There are over 550,000 podcasts available to listen to right now. That metric was dropped by Apple at their annual Worldwide Developer’s Conference this past June, so it’s fair to say this includes only the shows on Apple Podcasts.
These podcasts run the gamut from politics to true crime to improv comedy to scripted dramas, plus everything in between. And according to data published in Entrepreneur, roughly a quarter of Americans listened to podcasts monthly back in 2017; that number seems to be growing just as much as the number of series.
Those statistics might seem massive, but a bookstore and podcast studio in Northwest Indiana is wading through the noise to strengthen local voices.
Green Door Used Books and Studio in Hobart just celebrated the bookstore’s first anniversary in July. Since they opened its (green) door, co-owners Michael Massengill and Sreten Jovanovic have wanted the podcast studio to work in tandem with the store.
“Once we started, we haven’t skipped [an episode],” Jovanovic said. Jovanovic runs the studio side of Green Door while Massengill handles the bookstore.
Jovanovic has taken a hands-on approach to the shows on the Green Door Network, producing and recording every series. He says that if you hear a voice on a Green Door podcast that doesn’t belong to the host, it’s more than likely him.
The storefront of Green Door Used Books and Studio in Hobart, IN. (Photo: Green Door / Facebook)
Since the network launched, there have been four core shows dropping new episodes each week: Musically Meditated highlights new albums or lesser known artists, much of the time in the niches of punk and hip-hop; Juice Pro Wrestling is about getting lapsed fans back into the sport; and Prix on Flix brings together two cousins for a movie review show. And if you couldn’t tell from that title, those last two aren’t exactly safe for work.
On top of those regular shows are Jon G’s Fantasy Hustle, a fantasy football series set to make its second-season return when the new season of the NFL kicks off in September, and Stephanie’s Train Travels, stories from a woman’s work with Amtrak and with an interesting story behind it – but more on that in a moment.
Jovanovic says Green Door is launching three new shows next month, and he hopes to bring the grand total of podcasts up to 20 by Thanksgiving.
If someone is the kind of person who sees a group chatting at a table and thinks, “I could do that,” Jovanovic has a reply: Come on in and give it a shot.
The Green Door Studio is open to anyone wanting to book it. The space has everything one might need for recording a podcast: microphones, a soundboard – and Jovanovic recently constructed a mount to hold several webcams, if someone might want to add a video element to their recording.
“If you saw it, you might giggle if you’re a woodworker. If you know nothing about woodworking, you’d be impressed,” he joked. He’s hoping to tackle the ability to livestream shows next, if he can solve the studio’s connectivity problem.
Jovanovic says he gets some odd requests for projects from time to time, but he’s up for it as long as the concept is exciting to the person bringing it.
“If you come up and you say, ‘I have this crazy idea,’ we don’t usually say no,” he said. “I like people to be as creative as they can within the limitations that we have.”
One such request came with the host of Stephanie’s Train Travels. “She came in because she wanted to see if we knew someone who could ghost write her autobiography,” Jovanovic said. Massengill convinced her to instead get her ideas down in a podcast, which would be less stressful than finding a writer.
From there, Stephanie’s Train Travels ran for 13 episodes with a special touch. The guys at Green Door bought a pair of binaural microphones; they look like earbuds but record sound around the wearer in a 3D space. This allowed them to transport listeners to Stephanie’s time working on trains.
Jovanovic is of the mind that anyone can start a podcast. It just takes enthusiasm and a concept that the host actually wants to keep running with. Chatting about nothing for a whole show can only get you so far.
“I’ve never met anyone charming enough to wing it every week for an hour,” he said.
But it’s a strong level of passion that he believes elevates the podcasts as well as areas like the Region on the whole.
“Now you have all these different people in small towns who are realizing that if you have a thing that you’re obsessed with…If your vision in life is to find a small town and have that small-town pride…anyone can be in business,” Jovanovic said.
For those looking to break into the podcasting game, Jovanovic has a quick piece of advice: “Just do it and work out the kinks. Don’t worry about an audience, don’t worry about anything.”
His biggest tip is to pick a schedule and stick to it. He also advises not to lean on audience metrics while developing a show. Podcasting will be fun if you enjoy what you’re making. And in the meantime, get what you can out of it, like improving your public speaking and storytelling skills.
If you have an idea for a podcast and find yourself in the Region, you can check out Green Door Used Books and Studio online at their store page or the Green Door Network blog, although Jovanovic is currently working on revamping their main site.
