Twelve Years of Podcasting. And Counting.

Six days ago was the 12-year anniversary of the “Now Hear This Entertainment” (NHTE) podcast.  Some might call it stubbornness, but quite frankly I am extremely proud to have never missed a week once since the first episode of the show was released on February 17, 2014.

Spend enough time looking and listening and you’ll hear creators (podcasters, YouTubers, TikTok-ers) talk about how important consistency is.  As I get set for the release of episode 628 of NHTE the day after tomorrow, clearly, I am talking the talk and walking the walk.

What are you creating that keeps you inspired and wanting to continue?

For me, every time I start recording there is a new opportunity to start a relationship, never mind be entertained by and learn from that guest.  No two stories are the same either.

And guess what?  I still flat out enjoy it.

Challenge yourself to rediscover why you started doing what you do in the first place – good or bad.  Meaning, if you find out that the reason you began is no longer why you create, that’s not a bad thing.  Well, unless you’ve – without realizing it until now – gone off the rails.

Twelve years later I can say that yes, the reason for “Now Hear This Entertainment” isn’t the same as what it was when I first started it.  Let me pull back the curtain so that this is more relatable and you can compare it to what you’re doing.

As you know, I run Now Hear This, Inc., the PR agency.  As 2013 was winding down, my main focus in terms of people I wanted to serve was music clients.  Thus, my feeling for starting a music interviews podcast was that maybe someone would be listening in (insert city here) and say, “Wow, this Bruce guy sounds like he knows his stuff.  Maybe he could manage and promote me from across the miles.”  And then he/she would contact me.

Now?  While I was actually contacted very recently by someone from that blueprint (has listened to the show and hoped I could work for/with them), it has honestly become all about the relationships that I build with the people I interview.  Yes, full disclosure, the law of averages says that I’m not going to hit it off with every guest, but by and large, I really create an awful lot of contacts this way.

(Keep in mind that NHTE episodes are 50, 55, sometimes 60 minutes long, which means that by the time the guest and I part ways, we’ve likely been talking for at least an hour when you factor in happy talk before and after I hit Record and Stop.)

To take this all a step further, when I travel, I contact these people in advance to say, “Hey, I’m coming to (Nashville, L.A., Las Vegas, etc.).  Let’s grab a Starbucks.”  (Or “let’s have breakfast.”  Or “let’s meet for lunch.”)

Another action that helps keep things fresh is going on location.  If it’s possible for you to do so, get yourself out there.  Now.

I recorded four interviews last month at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California, and then left there and went to Los Angeles, where the following week I did another in-person recording for NHTE.  Now I’m looking at the ‘2026 Major Events’ calendar that I keep, which ultimately will have entries where I’ll go do more in-person interviews.

I could probably do a whole separate blog about where podcasting has gotten me in terms of speaking opportunities.  Last month I spoke at Podfest Multimedia Expo in Orlando.  I once did the Closing Keynote at DC Podfest in our nation’s capital.  On the opposite side of the country, I spoke at Podcast Movement Evolutions in Los Angeles.  Plus, I even spoke about podcasting at an event in the UK!

If you sense my passion and enthusiasm for podcasting coming through in this blog, mission accomplished.  You know, then, why I give people a funny look when they ask me, “After twelve years (and more than a thousand episodes hosted in my podcasting career), do you think you’ll stop anytime soon?”

Hopefully, you are in the same place with what you create and don’t see an end in sight either.

Now a Member of the Recording Academy, I have been helping indie music artists, authors, actors, entrepreneurs, podcasters, filmmakers, small business owners, and more for over twenty years.  What challenges are you having in your creator career that I can lend some insight to?  Connect with me so you can take advantage of all my experience, and I can help and keep you moving forward.