Originally published in Shetland Life, July 2006 Edition.

Presumably when invented, the telephone, video cassette and calculator were dark futurist harbingers of doom to some, and warmly embraced new inventions to others. So it was with the internet, email and mobile phones and so it will no doubt be with podcasting.

Podcasting has been going on in Shetland for a couple of years now and indeed the pioneer podcasters are about to launch Shetland’s first podcast radio station. But more of that in a paragraph or two, first a bit of background to this 21st century wizardry.

Podcasting is a means of distributing multimedia files, such as sound files or music videos, over the Internet. They can then be played on computers and other equipment such as mobile phones or MP3 players. If you are savvy with any of the above you can probably get your head round podcasts.

Podcasting became popular in late 2004. The term was coined by Adam Curry, a former MTV DJ, who is now delightfully known as the ‘Podfather’. The technology started with Apple Mac, iPods and iTunes but is now used on many different machines such as PCs, mobile phones and MP3 players.

MP3 is the name for the way that sound is compressed into a file that can be transmitted across the Internet. An MP3 player plays these files.
Podcasts can be played there and then on your computer or downloaded to listen to later. What makes a podcast special is that it can be automatically updated every time you turn on your computer using software called a feed reader or, in podcasting terminology, a podcatcher.
What this means is that by downloading a link, or web feed, the podcatcher automatically downloads the podcast every time it has been updated with new content. You can then listen to the latest airing of your favourite podcast at your leisure.

Podcasts can be downloaded from many sources, usually known as directories, and many people are now making their own podcasts.
The podcasts are as varied as their hosts (or ‘podcasters’). If you are interested in anything at all there will be a podcast out there that tickles your fancy. Examples of directories include http://scotcast.net/ , http://www.podcastalley.com or http://scotpod.blogspot.com.

They range from music programmes and special interest shows to family diaries and general pontificating. You can do and say what you want and if people want to listen they will.

Freedom to transmit music or your verbal spoutings to the world may bring an ‘I could do that’ flash of inspiration. You probably can. Free software such as Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) allows you to record your own podcast.

Hook this up to a recording microphone on your computer and away you go. Yes, you do need a bit of technical savvy to do so but the internet is full of step-by-step instructions on how.

So what does this mean for Shetland? Like many technological advances of recent years podcasting is blind to geography. It is a just a tool and up to people to use it in innovative and creative ways.

One of the most successful podcasts (currently the third most popular on the directory http://scotcast.net/) is The David Lewis Show which is made in Sandwick by, the clue is in the title, David Lewis.

Jimmy Carlyle has been making his own podcasts in Shetland for some time now. Thanks to Jimmy it is now possible to listen to podcasts of the Shetland Folk Festival, Shetland Blues Festival and the recent Culture Clash. They can be found at http://sffpodcast.blogspot.com, http://shetlandbluespodcast.blogspot.com and http://shetlandcultureclash.blogspot.com respectively.

Music, the Internet and copyright are a tangled legal web. In many cases people making podcasts must email record companies individually to authorise use of the music. As Jimmy had to do in order to make his Shetland podcasts.

Fortunately it is also possible to find ‘Pod-safe’ music that bands or record companies have authorised the use of for podcasting. Sites such as http://music.podshow.com are networks of such music.

As Jimmy explains this new way of distributing music is ideal for unsigned bands: “New bands can get a worldwide fan base without a record deal,” but it is also possible to find familiar names out there too. “You’d think it would all be new, unsigned bands but there are quite a lot of big names too.”

There are thousands of tracks in hundreds of genres to trawl through but Jimmy doesn’t think that is a problem: “If your music is good enough people will find it.”

He cites examples of recent Internet successes such as the band The Arctic Monkeys who made history when, without an album release, their debut single hit number one on the UK charts. Internet downloads and a page on http://myspace.com/ fuelled their rise to stardom.

The appeal of the podcast is simple. It is free from music industry or conventional media restrictions. It is new, emerging and unrestricted. As Jimmy explains: “We can say whatever we want. Anyone can do it. There are no restrictions. As long as you have the content you can make a podcast.”

People such as Jimmy Carlyle and David Lewis demonstrate that the technology is already being embraced locally. And this is set to continue with the launch of a new Shetland based podcast radio station. The idea is very simple. A licensed podcast radio station broadcasting from Shetland. It will feature a range of regular shows that will be updated weekly or monthly and special shows that will always be available.

Marvin Smith and Alan McLeod became interested in the possibilities of podcasting after years of hosting their own monthly show, XS All Areas, one of BBC Radio Shetland’s late programmes.

However, the late programmes only run through the winter months and Marvin and Alan want to be able to broadcast more often. Podcasting will allow them to air on a weekly or monthly basis all through the year.

Marvin posted a notice on www.shetlink.com (an increasingly popular and lively Shetland community website) to see if anyone else was interested in getting involved. He has had good feedback.

Potential hosts include Davy Gardner, Tom Morton, David Lewis, Jimmy Carlyle, Maurice Henderson and Dave Kok, a Tasmanian living in Shetland who will be doing a heavy metal show.

Whilst they intend to promote Shetland music the content will be much wider ranging from fiddle and country music to heavy metal and pop. The station is Shetland by location not content. It is a new entity that will complement, rather than compete with, local media outlets such as SIBC and BBC Radio Shetland.

It will be licensed and Marvin is in the advanced stages of getting all available licenses. This means that the music does not have to come from ‘pod-safe’ sources only.

With hosts such as Fiddler’s Bid’s Maurice Henderson the Shetland shows look set to have huge appeal as Marvin explains: “Shetland music is famous across the world. There is a big audience. You could be sitting in Australia and download a live session from The Lounge.” The Shetland content should draw in listeners which in turn will benefit the
other shows.

Another important factor for the hosts is that the shows can be recorded at any time. Marvin and Alan both have young families and they will have the freedom to record any time they want. Likewise their listeners can listen at any time.

The technology required to produce the shows is not expensive but there will be running costs to maintain the website. Marvin believes that the project will be very attractive to sponsors. The potential audience is very large and listeners could hark from Sandwick to Sydney and from Nesting to New York.

The first podcasts will be available to download in the near future. The website is currently being built and once the legalities are in order Marvin and the other hosts will launch Shetland’s podcast radio station. It is, then, coming soon to a podcatcher near you.

Anyone interested in sponsorship opportunities should contact Marvin Smith on 07881820094

[tags]shetland, zetcast[/tags]