Over the past decade, the podcast medium has exploded as people turn to the audio content they want, when they want it, topped off with a healthy dollop of personality. Now, fans are pulling out their earbuds and turning out in big numbers to see their favorite hosts onstage.
Pabst Theater Group talent buyer Matt Beringer saw just how popular these live tapings have become in Milwaukee when, over a short span in November, tickets for three such shows went on sale. “That was a banner week for us,” he recalls. “It was the first week that I can remember where the ticket sales for digital content, be it a web series or podcast, exceeded either concerts or traditional stand-up comedy.”
The standout was “My Favorite Murder,” with its large, fanatical base of “Murderinos” who can’t get enough of its often-macabre true crime stories and the improvisational style of comedian hosts Karen Gilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. All 5,000 tickets sold in just three days, Beringer says.
He credits the rise of live podcast shows in large part to the fun and personality the hosts inject into their subject matter – and he doesn’t see any signs of the tours slowing down. “It’s going to continue to get bigger. We’ve seen a trend over the past five years of them becoming more and more reliable.”
