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Does the podcasting world yet have a superstar?

Podcasting as a medium is pretty small-time, but podcasting is growing as media moves online. Today, we can consume whatever media we want, whenever we want it. Terrestrial radio is being hit just like every other form of media as evidenced by the recent format switch of KLSX, the station that used to have Adam Carolla’s morning talk show. KLSX decided that they want to spin cheap records rather than pay for expensive personalities and, in that ugly shuffle, Adam Carolla was unceremoniously axed. 

Fans cried. Many a fan called on the last two day of The Adam Carolla Show to weep as Adam comforted each and every one of them, reminding them that change is almost always good. As a shot in the arm to those suffering, Aceman—he calls himself “Ace”—assured each of his listeners that he wasn’t going anywhere. Huge numbers of fans across the world were downloading his daily KLSX-sponsored podcast and streaming KLSX live. Adam knew then his potential: if terrestrial radio won’t have me, I’ll still have fans out there.

Carolla took a giant leap into the podcast-only world. Sure, other big personalities put out podcasts. These podcasts are almost always marketing for another vehicle—like a TV show or a radio how—or an in-the-basement kind of affair. The This American Life podcast, for example, wouldn’t exist without the NPR show already broadcasting nationwide on NPR affiliate stations. No giant star has tried to monetize or capitalize on the podcast-only medium. That is, until now.

The Adam Carolla Show ended on a Friday. That following Monday, fans all over the world took to their computers and found a podcast just for them. Carolla was using his own money. He had no sponsorships, no advertising. He was using his own equipment, his own domain name, his own electricity to record about 45 minutes of Adam being typical Adam, uncut as the marketers say. Often times, he says, he is in a bath robe. Sure, it was no four hour radio time slot and didn’t benefit from a studio full of equipment with people to run it. But the feeling was very raw and organic. The show was, indeed, that methadone to keep Adam fans satiated. 

Since then, Adam has pulled out all the stops to get guests, the usual suspects of Adam’s circle: Dr. Drew, his former co hosts Theresa and Bryan, Larry Miller, Bill Simmons, and David Allen Grier, all popular guests on the morning show. But from the moment The Adam Carolla Podcast went online, it was pretty obvious that Carolla has stumbled on something great. His first show, a sort of airing-out of laundry, certainly an uncharacteristically melancholy Adam, was downloaded over a quarter of a million times. Granted, the show wasn’t even on iTunes for easy download yet. 

Since then, ratings have been high for the show. It is ranked number 1 on the iTunes “Top Podcasts” list. In a little over a week of podcasts, the show has been downloaded over a 1.6 million times. This begs the question: have we found Podcasting’s first superstar? When Carolla was on a podcasted corporate radio show, he enjoyed the backing of a company to do the work for him. Today, he’s paying his own way just to connect with fans (and maybe get some bread down the road). It’s genius marketing and self-promotion. Most of all, it’s great talk radio, the kind of radio we’d actually like to hear over the airwaves.