1 00:00:00,399 --> 00:00:04,080 Well, this is an interesting story that we're gonna talk about today. One that I 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,120 think you're gonna be seeing a lot more of in the coming years. We are 3 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:10,800 chatting with Jeff Revilla. He is the founder of Podutty Live. 4 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:14,575 It is out in Taranum, PA, just outside of Pittsburgh. It 5 00:00:14,575 --> 00:00:17,315 is a podcast theater. 6 00:00:18,494 --> 00:00:22,175 And like I was saying, I think the idea of live podcasting into events is, 7 00:00:22,175 --> 00:00:25,849 you know, really gonna grow in the coming years and super interested to 8 00:00:25,849 --> 00:00:29,689 learn more about the space and, your background. So, Jeff, thanks for being on the 9 00:00:29,689 --> 00:00:32,489 show with us. I'm so glad to be here. Having a good time already. We 10 00:00:32,489 --> 00:00:36,269 were having fun backstage, and I think it's gonna continue for the next, 20:20 11 00:00:36,489 --> 00:00:39,795 minutes or so. I will I will do my best to, keep things light and 12 00:00:39,795 --> 00:00:43,175 fun and happy. So, before we talk about Padutty 13 00:00:43,235 --> 00:00:46,835 Live and, you know, what you're doing right now, how did you 14 00:00:46,835 --> 00:00:50,614 get into podcasting and, you know, content creation, 15 00:00:50,675 --> 00:00:54,480 you know, in general? Yeah. Podcasting for me, I kinda fell into it 16 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:58,320 in 2,006, 2007. I have my first 17 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:01,940 color iPad that, was inscribed for Father's Day, 18 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,705 and I I fell in love with shows like, you know, Marketing Over Coffee. I 19 00:01:05,705 --> 00:01:09,465 think Joseph Jaffe was doing AdverCast at that time. It was it 20 00:01:09,465 --> 00:01:12,985 was a long time ago. The bean cast was one that I listened to early 21 00:01:12,985 --> 00:01:16,825 on, and I just I love this idea that I 22 00:01:16,825 --> 00:01:20,649 could create something and put it out into the world. And though I wasn't restricted 23 00:01:20,950 --> 00:01:24,630 by, you know, there were no gatekeepers. Literally, if I could record 24 00:01:24,630 --> 00:01:28,149 it and and put it out in the world, it was there. And and and 25 00:01:28,149 --> 00:01:31,990 I tried it for the first time in 2011, and I just I 26 00:01:31,990 --> 00:01:35,715 had no idea, you know, what an RSS feed was or or how to 27 00:01:35,715 --> 00:01:38,935 distribute audio through an MP 35. None of that idea. 28 00:01:39,475 --> 00:01:43,235 And it wasn't till about 2015 that I put all the pieces 29 00:01:43,235 --> 00:01:46,995 together, and I did my first trivia show. And and that's really how I 30 00:01:46,995 --> 00:01:50,800 fell into making things interactive and and bringing an 31 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:54,240 audience into a show and and just having a good time 32 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:57,920 together as a group, and it's really evolved, you know, over the last 10 33 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:01,365 years to to where I'm at now. So you launched the stuff I never knew, 34 00:02:01,365 --> 00:02:04,905 trivia game show back in 2015. Like you said, it was this interactive 35 00:02:05,045 --> 00:02:08,725 experience and, you know, not that technology was ancient or 36 00:02:08,725 --> 00:02:12,565 terrible back in 2015, but, obviously, the tools that we have today are are light 37 00:02:12,565 --> 00:02:16,030 years ahead of it. What were you using back then to get that live 38 00:02:16,030 --> 00:02:19,790 experience, to get that engagement with your audience as opposed to just talking at 39 00:02:19,790 --> 00:02:23,230 them, which so many podcasters are used to doing? I'm one of those 40 00:02:23,230 --> 00:02:26,990 crazy people that you'll hear rambling on and on and on and 41 00:02:26,990 --> 00:02:30,205 on about a platform called Blab. And if you're around 42 00:02:30,645 --> 00:02:34,265 Blab. Oh my god. Yes. If you're around in 2015 43 00:02:34,485 --> 00:02:38,085 and you're on Blab, you you witnessed a great time in 44 00:02:38,085 --> 00:02:41,445 Internet history where it was one of the first 4 in the box on the 45 00:02:41,445 --> 00:02:45,170 screen, and and you could go live, and Blab had such this 46 00:02:45,170 --> 00:02:48,610 great social element to it that within 3 47 00:02:48,610 --> 00:02:52,370 minutes, Blab would flood your livestream with 30 to 48 00:02:52,370 --> 00:02:56,115 50 people, and people would be typing commands and let making 49 00:02:56,115 --> 00:02:59,475 it snow and making the and giving props, and it was 50 00:02:59,475 --> 00:03:03,095 this great chaotic community element. And 51 00:03:03,235 --> 00:03:06,695 it lasted for a couple years, and it got crazy and the technology 52 00:03:07,155 --> 00:03:10,375 they couldn't keep up with the growth and it folded eventually. But 53 00:03:10,740 --> 00:03:14,500 Blab left a huge hole in the market and and, especially for people 54 00:03:14,500 --> 00:03:18,180 like me, a huge hole in my heart for this ability to be able to 55 00:03:18,180 --> 00:03:21,860 connect in real time, and that's how I did my tribute show. At first, it 56 00:03:21,860 --> 00:03:25,665 was I would I'd had nobody booked. I would go live, 57 00:03:25,725 --> 00:03:29,085 and I would the first day people who wanted to play, I was doing a 58 00:03:29,085 --> 00:03:32,765 game show with 8 contestants that weren't booked prior to me going 59 00:03:32,765 --> 00:03:36,365 live. That's how powerful Blab was, and I I always 60 00:03:36,365 --> 00:03:40,000 loved that idea that, you know, we could do all this together. 61 00:03:40,060 --> 00:03:43,260 You know, podcasting could be more than me just, you know, sitting in my home 62 00:03:43,260 --> 00:03:47,100 office where I'm at now and just talking 1 on 1. It could be 63 00:03:47,100 --> 00:03:50,940 something so much bigger, and it can be an event. It can be an 64 00:03:50,940 --> 00:03:54,615 extravaganza. It can be, you know, you know, a bunch of 65 00:03:54,615 --> 00:03:58,375 crazies just sitting together and making fun of each other. And I 66 00:03:58,375 --> 00:04:01,735 I just fell in love with the community element and and adding that 67 00:04:01,735 --> 00:04:05,575 into the podcasting, which is really it's more 68 00:04:05,575 --> 00:04:09,299 intimate. So almost 1 on 1. When you're commuting to work or 69 00:04:09,299 --> 00:04:13,060 you're exercising and you're listening to the podcast, it 70 00:04:13,060 --> 00:04:15,620 feels like you're in the room with them. It feels like it's this 1 on 71 00:04:15,620 --> 00:04:19,300 1 interaction. And I was like, well, what if we did it as a party? 72 00:04:19,300 --> 00:04:22,919 Right? We can make this way bigger than I think it it really is. 73 00:04:23,485 --> 00:04:27,025 So what then so I guess it was the loss of Blab and, 74 00:04:27,405 --> 00:04:30,125 you know, the experience that you have doing this in front of a live audience. 75 00:04:30,125 --> 00:04:33,645 Is that what led to the idea for this theater? 76 00:04:33,645 --> 00:04:37,485 Like, take us through from 2015, you start the show to 77 00:04:37,485 --> 00:04:41,020 where we are today with, Padutty Live out in, Western 78 00:04:41,020 --> 00:04:44,780 PA. Yeah. We tried we tried recreating it so many 79 00:04:44,780 --> 00:04:48,400 times. We used Appearin and Google Hangouts 80 00:04:48,780 --> 00:04:52,485 and, you know, YouTube Live, and we tried all these other things. You 81 00:04:52,485 --> 00:04:55,925 know, Facebook Live was it was relevant for a little bit for small 82 00:04:55,925 --> 00:04:59,525 creators, and it nothing just really did it. 83 00:04:59,525 --> 00:05:03,205 So about in 2018, I came up with this idea. 84 00:05:03,205 --> 00:05:06,840 Well, I'm just gonna go out into the world, and I I wanted to design 85 00:05:06,840 --> 00:05:10,280 a a theater, you know, a production that I could fit in the back of 86 00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:13,900 my sedan. So I had, like, you know, everything. I had speakers, 87 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,720 microphones, mixers. I had a podium that could just wheel 88 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:21,275 around and and ask and do trivia. And I thought, oh, I could 89 00:05:21,435 --> 00:05:24,955 it'd be fun to, like, go to people's basements during a party and, you know, 90 00:05:24,955 --> 00:05:28,795 host a game show, like, while there's a raging kegger going 91 00:05:28,795 --> 00:05:32,475 on in the garage. Like, it would be something I could do anywhere, and I 92 00:05:32,475 --> 00:05:36,259 and I wasn't restricted by a physical space. And I 93 00:05:36,259 --> 00:05:39,699 kept thinking about that, and then I started to book. I booked my first real 94 00:05:39,699 --> 00:05:43,379 show. We're gonna do free tacos and trivia, March 95 00:05:43,379 --> 00:05:46,759 30, 2020. We were very excited. 96 00:05:47,164 --> 00:05:50,384 We were gonna get it done, and then it just so happened, 97 00:05:51,085 --> 00:05:54,625 it wasn't the best timing. A little bit of a shutdown happening. 98 00:05:54,845 --> 00:05:58,525 So, you know, because of COVID, I took this, you know, podcast anywhere, you 99 00:05:58,525 --> 00:06:01,980 know, pop up theater idea, and we were 100 00:06:01,980 --> 00:06:05,340 indoors. We were, you know, stuck inside, and I said, well, what if we could 101 00:06:05,340 --> 00:06:08,860 have a theater and we weren't bound by the capacity of the 102 00:06:08,860 --> 00:06:12,700 room? And I I put some thoughts together, and I 103 00:06:12,700 --> 00:06:16,275 actually presented this at at Podfest Origins, in 2020. So 104 00:06:16,275 --> 00:06:20,115 I I came up with this infinite seat theater idea, 105 00:06:20,115 --> 00:06:23,635 and that's if you look behind me, my my theater is 40 106 00:06:23,635 --> 00:06:27,395 seats. Right? It's 40 people, but I can livestream to 1,000. 107 00:06:27,395 --> 00:06:31,130 And that's that's kinda how this all evolved is how can 108 00:06:31,130 --> 00:06:34,810 I do something with with an audience, but also, you know, 109 00:06:34,810 --> 00:06:38,650 do it virtually so that anyone anywhere at any time could pop 110 00:06:38,650 --> 00:06:42,475 in and and see what's happening here? I mean, right now, right, 111 00:06:42,475 --> 00:06:46,095 between going all the way back to the days of Blab and, 112 00:06:47,435 --> 00:06:50,475 Meerkat, right, some of the other ones when live streaming kinda became a thing, and 113 00:06:50,475 --> 00:06:54,155 now today, obviously, live streaming is just everywhere. Right? People go live on 114 00:06:54,155 --> 00:06:54,943 Facebook and YouTube and Instagram and now LinkedIn and TikTok. Right? Like, we're just constantly 115 00:06:54,943 --> 00:06:58,569 doing live stuff in and TikTok. Right? Like, we're just 116 00:06:58,569 --> 00:07:02,090 constantly doing live stuff virtually to our audience. But this 117 00:07:02,090 --> 00:07:05,930 idea of bringing people together, bringing people into a space, I think, is so 118 00:07:05,930 --> 00:07:09,530 exciting for podcasters. I I've been a part of a 119 00:07:09,530 --> 00:07:13,255 couple of live podcasting events, and I've just been 120 00:07:13,255 --> 00:07:16,635 seeing increased interest in podcasters 121 00:07:17,015 --> 00:07:20,375 going out and doing their thing in front of an audience 122 00:07:20,375 --> 00:07:24,135 and feeding off that energy and, you know, being able to have that in 123 00:07:24,135 --> 00:07:27,479 person interaction. So what what's it like for 124 00:07:27,940 --> 00:07:31,699 podcasters who are coming in to use your space? Right? Like, what can 125 00:07:31,699 --> 00:07:34,979 they expect? What is the, you know, what is the workflow? What do they have 126 00:07:34,979 --> 00:07:37,479 to know? What do they have to think of? How do they prep to be 127 00:07:37,699 --> 00:07:41,245 in person possibly for the first time ever? Yeah. It is a little 128 00:07:41,245 --> 00:07:44,545 different. Right? I'm not you're not sitting in your home studio. You're not 129 00:07:44,765 --> 00:07:48,525 rerecording things. You're learning how to you know, or taking you know, doing 130 00:07:48,525 --> 00:07:52,225 multiple takes to get it right so that you can fix it in in post. 131 00:07:52,810 --> 00:07:56,650 What we wanna learn is there's, like, almost like a muscle to hosting, a muscle 132 00:07:56,650 --> 00:08:00,410 to to live performance, and what we do is, you know, prior 133 00:08:00,410 --> 00:08:03,770 to the show, we booked the show, and we look at the elements of of 134 00:08:03,770 --> 00:08:07,545 their show. What pieces could will adapt well to the 135 00:08:07,545 --> 00:08:11,145 stage? What plays well with an audience? And we start to craft. We 136 00:08:11,145 --> 00:08:14,825 wanna kinda get into that 60 to 90 minute. It can include a 137 00:08:14,825 --> 00:08:18,025 break. Sometimes I say, you know, include a meet and greet. If you if you 138 00:08:18,025 --> 00:08:21,640 do smaller shows, you know, we're gonna do we'll call it a 2 show event. 139 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:25,480 You're gonna do 2 shows. We'll break in the middle. You can talk to the 140 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:29,320 the the people who are in attend attending, ask questions, q and 141 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:32,919 a, 1 on 1, and we try to just structure something so that we're 142 00:08:32,919 --> 00:08:36,625 giving value to the audience because most of these podcasters are 143 00:08:36,845 --> 00:08:40,525 they're really in between now, and that once they go from recording in their 144 00:08:40,525 --> 00:08:44,365 home office to what they see as, you know, 145 00:08:44,365 --> 00:08:48,205 comedians and actors who have launched podcasts, they're filling theaters, 146 00:08:48,205 --> 00:08:51,959 and they're filling arenas. Well, you know, where I'm put I'm 147 00:08:51,959 --> 00:08:54,920 in the middle there. I'm I'm trying to be that stepping stone. How do we 148 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:58,680 get out of the house, out of our home studios, into a live 149 00:08:58,680 --> 00:09:02,519 environment so that when larger podcasts come through into 150 00:09:02,519 --> 00:09:06,275 town and they need opening acts just like you see with music venues 151 00:09:06,655 --> 00:09:10,495 and music acts need opening acts, I believe if 152 00:09:10,495 --> 00:09:14,175 we look at the trajectory of podcasting, they're not gonna be able to continue to 153 00:09:14,175 --> 00:09:17,839 sell arena seats for a $120 and only give them a 154 00:09:17,839 --> 00:09:21,360 45 to 60 minute show. That's not gonna last forever. So we're gonna 155 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:24,740 need a mediator. We're gonna need opening acts, and 156 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:28,080 that's really what you mentioned. You're gonna see a lot of spaces like this pop 157 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:31,615 up. I really feel like this is that middle stepping 158 00:09:31,615 --> 00:09:35,215 stone to get podcasters into that live 159 00:09:35,215 --> 00:09:38,815 environment. You know, we structure their show. We help craft it so 160 00:09:38,815 --> 00:09:42,655 that this is a product that they can they proudly can present. And once they 161 00:09:42,655 --> 00:09:46,400 understand that dynamic with working with a live audience, they can 162 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:50,160 take that to a bar. They can take that you know, library sometimes do pop 163 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:53,920 up shows and community centers. They can start to think of this in a whole 164 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:57,280 new concept, a whole new, you know, aspect of their 165 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:00,925 show. What would you say is the 166 00:10:00,925 --> 00:10:04,385 biggest problem that first time 167 00:10:04,445 --> 00:10:08,285 users of a live space run into? Right? What is that big 168 00:10:08,285 --> 00:10:11,885 challenge that you see over and over again that you wish they could be better 169 00:10:11,885 --> 00:10:15,520 prepared for? Yeah. A lot of people don't 170 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:19,280 even get this concept until I show it to them. There's people who walk in, 171 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:22,980 and they they kinda understand it. I I just did a tour tonight, 172 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:26,714 and what we thought would be, like, a 20 minute walk through ended up 173 00:10:26,714 --> 00:10:30,475 being a 90 minute brainstorm session because he's like, oh, 174 00:10:30,475 --> 00:10:33,995 I have another show, and my friend does this. Oh, you can do that 175 00:10:33,995 --> 00:10:37,755 here. You know, that that you start to see all the potential once 176 00:10:37,755 --> 00:10:41,319 you immerse yourself in it. So I I get it. It's a 177 00:10:41,319 --> 00:10:45,160 it's a different concept that's newer, than what most people have been 178 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:49,000 thinking about. I've been thinking about for 7 years, and I'm just 179 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:52,839 now understanding that nobody else has been thinking about it. So, you 180 00:10:52,839 --> 00:10:56,525 know, getting people up to speed because they're a lot of people don't 181 00:10:56,525 --> 00:11:00,285 think about doing a live podcast at all. They may have never even thought about 182 00:11:00,285 --> 00:11:04,065 it. They thought live streaming was enough. So developing 183 00:11:04,125 --> 00:11:07,885 them for the stage is is something that they really need 184 00:11:07,885 --> 00:11:11,699 to you know, that's something that really catches people off guard. But what doesn't 185 00:11:11,699 --> 00:11:15,240 catch them off guard is once they go through the process the first time, 186 00:11:16,100 --> 00:11:19,699 you come off stage and you are juiced. Right? You 187 00:11:19,699 --> 00:11:23,540 are you are elated beyond belief. You never thought 188 00:11:23,540 --> 00:11:26,680 you could have that kind of emotion, that kind of rush 189 00:11:27,475 --> 00:11:31,235 that that's that's something else that people aren't prepared for is the 190 00:11:31,235 --> 00:11:34,835 first time they come off stage, like, for their first show. It's it's it's quite 191 00:11:34,835 --> 00:11:38,515 a rush. I gotta imagine it is a great feeling to come off stage and 192 00:11:38,515 --> 00:11:42,360 feel that, you know, rush, feel that energy, feel that adrenaline pumping after 193 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:46,120 doing a live show. I also imagine, and what I've sort of seen in 194 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:49,800 my own experience, is that it is more 195 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:53,639 effective way to directly connect with 196 00:11:53,639 --> 00:11:57,215 your audience and turn a casual 197 00:11:57,275 --> 00:12:00,815 listener or, you know, low grade fan into a 198 00:12:01,275 --> 00:12:05,115 super fan and to an advocate for your show, and 199 00:12:05,115 --> 00:12:08,095 even convert other people who, you know, might just be, 200 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:12,000 my friends are going out tonight. I'll go join them now. It's like, oh, this 201 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:15,620 is fun. I'm gonna go check this out. Do you see that in person 202 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:19,680 interaction helping to drive a lot more podcast growth for these 203 00:12:19,680 --> 00:12:23,295 shows? Yeah. And even even virtual, the one 204 00:12:23,295 --> 00:12:26,815 phrase that really sparks imagination and 205 00:12:26,815 --> 00:12:30,355 sparks interest in an audience is the phrase 206 00:12:30,735 --> 00:12:34,250 live from the main stage. When people say, hey. I'm gonna be at the Paternity 207 00:12:34,250 --> 00:12:37,550 Podcast Theater. We're doing our show live from the main stage. 208 00:12:38,250 --> 00:12:42,010 That instantly adds a level of credibility that they didn't 209 00:12:42,010 --> 00:12:45,635 have a week ago releasing on every Tuesday. Well, 210 00:12:45,635 --> 00:12:49,155 now the next week, hey. We're gonna be live on the main stage, and 211 00:12:49,155 --> 00:12:52,515 that that there's something there's something magical about that 212 00:12:52,515 --> 00:12:56,035 saying that you don't get from just a regular release 213 00:12:56,035 --> 00:12:59,875 schedule. And and bringing people in I don't know I don't know if 214 00:12:59,875 --> 00:13:03,250 you have a policy on math. I have a little I have a math equation 215 00:13:03,250 --> 00:13:06,690 that helps, I think, really, people to see the value of in 216 00:13:06,690 --> 00:13:10,070 person is, you know, Lipson publishes 217 00:13:10,370 --> 00:13:13,970 podcast rates, and they'll tell you, on average, a host read 218 00:13:13,970 --> 00:13:17,625 ad gets about $25 per 1,000 downloads. So if 219 00:13:17,625 --> 00:13:21,245 you break that down, that's about 2ยข, right, per listen. 220 00:13:21,785 --> 00:13:24,505 And you're like, okay. Well, that's, you know, bad. I would love to have that 221 00:13:24,505 --> 00:13:28,285 scale, and and we also know most podcasts don't get to a 1000 to 2000 222 00:13:28,505 --> 00:13:31,965 downloads. So so taking that, that's probably a best case scenario 223 00:13:32,105 --> 00:13:35,870 for 80 to 90% of all podcasts. Maybe 224 00:13:35,870 --> 00:13:39,570 make $50 from a host red ad. Now what I'm proposing 225 00:13:40,110 --> 00:13:43,170 is let's book a show. Let's put something together, 226 00:13:44,110 --> 00:13:47,485 and if you were to sell 10 tickets at 227 00:13:47,485 --> 00:13:51,325 $10 a ticket, you know, you bring in friends, family, local 228 00:13:51,325 --> 00:13:54,305 fans, all of a sudden, those 10 people 229 00:13:55,005 --> 00:13:58,845 with once we the way my business model works is we split the door 230 00:13:58,845 --> 00:14:02,305 at the end of the night. Whatever he comes in, we go 5050. There's no 231 00:14:02,490 --> 00:14:06,250 there's no minimums for the host. There's no upfront fees. It's 232 00:14:06,250 --> 00:14:09,850 just simple door split. That's it. So there's no risk to my creators. That's 233 00:14:09,850 --> 00:14:13,450 that's something I'm very proud of. But that 50% of the 234 00:14:13,450 --> 00:14:17,050 $100 is also $50. So the 235 00:14:17,050 --> 00:14:20,065 value of those 10 listeners 236 00:14:20,605 --> 00:14:24,385 were $5 a listener. That's easily, what, 250 237 00:14:24,764 --> 00:14:27,584 times greater per person 238 00:14:28,125 --> 00:14:31,644 than the host read ad. So when you start to think, oh, maybe I could 239 00:14:31,644 --> 00:14:35,380 scale this. What if I got 20, you know, people to my next show or 240 00:14:35,380 --> 00:14:39,060 25 or 30? All of a sudden, there's a whole 241 00:14:39,060 --> 00:14:42,660 new revenue stream for podcasters that aren't just based on 242 00:14:42,660 --> 00:14:45,779 chasing this, I gotta get host red ads. If I get host red ads, I'm 243 00:14:45,779 --> 00:14:49,240 gonna make all the money. There are other ways to to get here, 244 00:14:49,565 --> 00:14:52,704 and when you're at a you're at a a place, an establishment, 245 00:14:53,325 --> 00:14:57,084 you know, maybe you're at a bar, and there's drinks, and you're having fun, and 246 00:14:57,084 --> 00:15:00,765 there's 50 people hanging out who all love podcasts. They love your 247 00:15:00,765 --> 00:15:04,259 show. Maybe they wanna pick up some of your merch. It's a whole 248 00:15:04,259 --> 00:15:07,880 different element than, you know, just sitting in 249 00:15:07,940 --> 00:15:10,920 your your house trying to get to that host read ad. 250 00:15:12,100 --> 00:15:15,860 You're even trying to get the ad. Right. And and I gotta say, it's 251 00:15:15,860 --> 00:15:19,515 funny. I do the exact same math in presentations when I talk about 252 00:15:19,675 --> 00:15:23,295 the difference between, you know, advertisement sponsor 253 00:15:23,355 --> 00:15:26,895 or supported podcasting versus direct support. Right? Like you said, 254 00:15:27,755 --> 00:15:31,435 2 and a half cents, right, for a person when 255 00:15:31,435 --> 00:15:34,930 you are doing an ad. Whereas if you run some monthly premium 256 00:15:34,930 --> 00:15:38,690 membership, right, you could charge $5, $10. I've seen people charge 257 00:15:38,690 --> 00:15:42,209 $20, and that's per person. Right? So the the math is just so much better 258 00:15:42,209 --> 00:15:46,050 when you can get your audience to directly support what it is you're 259 00:15:46,050 --> 00:15:49,815 doing and creating a live event creates enough value that people are 260 00:15:49,815 --> 00:15:53,015 willing to do so. So many podcasts, though, are 261 00:15:53,655 --> 00:15:57,175 you know, their audiences are spread out. And so I'm 262 00:15:57,175 --> 00:16:01,020 curious. 1, do you find that the shows that come in 263 00:16:01,020 --> 00:16:04,000 and are successful, do they have more of a local focus? 264 00:16:04,620 --> 00:16:08,240 Or if not, how are they bringing people in 265 00:16:08,380 --> 00:16:12,220 when their audience might be, you know, really spread out 266 00:16:12,220 --> 00:16:15,760 and they might not really have the the 40, 50, whatever many people, 267 00:16:16,595 --> 00:16:20,435 to to fill that space, in their local market. Yeah. 268 00:16:20,435 --> 00:16:23,954 I try to tell people, think of the stage like a portal. Everybody knows that 269 00:16:23,954 --> 00:16:27,654 scene in Star Trek where they go, you know, down below, and Scottie's 270 00:16:27,714 --> 00:16:31,500 down there to beam them up and down, from the planet to the ship. 271 00:16:31,500 --> 00:16:34,960 And, really, this stage is that portal. 272 00:16:35,500 --> 00:16:39,120 So you if you are spread out, that's not a problem. 273 00:16:39,420 --> 00:16:43,260 We we do full live streaming. We have 5 cameras surrounding 274 00:16:43,260 --> 00:16:46,405 the stage. We can switch between all of them at any time. We have an 275 00:16:46,405 --> 00:16:50,005 audience cam as well. Your audience doesn't have to be local. 276 00:16:50,005 --> 00:16:53,365 That's certainly a limitation in Pittsburgh. We don't have a huge 277 00:16:53,365 --> 00:16:57,060 podcast scene. We have enough. We have some people around, but a 278 00:16:57,060 --> 00:17:00,820 lot of shows, even my trivia show, it's everywhere. So I I 279 00:17:00,820 --> 00:17:03,460 need to I need to be able to get that show. I need to be 280 00:17:03,460 --> 00:17:07,160 able to bring people in from Portland, Maine or Portland, Oregon. 281 00:17:07,380 --> 00:17:11,220 We can connect all those dots for them and and brought not only 282 00:17:11,220 --> 00:17:15,035 broadcast, but also have their guests virtually on our 283 00:17:15,035 --> 00:17:18,555 main stage as well. I gotta imagine, though, if you're in front of a live 284 00:17:18,555 --> 00:17:21,775 audience, if you're claiming to be on stage and you don't have 285 00:17:22,315 --> 00:17:25,720 10, 15, 20 people, you you 286 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:28,860 the the virtual audience isn't hearing that 287 00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:33,020 audience reaction. And does that potentially hurt, 288 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:36,840 you know, the show, the product? Does it, you know, not give it the same 289 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:40,225 juice that they're looking for? No. I don't think I don't think it matters too 290 00:17:40,225 --> 00:17:44,065 much because it is a small theater. It's it's designed to be immersive. It's 291 00:17:44,065 --> 00:17:47,905 designed to be intimate. Even with 40 people, you're never more than 3 292 00:17:47,905 --> 00:17:51,610 rows away. So it it's not like there's there's an 293 00:17:51,610 --> 00:17:55,390 audience of 1,000. It's you're gonna hear that rumble of the room laughter. 294 00:17:56,250 --> 00:18:00,010 I I don't think that's it's it's really based on the podcast and 295 00:18:00,010 --> 00:18:03,690 their performance. Everything else is secondary. If if we do get 296 00:18:03,690 --> 00:18:07,225 some laughs, that's fine. If not, the 297 00:18:07,225 --> 00:18:10,524 focus is on the stage and on the star or on on the podcast. 298 00:18:10,985 --> 00:18:14,825 Well, again, because you've invested into this space. Right? Everybody sounds good. 299 00:18:14,825 --> 00:18:18,524 The the, you know, the video's looking good. So right away, that elevates 300 00:18:18,585 --> 00:18:22,205 their production value. It's gonna, you know, make it look more professional and 301 00:18:22,230 --> 00:18:25,770 something more appealing to the folks who are tuning in virtually to, 302 00:18:26,390 --> 00:18:30,230 to check it out. We are chatting with Jeff 303 00:18:30,230 --> 00:18:33,850 Ravilla. He is the founder of Padutty. It's a podcast 304 00:18:34,230 --> 00:18:38,005 theater outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, And it 305 00:18:38,005 --> 00:18:41,685 sounds like it would be an excellent space for podcasters who 306 00:18:41,685 --> 00:18:45,065 are, 1, looking to get, you know, that make that transition 307 00:18:45,365 --> 00:18:49,125 from doing everything alone, you know, on a platform 308 00:18:49,125 --> 00:18:52,929 like Riverside or Zoom or something like that to making that leap to more in 309 00:18:52,929 --> 00:18:56,770 person events and whatnot. And it just sounds like it'd be a ton of fun 310 00:18:56,770 --> 00:18:59,669 and a great way to write kinda meet your audience. 311 00:19:00,370 --> 00:19:02,770 Jeff, before we let you go, we have a couple questions we'd like to ask 312 00:19:02,770 --> 00:19:06,424 everybody on the show. And, I mean, I'm sure this first one, I could probably 313 00:19:06,424 --> 00:19:09,865 tell where you're gonna go with it, but I'll ask anyway. Is there another 314 00:19:09,865 --> 00:19:13,404 place in podcasting where you would like to see some improvements, 315 00:19:13,544 --> 00:19:17,340 whether it's from the production side, distribution, listening. 316 00:19:17,340 --> 00:19:21,100 Right? Is it just something that really, you know, gets at your crawl about podcasting 317 00:19:21,100 --> 00:19:24,940 that you'd love to fix? Yeah. I'd I really when I think back to 318 00:19:24,940 --> 00:19:28,480 when I started listening to podcasts in 2,006, 319 00:19:28,780 --> 00:19:32,485 7, and 8, that that DIY element, I 320 00:19:32,485 --> 00:19:36,185 I feel like some of the smaller podcasters with 321 00:19:36,245 --> 00:19:39,625 2 2 things I really think happened. 1, COVID 322 00:19:39,765 --> 00:19:43,139 created a flood of shows, shows that are now 323 00:19:43,139 --> 00:19:46,820 dormant, shows that produced 1 episode, and then they're just it's 324 00:19:46,820 --> 00:19:50,500 muddying up the feed. So that that kind of drowned out some of the 325 00:19:50,500 --> 00:19:54,019 voices of active podcasters, and then the influx of 326 00:19:54,019 --> 00:19:57,559 celebrities and comedians have taken some of the attention away, 327 00:19:58,235 --> 00:20:01,915 in that pool of, you know, there's only so much time in the day. People 328 00:20:01,915 --> 00:20:05,675 can't listen to so many podcasts in the day. So I wanna re I 329 00:20:05,675 --> 00:20:09,355 wanna bring back the balance to those independent creators and kinda 330 00:20:09,355 --> 00:20:12,850 skew it back so that, you know, we're the dominant force in 331 00:20:12,850 --> 00:20:16,370 podcasting again. Not not the top 10 that you hear 332 00:20:16,370 --> 00:20:20,130 referenced on every news show every night of the week. We 333 00:20:20,130 --> 00:20:23,250 wanna get well, I wanna build up some of the smaller shows, bring back that 334 00:20:23,250 --> 00:20:27,034 DIY independent mentality. Love it. 335 00:20:27,414 --> 00:20:31,174 I imagine that you have your, you know, facilities pretty well tricked out, 336 00:20:31,174 --> 00:20:35,014 but is there any technology on your wish list, whether it's something that is 337 00:20:35,014 --> 00:20:38,855 already out there that you've been eyeing or maybe something that has yet to 338 00:20:38,855 --> 00:20:42,270 be created that you, would like to get your hands on? I need a little 339 00:20:42,270 --> 00:20:46,110 more budget. I'd love to get some PTZs in there. Right now, I got 340 00:20:46,110 --> 00:20:49,790 5 stationary cameras that I can just zoom zoom in and zoom 341 00:20:49,790 --> 00:20:53,550 out, which is fine. It it gets us started, and, you know, things will 342 00:20:53,550 --> 00:20:57,075 grow. As far as technology outside of 343 00:20:57,075 --> 00:21:00,835 this, I'm not sure. I've I've kinda pushed 344 00:21:00,835 --> 00:21:03,735 the limits of what you can do with 2 mixers and a StreamYard. 345 00:21:04,274 --> 00:21:07,860 So, for right now, I'm pretty happy with what we got, but, 346 00:21:08,340 --> 00:21:12,100 you know, other things would just be getting the getting some PTZs in 347 00:21:12,100 --> 00:21:15,460 there. I hear you. We are eyeing a bunch of those right now for, 348 00:21:15,780 --> 00:21:19,160 some some projects that we are working on, so they are lovely. 349 00:21:19,540 --> 00:21:20,888 And, finally, is there a podcast that you listen to that is your favorite? Right? 350 00:21:20,888 --> 00:21:21,495 It's one of those 351 00:21:27,255 --> 00:21:30,295 episode comes out, you are going to listen to it, or, you know, you're not 352 00:21:30,295 --> 00:21:33,815 gonna let an episode, you know, just sit in your in your playlist for too 353 00:21:33,815 --> 00:21:37,650 long. As far as some of the 354 00:21:37,650 --> 00:21:41,090 fun ones that I listen, I I still listen to Marketing Over Coffee to this 355 00:21:41,090 --> 00:21:44,690 day. I still, I like there's some other trivia 356 00:21:44,690 --> 00:21:47,990 spaces. Trivia Warfare and, Triviality 357 00:21:48,370 --> 00:21:51,730 are some of my favorites, so I kinda stay in that space a little bit. 358 00:21:51,730 --> 00:21:55,485 And I try to I just like the idea of, you know, those 359 00:21:55,785 --> 00:21:59,545 those 3 shows have been around for a while, and they've been doing 360 00:21:59,545 --> 00:22:03,305 it well for a while, and there's they're independent and produced 361 00:22:03,305 --> 00:22:06,825 by themselves. So I I try to stick with them and support them as much 362 00:22:06,825 --> 00:22:10,360 as I can. Perfect. And we'll we'll make sure we throw a link to, those 363 00:22:10,360 --> 00:22:14,200 shows as well so people can, check them out. We've been chatting with Jeff Ravila, 364 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:17,720 founder of Paduti Live. It is a podcast theater 365 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:21,515 based in what's the name of the town again? Tarentum. Tarentum, 366 00:22:21,735 --> 00:22:25,255 PA. That's just outside of Pittsburgh. Thank you for the assist there, 367 00:22:25,255 --> 00:22:28,695 Jeff. Thank you, of course, for joining me here on the show. Really appreciate 368 00:22:28,695 --> 00:22:31,941 it. You're welcome. Thank you so much for having me. This has been a blast.