(By AMANDA GEYER)
Over the past two years, podcast popularity has skyrocketed. That’s because the demand for on-demand radio has shot through the roof, to the point that 55% (155 million) of the U.S. population has listened to a podcast, according to figures reported by Podcast Insights.
Jude McClaren is one of the many people taking part in the growing podcast industry. He calls his podcast “The JTM,” after his initials.
“Yeah, it may be a bit cheesy, but the name works for some great puns,” says the 20-year-old from Kyle. “For example, my social media handle for the show is @CheckYourJTM, like an ATM. And you’ve always got to check your ATM, so I thought maybe that was clever enough to get listeners to keep checking out the episodes.”
Jude’s podcast is sports-based, but branches out into other topics at times.
“The beauty of podcasts in my opinion is that you have unlimited freedom; you can talk about whatever you want,” Jude says. “I usually talk major sports like football and basketball, but I’ll also branch out sometimes to talk about my favorite albums of the year so far or I’ll have friends on and just talk about random stuff that pops up in our conversations.”
Jude, who is a junior at Texas State University-San Marcos majoring in public relations, is trying to reach all sports listeners, but he specifically talks about football, basketball, and most recently Mixed Martial Arts.
“I talk about things other than sports sometimes, but that’s mainly what I discuss,” Jude says. “I’ll try to find the top headlines in the NBA, college basketball, the NFL, college football, and the UFC and give my opinions in an unbiased manner because I feel like that’s rare in today’s media world.”
The goal for “The JTM” podcast is to eventually build it into a revenue-producing product.
“I obviously want to provide value, information and entertainment,” he says. “But with the way the industry has taken off, I know that this is now something I can make a career out of and pay the bills with. It never feels like work, and if I can make this my main occupation, I’ll feel like I’ve never worked a day in my life in my career.”
While Jude tries to stay unbiased, he admits he favors storylines on his favorite teams, but makes sure to vocalize that on the show. Even though he is a big Louisiana State University fan, he likes to make sure to branch out to mention lots of other sports teams to keep his listeners engaged in every episode.
“I talk a lot of LSU football on the pod, as well as the (San Antonio) Spurs and (New Orleans) Saints for pro sports. I do my best to stay unbiased on those opinions as well, but I also let listeners know that I do have a bias toward these teams before I speak on them.”
Connor MacKinnon, host of the “Def CAM Recordings” podcast — and frequent collaborator of Jude’s — says Jude helped him get into podcasting.
“Jude was one of the main reasons I wanted to start a podcast,” Connor says. “I heard one of his episodes and I thought to myself, if he can do it, I can do it. He also recommended recording equipment and how to distribute my show.”
Jude plans on being consistent with podcasting a decade from now.
“I know it may seem like a lofty goal, but I see myself still doing this, and having a consistent income in 10 years,” Jude says. “I may still have a day job where I use my degree, but the main goal is to make this my main job and be my own boss.”
Podcasting has been one of the newest media trends over the past two years, with over 30 million new episodes released as of April 2020. Jude’s show “The JTM” makes up just a few of those 30 million episodes, but he’s doing his best to be consistent and make it to the top of the charts.
Jude releases anywhere from two to five episodes a week and has been doing that consistently since around October. They’re currently available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
“My plans for the future are to stay consistent and to gain more listeners over the next couple of months,” he says. “I’m really looking forward to what the future holds for ‘The JTM.’”
