From Paris and London we learn that a global collaboration of podcast/audio producers, businesses, and publishers has opened the International Podcast Alliance (IPA). It is formed by the Professionnels et Indépendants de l’Audio and trade organization AudioUK.
The aim is to strengthen dialog across formats and geographies, share market data and support market development, and promote best practices.
“The goal is to create a robust international forum that supports the sustainable development of podcast markets worldwide, ensuring a fair, diverse, and independent podcast and audio ecosystem.” — IPA
The initiative has sprung from common challenges faced by independent producers and publishers; those challenges exist in several areas:
- legality
- fair practices
- public funding access
- a fragmented ecosystem
Initiating members include organizations in Sweden, Canada, and Belgium. (More details HERE.)
Katia Sanerot is the President of the French Union of Independent Audio and Podcast Producers. “The podcast is a global phenomenon, growing everywhere with the same creative energy and the same structural challenges — from the lack of legal status to the absence of fair value sharing,” Sanerot observes. “Some answers will be found locally, but many of tomorrow’s solutions will have to be built together, at an international level.”
The IPA has set a quarterly meeting schedule of virtual meetings, and an annual in-person gathering. That annual meeting will shift around the participating countries.
The announcement is partly a public call for joining the group: “The IPA invites other professional podcast organizations and representative bodies (non profit organizations representing publisher and/or audio producers) to join this growing coalition.”
