Music podcast

A Music podcast is a genre of podcasts covering topics related to music and musicians, which often includes reviews, interpretations, new releases, musician interviews, music history, music creation, and music theory.
History.
One of the earliest music podcasts, called "Coverville", was started in 2004. "Accident Hash and Irish & Celtic Music Podcast" and began podcasts the following year.
Positive Feedback Magazine began hosting one of the earliest music podcast in the Fall of 2005. The show, hosted by Austin Jackson, was called the "Boston Audio HiFi Industry Podcast". In each episode, Austin Jackson would take user-submitted questions and spend thirty minutes interviewing musicians and other figures in the music industry.
Spotify was one of the earliest platforms to produce music podcasts and has launched the most music podcasts when compared with other platforms. Spotify launched their first Spotify original music podcast, entitled "Clarify", in the Fall of 2016. They announced on February 23, 2017 that they would be launching three additional Spotify original music podcasts. The first was entitled "Showstopper", which discussed memorable music moments on TV. The next was "Unpacked", a podcast focused on interviewing music festival goers across the United States. The third podcast, originally called "The Chris Lighty Story" but later renamed to "Mogul", was about the life and career of the late music executive Chris Lighty. In 2018, Spotify signed exclusive deals with two more music podcasts—"The Joe Budden Podcast" and "Dissect". However, Joe Budden took his podcast off of Spotify two years later when he decided that the company was too difficult to work with and was "pillaging his audience." In 2020, Spotify celebrated Latinx Heritage Month by promoting latinx music and podcasts, which included the music podcasts entitled "Sound Stories: Reggaeton", "Made in Medellín", and "California Love". The platform also hosted the Spotify exclusive music podcast entitled "Transmissions: The Definitive Story of Joy Division & New Order" and "The Ringer Music Show". Spotify launched the platform exclusive country music podcast entitled "Country Shine with Graham Bunn". In 2020, The platform released the Spotify exclusive Disney music podcast entitled "Soul Stories" on Christmas day. In 2021, the platform partnered with Dreamville to launch the Spotify original music podcast entitled "The Messenger". The podcast was based on Bobi Wine's life. Other music podcasts that are Spotify exclusives include "Wind of Change" and "Lost Notes".
Many other music services, radio stations, and news organizations have produced or funded music podcasts, which are sometimes exclusive to their own platforms. For instance, Sony Music released the music podcast "My 90s Playlist", Universal Music Group and Wondery launched "Jacked: Rise of the New Jack Sound", iHeartRadio released "Speed of Sound", and NPR launched "Louder Than A Riot". Sony Music, however, has stated that they did not intend to only produce music podcasts. In June 2020, iTunes started hosting the music podcast entitled "The Zane Lowe Interview Series" hosted by Zane Lowe. The "Talkhouse" podcast is also on iTunes. One of the top music podcasts on iTunes was "Cocaine & Rhinestones" in 2018. Google launched its first music podcast, entitled "City Soundtracks", around the same time Spotify released "Showstopper". Music podcasts have also been produced independently by musicians or music enthusiasts. For example, Sylvan Esso and Pharrell Williams have created their own independent podcasts as well as They Might Be Giants.
Music in podcasts and licensing.
Creating music for podcast transitions and backgrounds has been a way for music students and obscure bands to showcase their work. For example, Mark Henry Phillips the composer of the music for the podcast Serial. And music podcasts can provide an easy way for obscure artists to get interviews and publicity.
Some music podcasts have been removed from platforms for containing music that wasn't licensed by the podcaster, which has been an issue for transition and background music in the podcasting scene as well.
Reception.
According to Marcus J. Moore of the Washington Post, the "All Songs Considered" and "Tiny Desk Concerts" podcasts consistently top the iTunes and Stitcher charts with 2.3 million downloads a month as of April 2016.
Forbes mentions "Washed Up Emo", "Song Exploder", and "City Soundtracks" as examples of music podcasts and discusses the profitability of podcasts"." Music streaming services began expanding into podcasting because music podcasts are complementary to music and draw a wider audience to their platforms.
Notable examples.
Emma Carey of Esquire Magazine compiled a list of the best music podcasts for discovering and digesting music. The list included "Song Exploder" hosted by Thao Nguyen, "Dissect" hosted by Cole Cuchna, "Louder Than a Riot" hosted by Rodney Carmichael and Sidney Madden, "Switched on Pop" hosted by Nate Sloan and Chris Harding, "Questlove Supreme" hosted by Ahmir Khalib Thompson, "Rolling Stone: Music Now" hosted by Rolling Stone Magazine, "All Songs Considered" hosted by Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton, "Talkhouse" host by the Talkhouse Media, "Lost Notes" hosted by KCRW, and "No Effects" hosted by Jesse Cohen.
Dan Price of Make Use Of Magazine compiled a list of the best 2019 music podcasts that are Spotify originals or hosted exclusively on the Spotify platform. The list included "Showstopper" hosted by Naomi Zeichner, "The Joe Budden Podcast" hosted by Joe Budden, "Dissect" hosted by Cole Cuchna, "Microphone Check" hosted by Frannie Kelley and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, "Fest and Flauschig" hosted by Jan Böhmermann and Olli Schulz, "MotoGP Podcast" hosted by Spotify Studios and Dorna Sports, "Are and Be" hosted by Spotify Studios, "David's out for a Good Time" hosted by David Olshanetsky, "Under Cover" hosted by Spotify Studios, and "Amy Schumer Presents: 3 Girls, 1 Keith" hosted by Amy Schumer.
John Kennedy of Clash Magazine compiled a list of the best music podcasts to listen to during the COVID-19 pandemic lock down. The list included "Tape Notes" hosted by John Kennedy, "The Adam Buxton Podcast" hosted by Adam Buxton, "James Acaster’s Perfect Sounds" hosted by James Acaster, "Elevenses" hosted by Danielle Perry, "Bugeye’s Rock Pop Rambles" hosted by Angela Martin, and "Tales From No Man’s Land" hosted by Frank Turner.
Bianca Rodriguez of Marie Claire Magazine compiled a list of the best music podcasts. The list included "Song Exploder", "Broken Record", "Desert Island Discs", "Hit Parade", "Tiny Desk Concerts", "Riffs On Riffs", "Popcast", "Your Favorite Band Sucks", "Rolling Stone Music Now", "Song vs. Song", and "Disgraceland".
Anne Bensfield and Pamela Rogers of the School Library Journal compiled a list of the best music podcasts for starting off the year 2021.
Adaptions.
Music podcasts have been adapted into other mediums such as "Song Exploder", which was adapted into a Netflix original film.
Awards.
"Above the Basement" won the 2020 Boston Music Awards for best Music Podcast / Radio Show of the Year.
The 2020 iHeartRadio nominees for best music podcast included "All Songs Considered" by NPR, "Bobbycast" by iHeartRadio, "Broken Record" "with Malcolm Gladwell, Rick Rubin, and Bruce Headlam" by Pushkin Industries, "DISGRACELAND" by iHeartRadio, "expediTIously with Tip ‘T.I.’ Harris" by PodcastOne, "Song Exploder" by Radiotopia, "Sound Opinions" by WBEZ Chicago. The winner of the 2020 iHeartRadio award for best music podcast was "DISGRACELAND".
The 2021 iHeartRadio nominees for best music podcast include "Bobbycast" by The Nashville Podcast Network, "Broken Record" by Pushkin Industries, "Disgraceland" by Jake Brennan, "Dolly Parton’s America" by WNYC & OSM Audio, and "Song Exploder" by Hrishikesh Hirway. "Dolly Parton’s America" by WNYC & OSM Audio won the 2021 iHeartRadio award for best Music Podcast.
The People's Choice Podcast Award for Best Music Podcast has been awarded to "Coverville", "Accident Hash", "Catholic Rockers", "Irish & Celtic Music Podcast", "JuRY", "The Modern Vinyl Podcast", and "Switched on Pop".