17

a really interesting audio listening experience

6:19

for the podcast listeners.

6:20

It's going to be a super cool show.

6:22

And then I think i'd cut you off the other show

6:24

that you guys have in the works launching in the not too distant

6:26

future.

6:27

You want to talk about that.

6:28

One absolutely, So that one is called

6:30

Mind your Own with Lupita Nuoga, terrific

6:33

Hollywood actress, had a great idea

6:35

for a podcast, and the way

6:37

I would describe it is like this

6:39

American Life, but for stories

6:42

being told from the African diaspora. So

6:44

each episode includes

6:46

a story that is personal to her, and she

6:49

is a Kenya native but spent a lot

6:51

of reformative years in Mexico, and

6:54

it really kind of includes really personal

6:56

stories from her, but in some way they connect

6:58

to these Scouted stories that came from

7:00

all over about everyday Africans,

7:03

and there's some sort of connective tissue

7:05

between her story and the Scouted

7:07

story, some really really interesting storytelling.

7:10

And then what we did was we actually partnered

7:12

with Warner Music Africa, our affiliate label,

7:15

to find artists who had music

7:17

that we could infuse into the show as

7:19

part of the sound design, to give it that look and

7:21

feel and even more sort

7:23

of authenticity with podcast listeners.

7:26

So we're really really excited about that one as

7:28

well. It's being done in conjunction with

7:30

Snap Judgment, who were terrific partners

7:33

on it and that'll be out at some point

7:35

very soon.

7:35

Oh that's so cool.

7:53

And when you think ahead to where you guys want

7:55

to go, obviously this is just the beginning here.

7:58

Other categories are certain timespics

8:00

that you guys are excited to explore, just curious,

8:02

where do you see it all going.

8:03

We're in the early phases of testing

8:06

how to interest podcast

8:08

listeners in podcasts that infuse

8:10

music and music listeners into

8:13

podcast stories about topics that resonate

8:15

with them. So whether it's music, music

8:18

adjacent, entertainment, social

8:20

justice, social impact, lifestyle like,

8:23

I think there are more experiments

8:25

and ways to interest each sort

8:27

of pocketive audience in those

8:29

topics as long as it feels like something

8:32

that's relevant to them. At our core, we'll continue

8:34

to do what we say, you know, an interval present,

8:37

which is sort of like amplify underserved

8:39

audiences and voices. Yeah, and that

8:41

work will continue to remain at the core.

8:43

But yes, I could definitely see us doing more

8:46

in the entertainment lifestyle cultural

8:48

lane, but with the lens as I

8:50

said before, of sort of like the DNA

8:52

of a record label.

8:54

For you, what is different about podcasting

8:56

than other medium in terms of a path for

8:59

communication in a way for entertainment,

9:01

whether through your own personal experience or

9:03

how you guys think of it as creators

9:05

and producers of content.

9:07

How do you see podcasting being different than other

9:09

medium?

9:10

You know, I honestly, I think it's so such

9:12

a multi layered, multi faceted way

9:14

to tell stories. You know,

9:17

it's almost not to over use this, but it's almost

9:19

cinematic in nature, right, And when we go through

9:21

these productions, by the way, it does feel like we're

9:23

doing Mind your Owner. When we're doing Underwater,

9:26

it feels like you're making a movie. It feels like

9:28

you're making a TV show. That's the sort of you

9:30

know, the layers of development and production

9:33

and editing and the nature with

9:35

which we sort of choose the sound design,

9:37

Like, those are the types of you know, that's

9:40

the level of scrutiny that each piece of these

9:42

stories kind of goes through, any podcasts

9:44

go through. So I think given

9:46

the sort of convergence of how people

9:49

are listening to podcasts and listening

9:51

to music, I think that there's some really interesting

9:53

ways to kind of combine

9:55

those and make them feel a little bit more seamless.

9:58

You know, there are shows when I listen to podcast

10:00

some of the podcasts I listen to, that's

10:02

where I get my music recommendations, you

10:04

know. Yeah, some of it's like you know, I

10:07

think there are certain times where if

10:09

I'm really passionate about a particular artist

10:11

and that artist is a guest on a podcast,

10:13

that I automatically want to go to listen to that podcast.

10:15

So I think we're trying to think of the world

10:18

in a very cohesive way that

10:20

allows for a lot more of that crossover

10:22

and blending of consumption for the listeners.

10:24

Yeah, it makes perfect sense.

10:26

And I think you guys are playing in a really interesting

10:28

space right now, because as we've looked

10:30

at the statistics around how and

10:32

when people are listening to podcasts

10:34

versus other forms of audio, we were a

10:36

little bit surprised, to be honest, that now

10:38

you're looking at about sixty five is seventy

10:41

percent of podcast consumption happening

10:43

at home. I think we've traditionally thought

10:45

of it as being sort of a commuting type

10:48

consumption.

10:49

Radio is that way. Radio is sort of the inverse

10:51

about it.

10:51

About seventy percent of radio consumption is

10:53

happening outside the home, but about seventy

10:55

percent of podcast consumption at home.

10:58

It sort of speaks to what you're talking

11:00

about.

11:00

I think there's this room for these

11:03

higher production quality, you know,

11:05

brilliantly told stories that

11:07

are becoming a new form of entertainment.

11:09

It's not just information collecting,

11:12

which sort of the early days of podcasting

11:14

was you know, your standard chat show two people

11:16

talking at the mic, which of course is a great

11:18

format and it's stood the test of time and works

11:21

really well. But these types of stories that you

11:23

guys are talking about telling, as we think

11:25

about these incredible talent coming into

11:27

the space, I think it's opening that door

11:29

to some really interesting ways

11:32

to tell stories.

11:33

I know it's exciting.

11:34

I don't know if that matches up with your own listening

11:36

if as a podcast listener, how does

11:38

that sort of match up against when you were finding

11:41

the time to listen to podcasts?

11:42

You know, I think it depends for me, Like

11:44

and I by the way, I echo all those elements.

11:47

I think like we're looking for very unique

11:49

ways of telling stories and then in podcasting

11:52

lend themselves to that. So totally agree there.

11:54

For me, it kind of depends. It depends

11:57

on probably my mood. I have my go

11:59

tos, but sometimes, you know, if I'm

12:01

really busy, but I want to catch up on like what's going

12:03

on in sports world. I have my like kind of sports

12:06

podcasts, you know, giving where we sit

12:08

in the industry, and you know, thinking about industry

12:10

trends. I have like my music and like tech

12:13

you know, business genre podcasts I listen to.

12:15

And then you know, when I'm more sort of leisurely

12:17

and kind of listening to things for just pure entertainment,

12:20

that it's like a little bit more of the the

12:22

chat show or the occasional thing

12:24

that's a little bit off the beaten path. And of

12:26

course I spend a lot of time listening to all the Interval

12:29

Presents podcasts on a weekly basis, so that

12:31

takes up a decent amount of time too.

12:33

Yeah, well it's fun.

12:34

I think if you were listening to the shows that you guys

12:36

produce across the board, you've got a great

12:38

mix of shows that make you feel a

12:40

bit smarter.

12:41

You know.

12:41

Ebanie does such a great job of this with holding

12:44

Court. Yes it's entertaining. Yes, she's

12:46

fun to listen to. Joways walk

12:48

away feeling a little bit smarter. You certainly

12:50

feel entertained, You feel at least

12:52

closer and more up to date on

12:54

the culture, like you said, whether it's music

12:57

recommendations, whether it's just understanding

12:59

what's on artists. But you guys are building

13:01

a really really interesting slate

13:03

oft shows, and frankly, I'm excited to see

13:05

where it all goes. But congrats on what you

13:07

guys have built to this point, Alan, it's really

13:10

fun to watch.

13:10

I don't know if you have any parting thoughts for us.

13:13

I'm just really one appreciative

13:15

of our partnership. You know, when we built Infal

13:18

Presents, we wanted to focus on the areas where

13:20

we thought we would have our sort of core capabilities

13:23

around finding good content,

13:25

producing that content, or partnering with talent

13:27

and production partners so to create the content and

13:29

sort of marketing that content. But on

13:31

the distribution front, on the monization

13:34

front, you guys have been terrific partners

13:36

and it's allowed us to stick to the areas

13:38

where we feel strongest. So, you

13:41

know, i'd say thank you so much for that. That's

13:43

one, and you know two, i'd say look

13:45

out for Ennival Presents. We're still not going

13:47

to be in the massive scale game, but

13:49

because we do sort of quality over quantity.

13:52

I hope to continue sort of you know, batting a

13:54

thousand when it comes to content that we think

13:56

will resonate with audiences, so we're looking

13:58

forward to it as well.

13:59

No, that's great.

14:00

Well, there's awesome shows. If you have not checked

14:02

out an Unworld Present show, be sure

14:04

too. We've talked about a few of them here today,

14:06

but some really good ones to come.

14:08

But Alan, thanks so much for spending some time with.

14:10

Us today, Thank you for having me appreciate it, and.

14:12

Thanks everybody for joining us. We'll be back again

14:14

next week. Take Care.

14:24

Podversations is a production of iHeartRadio.

14:27

You could find more from the biggest names in podcasting

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14:31

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