Why Community & Crowdfunding Beats Quick Money with Myke Hurley of Designed in California & Relay FM

About this episode

Can raising $300,000 on Kickstarter change the playbook for independent podcast monetization? In this episode of PodBiz, Norma Jean Belenky and John Kiernan speak with Myke Hurley, co-founder of Relay FM and co-host of Designed in California, about the realities of building a sustainable podcast business. Myke shares how an Apple 50th-anniversary special episode on Upgrade sparked a runaway Kickstarter campaign that raised over $311,000. As he puts it: "The key has always been with monetization for podcasting is to not set out to get it. I think people that are like, 'I want to make money, I will start a podcast,' they will very quickly realize that that's not a path." Here are some insightful moments within the episode: 🎧 Why chasing quick money in podcasting fails 🎧 How Designed in California turned an episode idea into a $300K+ Kickstarter success 🎧 The importance of delivering a finished product or proof-of-concept during crowdfunding 🎧 Why labor, licensing, and production quality separate good work from great work 🎧 Navigating the current video podcast trend with a healthy dose of skepticism 🎧 The personal sacrifices required to build an independent podcast n