From radio network to cross-media platform: Exploring KBR’s exclusive podcast deal with Spotify
While the podcast scene is growing in Indonesia, few are exploring journalistic storytelling podcasts like Citra Prastuti and her team at KBR Prime.
Takeaways
Radio organizations that have yet to adopt podcasting should consider an expansion into digital content — even if podcasting is not yet fully mainstream.
Pitching content for a platform like Spotify may mean striking a balance between an organization’s traditional style of content and the goals/target audience of said platform.
Audience acquisition can be difficult even for well-resourced podcasts. Get creative with your use of social media and cross-platform promotion to drive listeners.
Listener analytics are helpful but not exhaustive. Understand how to use data to your advantage but be wary of limitations.
“What should we do — news or not news? How do we stay true to our values in the content we produce?”
— Citra on the process of deciding what to pitch Spotify.
Context
Citra Dyah Prastuti is the Editor-in-Chief at KBR, Indonesia’s first independent and largest radio news company. Since launching KBR’s podcasts (KBR Prime) in 2018, Citra has led the organization in signing an exclusive deal with Spotify and expanding to host 30 podcasts.
At Beta, Citra shared the insights she gathered from leading KBR’s journey into podcasting.
KBR’s Journey
Early Days
KBR started out as a radio project of a prominent NGO fighting for freedom of expression.
In 1999, they launched more formally as a radio news agency with the aim of increasing open access to information for all Indonesians. At the time, they had 7 partner stations.
Now, over twenty years later, KBR operates in 34 provinces, has 500 partner stations, 6 hours of daily programming, and both satellite and internet streaming.
Even today, KBR continues to prioritize its original values of humanity, democracy, social justice, tolerance, and public empowerment.
From broadcast to podcast
With decreasing radio ad-spending and the rise of digital distribution, KBR decided in 2018 to take on the world of podcasting.
This transition was both a strategic business move and a good way for KBR to showcase its love of audio and quality journalism.
KBR’s podcast platform, KBR Prime, was launched and branded as a collection of “Podcasts for Curious Minds.”
Content is rolled on a daily, weekly, and seasonal basis. Daily content is repackaged from news broadcasts, while weekly and seasonal content is created both in-house and with external collaborators.
Deal with Spotify
While podcasting was exploding globally, KBR’s journalistic, storytelling-based podcasting stood out in the Indonesian market.
After getting in touch with the Spotify Southeast Asia team, KBR needed to come up with a strategy for pitching original content to Spotify.
A successful pitch required a delicate balance of creating content that would resonate with Spotify’s target audience while still staying true to KBR’s strength and values.
Spotify and KBR ultimately came to a deal with Dear Dearest— an Indonesian love letter podcast inspired by the popular New York Times & WBUR collaboration Modern Love.
KBR’s decision to launch a creative storytelling-based podcast as a news agency was met with some questioning but ultimately proved to be a suitable path for the organization.
Lessons learned
Starting KBR Prime came with a steep learning curve. Citra shared some of the lessons that the KBR team has learned along the way.
Production
Truly scrutinize all elements of your final product such as title, description, audio, structure, trailer, etc.
Be prepared for the hard work to continue after the launch of each episode as you work through the data to better understand your audience.
Marketing
Get creative. KBR found success with cross-platform promotion between the KBR radio network and Spotify. For instance, they work with Spotify music to reach non-podcast listeners by partnering with artists.
Experiment with giving your podcast a social media identity that is unique from that of your platform/organization.
Teamwork
Focus on building trust both externally with partners and internally within your own team.
Having a diversity of skills on your team is crucial. Include both people who have specific necessary abilities and those who understand the system as a whole.
Project management tools become more important as podcasting requires longer-term planning than typical day-to-day news reporting.