4 ms·

Ask HN: Why hasn't an IMDB/Goodreads for podcasts emerged?

A few people have tried to build this (e.g., Podchaser). But nothing has come close to being really successful. What's the hold up? Is this one of those seemingly "good ideas" that's just not that good?

brudgers 3y ago
The market size podcasts is tiny compared to books and movies. IMDB and Goodreads address mass media. Podcasts are niche. Even the most popular ones. In addition books and movies have the backing of multinational corporations. So there is marketing to create cultural awareness. There’s no IMBB for YouTube and no Goodreads for blog posts, either.
pyridines 3y ago
I would like one. It's hard to find trustworthy curated lists of good podcasts
- kelseyfrog 3y ago
  I kinda like that we don't have central clearing houses for podcast recommendations. It makes it one of the few remaining forms of media where I have to rely on friends to disseminate their likes and dislikes and give recommendations. The sharing of these primarily in real life social interactions is a part of the predigital age I actually want to keep around.
1123581321 3y ago
Is ListenNotes considered successful? I usually go there to search for interview episodes.
- jonathanrstern 3y ago
  Moderately successful but not a smashing hit in my book
huytersd 3y ago
Because the IMDb for podcasts is built into the Apple ecosystem. It has ratings, reviews, category lists, best of lists etc.
- jonathanrstern 3y ago
  Apple doesn't have a list of the 1,000 best episodes all-time Apple also doesn't offer any sort of community around individual episodes/shows
  - huytersd 3y ago
    It does have a smaller list of best this week, month etc.
bl4kers 3y ago
Maybe because books and movies are more static/unchanging in nature? I realize IMDB also does TV but even then many podcasts have a frequent release schedule that outpaces nearly every other medium besides maybe streaming. Because of this, reviews become stale quicker, and some podcasts talk about something different every episode which makes recommendations trickier Also worth noting Amazon owns both IMDB and Goodreads. Many folks seem to think they're neglected now and not great platforms anymore
- jonathanrstern 3y ago
  Certainly true of many episodes. But still think there could/should be a top 1,000 all-time list — filterable by category.
nonameiguess 3y ago
IMDB itself already includes podcasts. I think your question is really why you and others don't seem to know that. The Joe Rogan Experience, which as far as I understand is far and away the world's most popular podcast, has 4.5k total ratings. Gen V, which has existed for a month, already has 19k. Podcasts just aren't that popular. But it's nothing specific about the format. Largely informational, non-fiction content, even extremely high-quality, long-running classics, don't get much attention from critics and discussion groups. Nova has been running for nearly 50 years now and has 3k ratings on IMDB, even fewer than Joe Rogan.
- jonathanrstern 3y ago
  There ought to be a dedicated IMDb for podcasts, just as there is one for books
- mattbrewsbytes 3y ago
  > non-fiction content Not factual content either. Interview style podcasts are just some people sitting around chatting, there really isn't any fact checking going on. Once you've seen an interview of someone you don't really need to see the rest of the podcasts they appear on as they make the rounds pushing their latest book/movie/show/platform/whatever.
schwartzworld 3y ago
Because you haven't built it
Martinussen 3y ago
Books and movies predate the internet and discussion forums, podcasts are generally discovered near platforms that they use for communities already. Also, books/movies usually being published more properly (ids, canonical credits, companies behind, etc) is a more obvious "database", if you look past the ratings
aristofun 3y ago
Fundamental reason is that books/films is an art. Something that belongs to eternity. Something that people have always been collecting. Podcasts are just entertainment to fill the time, air. Like radio. Who cares or ever cared about collecting radio programs?
KomoD 3y ago
> But nothing has come close to being really successful How is Podchaser not? 500k MAU in 2021, for something as niche as podcasts I'd call that successful And then there's also Listen Notes with 2mil MAU

brudgers 3y ago

The market size podcasts is tiny compared to books and movies. IMDB and Goodreads address mass media. Podcasts are niche. Even the most popular ones. In addition books and movies have the backing of multinational corporations. So there is marketing to create cultural awareness. There’s no IMBB for YouTube and no Goodreads for blog posts, either.

pyridines 3y ago

I would like one. It's hard to find trustworthy curated lists of good podcasts

kelseyfrog 3y ago
I kinda like that we don't have central clearing houses for podcast recommendations. It makes it one of the few remaining forms of media where I have to rely on friends to disseminate their likes and dislikes and give recommendations. The sharing of these primarily in real life social interactions is a part of the predigital age I actually want to keep around.

1123581321 3y ago

Is ListenNotes considered successful? I usually go there to search for interview episodes.

jonathanrstern 3y ago
Moderately successful but not a smashing hit in my book

huytersd 3y ago

Because the IMDb for podcasts is built into the Apple ecosystem. It has ratings, reviews, category lists, best of lists etc.

jonathanrstern 3y ago
Apple doesn't have a list of the 1,000 best episodes all-time Apple also doesn't offer any sort of community around individual episodes/shows
- huytersd 3y ago
  It does have a smaller list of best this week, month etc.

bl4kers 3y ago

Maybe because books and movies are more static/unchanging in nature? I realize IMDB also does TV but even then many podcasts have a frequent release schedule that outpaces nearly every other medium besides maybe streaming. Because of this, reviews become stale quicker, and some podcasts talk about something different every episode which makes recommendations trickier Also worth noting Amazon owns both IMDB and Goodreads. Many folks seem to think they're neglected now and not great platforms anymore

jonathanrstern 3y ago
Certainly true of many episodes. But still think there could/should be a top 1,000 all-time list — filterable by category.

nonameiguess 3y ago

IMDB itself already includes podcasts. I think your question is really why you and others don't seem to know that. The Joe Rogan Experience, which as far as I understand is far and away the world's most popular podcast, has 4.5k total ratings. Gen V, which has existed for a month, already has 19k. Podcasts just aren't that popular. But it's nothing specific about the format. Largely informational, non-fiction content, even extremely high-quality, long-running classics, don't get much attention from critics and discussion groups. Nova has been running for nearly 50 years now and has 3k ratings on IMDB, even fewer than Joe Rogan.

jonathanrstern 3y ago
There ought to be a dedicated IMDb for podcasts, just as there is one for books
mattbrewsbytes 3y ago
> non-fiction content Not factual content either. Interview style podcasts are just some people sitting around chatting, there really isn't any fact checking going on. Once you've seen an interview of someone you don't really need to see the rest of the podcasts they appear on as they make the rounds pushing their latest book/movie/show/platform/whatever.

schwartzworld 3y ago

Because you haven't built it

Martinussen 3y ago

Books and movies predate the internet and discussion forums, podcasts are generally discovered near platforms that they use for communities already. Also, books/movies usually being published more properly (ids, canonical credits, companies behind, etc) is a more obvious "database", if you look past the ratings

aristofun 3y ago

Fundamental reason is that books/films is an art. Something that belongs to eternity. Something that people have always been collecting. Podcasts are just entertainment to fill the time, air. Like radio. Who cares or ever cared about collecting radio programs?

KomoD 3y ago

> But nothing has come close to being really successful How is Podchaser not? 500k MAU in 2021, for something as niche as podcasts I'd call that successful And then there's also Listen Notes with 2mil MAU