I get geared up for my morning shows. I like seeing who’s on, maybe some bulleted highlights or content teasers. There’s one particular qualifier that prompts my “think I’ll skip that one” impulse, though. I steer clear of any podcast with a LIVE disclaimer 
in the title. This excludes shows where the audience members are actual participants in the show.
For example, Doug Loves Movies wouldn’t be as good if it were just Doug and a guest doing Bane impressions in a garage studio (see Benson’s “Rental Car” epps with Graham Elwood).
This trend is really comedian specific and pretty self-explanatory. Some of the best podcasts are helmed by comedians. And comedians have to perform live. Period. It’s where most of their money comes from.
They’re short a show because they’ve been doing one nighters across the Midwest, so they put up a set they recorded in Peoria two nights back; a set with the podcast’s bumper music tacked onto the front. Because it killed, relatively speaking, and the crowd was really into it. They’re always on the road, and keeping a podcast going trumps my need for intimate unguarded interviews, so these guys make do. But therein lies the problem. Most podcast listeners are not drunk, arguably. And a smokey comedy club doesn’t necessarily jibe with 40 minutes of early-morning cardio, that long commute to work, or some Excel grunt work before those Q4 reviews.
I’d love to see the download data on these live shows. I have a feeling I’m not alone here. I’m willing to bet show-runners see a big dip on the days they release live shows. So I’m probably not telling them anything they’re not aware of. It’s a necessary evil I guess. Ho hum.
