An Overview of the Podcast Award Landscape

The iHeartMedia Podcast Awards join (and ignore) a rich history of audio competitions

This article was written by Elena Fernández-Collins, Erik Jones, and Galen Beebe.

Earlier this week, iHeartRadio announced their first Podcast Awards. Generally, we welcome any attention brought to podcasts and their amazing creators, especially when it comes from companies or organizations with as much influence as iHeartRadio, a division of the American mass media corporation iHeartMedia.

However, there are several flaws in the way that iHeartRadio has put together their awards, starting with their claim of being “the first EVER major Podcast Awards program where your vote will decide who wins” (emphasis theirs). This is simply false. This claim ignores the many existing listener-voted podcast awards (see below) and glosses over the many other awards that have been recognizing standout achievements in the medium for years.

There’s also the issue of whether or not theirs is the first awards show. In an interview with Hollywood Reporter, iHeartMedia’s chairman and CEO Bob Pittman said, “We are delighted to use our expertise with events and awards shows to build the first major industry awards show for podcasts, to use our unparalleled size and scale to promote and market the event — and to include these great companies and luminaries in the celebration.” Again, this is not exactly accurate. The Third Coast International Audio Festival has been called the Oscars of radio since at least 2014.

Even if we’re generous enough to say that yes, technically the iHeartRadio awards might be the first to combine a large media company, audience votes, and a focus on U.S.-based shows, it still feels like iHeartRadio is doing a lot of unnecessary contortion to wedge themselves into “first” status. These may not be the first podcast awards, but they’re the first industry giant to get in the game. You don’t have to squint much to see what they’re really saying: theirs are the first real podcast awards.

Now, let’s get into the awards themselves. There are 21 categories, including Best Comedy Podcast, Best Branded Podcast, and Podcast of the Year. It seems pretty comprehensive, but the podcast selected within the categories demonstrates a lack of research. The Kitchen Sisters Presents, a wide-ranging documentary show, was placed into the Food Podcast category; improvised fiction podcast Mission to Zyxx was in the Scripted Podcast category, a category entirely comprised of fiction podcasts, as though nonfiction shows were entirely unscripted.

Perhaps most worrisome was the “Multicultural” category. The nominated shows are all hosted and created by people of color, but they feature wildly different content. The category includes shows like The Read, a conversation-based show about pop culture and Black excellence; Radio Ambulante, a Spanish-language Latin American documentary storytelling and journalism podcast out of NPR; and 2 Dope Queens, a comedy show hosted by Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson. By comparing such varied podcasts, and by nominating mostly white creators in other categories, iHeartMedia appears to have created a “best people of color” award.

You can read some more comments on the awards in this Twitter thread by Berry, creator of the Podcasts in Color directory and resource, or in this thread from Jeffrey Cranor, of Night Vale Presents.

There are many other podcast and audio awards that have been working for years to improve inclusion and diversity. Some are small and independent, and some are big productions that are connected with, and awarded at, large podcasting conferences. Their inclusion criteria and voting procedures vary from open voting all the way through closed, juried selections.

Ignoring these awards erases an important part of audio history. Podcasts have gained in popularity in a large part thanks to independent voices and the independent organizations that lift them up. The iHeartRadio awards are launching themselves from the stage that independent groups have built. We must acknowledge and celebrate that stage.

To highlight the diversity of podcast awards that have been around for years, we organized all the ones we know of into a list below. (Please let us know of of any we missed, and we’ll gladly add them!) We hope this list demonstrates the huge amount of effort that has already been put into honoring the podcast community. Awards are audio goldmines, so make sure to click through their websites to discover some great new shows and learn about the makers who forged the first paths toward the audio you know and love.

General Awards

Discover Pods Awards

• Running since 2017.
• 18 categories, each split into a winner and a runner-up.
• Listeners and fans vote to nominate shows and can vote as many times as they want. Winners are also chosen by listeners and fans, who are limited to one vote per email address.

Academy of Podcasters Awards

• Running since 2016.
• 19 categories in 2017.
• The Academy is made up of podcasters, industry professionals, and enthusiasts. Nominations are public but must follow certain criteria, and a committee of previous members selects new Hall of Famers. Winners are announced during an awards ceremony at Podcast Movement.

Webby Awards

• Running since 1996; podcasts were included in 2006.
• 18 podcast categories, with one winner, one people’s choice, and four runners up in each category.
• The Webby Awards are run by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Members choose the nominees and pick the winner of the Webby Award for all categories, while the public chooses the winner of the People’s Choice award. Anyone can submit their show for a fee.

People’s Choice Podcast Awards During International Podcast Day

• Running since 2005.
• 20 categories, based in part on the Apple Podcasts categories.
• Podcasts pay an entry fee to participate. Shows from this registered list are nominated by fans and top nominees are announced in a slate. The slate is voted on by a randomly selected group of listeners who indicated their interest in judging. 2018’s judging list included 1,000 listeners and 50 invited luminaries. The winners are announced on International Podcast Day, September 30th.

New York Festivals World’s Best Radio Programs

• Podcast awards category group available since 2017
• 14 subcategories by genre.
• Podcasters submit their shows and pay an entry fee per each category entered. Entries are judged by professionals and experts from around the world. A shortlist is announced in May, and winners are announced in a June ceremony in New York City.

Jackson Hole Science Media Awards & Summit

• Running every other year since 2014.
• 22 categories that celebrate the best content and craft in science media and journalism, including Audible Science, which is awarded to the best radio show or podcast.
• The Jackson Hole Science Media Awards & Summit are produced in partnership with WGBH in Boston. Finalist are selected by a panel of international judges.

Audio Fiction Awards

Audio Verse Awards

• Running since 2013.
• 6 categories, each split into 6 or 13 subcategories that highlight different types of audio fiction podcasts.
• The AVAs are decided by fan voting, from nominations to winners, and it is free to enter. The AVAs are financed via Patreon, and winners are announced via a social media showcase and press release.

Sarah Lawrence College International Audio Fiction Awards (The Sarahs)

• Running since 2015.
• Three awards categories and one parallel contest. Nominees do not have to be produced already. Many winners use Sarahs’ prize money to start their podcasts.
• A committee of judges select award winners and announce winners via a press release, saving the specifics of who won which award for the following Sarah Awards Ceremony. There is an entry fee, and winners take home cash prizes. Winners of the Brave + Bold Contest get a pilot development deal with Audible (this was previous the Very Very Short Short Stories contest).

Nonfiction Audio Awards

Third Coast / Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition

• Running since 2001
• 12 awards across 8 categories in 2018.
• Nominees and winners are selected by a panel of judges, and the winners are announced at the Third Coast International Audio Festival in Chicago. Audio makers must submit their shows and pay an entry fee.

Mixcloud Online Radio Awards

• Running since 2014.
• 29 categories across 4 main groups of awards, with a people’s choice award for each category.
• The nomination process is open to the public, and a panel of judges creates the shortlists and chooses the winners. The people’s choice awards are selected by the public from the shortlist.

Geographically-Focused Awards

Australian Podcast Awards

• Running since 2017.
• 25 categories for 2019, for podcasts made in Australia only (it was originally called the Cast Away Australian Podcast Awards).
• Winners are selected by a panel of judges, barring the Popular Vote category, which is open to public vote, and announced at the Australian Podcast Awards Ceremony. Podcasters must submit their shows and pay an entry fee. A variety of prizes are available, donated by sponsors that finance the awards. The 2019 Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on May 18, 2019.

British Podcast Awards

• Running since 2017.
• 19 categories for podcasts made in Great Britain.
• Podcasts submit themselves for consideration to the appropriate category and pay an entry fee. Nominations and winners are selected by a panel of independent judges for each category, barring the Listener’s Choice award which is awarded by popular vote. Winners are announced at the British Podcast Awards Ceremony.

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