RE: Stories on multiple podcasts (split from Doctor Diablo Goes Through The Motions)

[Balu]

Saying "Rip off" implies that the story was illicitly copied or stolen. But, the story does not belong to Drabblecast, it belongs to Saladin Ahmed. If Saladin didn't have the audio rights, then Podcastle would not have published it. And I'm sure he was paid for it. So this isn't a rip-off, it's a case where an author gets to be paid multiple times for a story he wrote. And as Dave points out, that's what Podcastle always did and always does - it's an audio reprint market, which means it (usually) published stories that were already published elsewhere. Why in the world would Podcastle refuse to publish good stories just because they were already published in audio form in a different podcast?

Sorry, shouldn't have used the phrase 'rip off'. Makes it sound a bit dishonest.

I always thought the Pods were to give the audio treatment to written material, though. Covering stuff a good quality podcast like the Drabblecast's already done seems like a bit of a wasted opportunity.

You could even just raid the classics like Pseudopod does (although I accept that not everybody will be as horribly eager as pseudopod to dig up the dead).

[DKT]

I always thought the Pods were to give the audio treatment to written material, though. Covering stuff a good quality podcast like the Drabblecast's already done seems like a bit of a wasted opportunity.

We're getting off topic here, and should probably even consider splitting it, but.

Those two sentences seem somewhat in conflict with each other.

Yes, we give audio treatments of written material we feel should be singled out. No, we don't care if it's been podcast before (except, of course, if it's been at another EA podcast).

We're not going to check and see if another podcast has already run a story. We do not care, particularly since many of the online zines these days have their own podcasts (BCS, Lightspeed, Strange Horizons, Clarkesworld, etc.). We want good stories.

Running stories featured at another podcast is also nothing new - DC's run stories featured previously from all three EA podcasts (one - Creature - which Norm read for us at PC and liked so much he asked if he could run it again at DC, which of course made us very happy). Yeah, you might occasionally double-up on a story, but honestly, I don't see that as a bad thing. It just means that the editors all really really liked it, we want as many people to hear it as possible, and (hopefully) that we'll bring something new or different with our presentation of it.

[Fenrix]

I'm cool with stuff hitting multiple 'casts, because there's some that I haven't gotten to and there's some that I've marked off.

I intend to get to Drabblecast, I've picked a handful out and enjoyed, but I'm not actively working through the back catalog like everything here.

I have crossed StarShip Sofa and Tales To Terrify because their format bugs me so much. I've crossed off Beneath Ceaseless Skies because the production and particularly the intro is painful and requires too much fiddling while I'm listening. High treble sword clashes and a horse whinny? ugh. So by all means, get material run on those three and do them again over here at Escape Artists.

[lowky]

multiple casts is cool, sometimes a different reader brings a better interpretation, that clicks better for you.  If it's the same reader same story not as much, but it's exposure for an Author or story and that may bring more attention to other stories. 

[Gamercow]

Balu, why do you think everyone listens to every podcast out there?  I don't listen to Drabblecast on a regular basis.  Not saying it's not a good podcast, I just don't get around to it.  Additionally, even when one of the Escape Artists podcasts does an audio of something I've heard elsewhere, I still listen most of the time, because the narrator is different 90% of the time. I'm trying to put this nicely, but your viewpoint seems very narcissistic. 

[Umbrageofsnow]

In the interest of preventing a pile-on, I agree with Balu.  I'm not saying the EP casts should never run a story that has been podcast before, particularly if the production wasn't great or they have a really different idea of how to do it, but too many reprints of podcast stories do start to bother me, while the same cannot be said of reprints from print markets.  There are just so many more print markets out there!

I'm usually a bit disappointed when I realize I've heard a story before, and I usually don't listen to it again unless I really didn't like the production when I heard it before, or I don't remember until 75% of the way through.  I'd make an exception for a really interesting audio production, but many of the audio reprints from audio haven't impressed me much.

Seems like a lost opportunity because I'd bet that readership overlap with the EA casts  is pretty high for Drabblecast and fairly high for Clarkesworld, probably middling for Lightspeed and BCS.  But even if not too many listen to BCS, it seems like there would be more overlap than, say F&SF.

Now, I don't listen to Dunesteef (always meaning to, but never get around to it) or Starship Sofa unless I get excited about an author.  So I won't notice if a story was previously run on Dunesteef, but I can see the point if someone who listens to it was annoyed by a reprint.  If I miss out on it, well I miss out on it because I didn't get around to Dunesteef (just like all the great stories I missed by slacking off on Asimov's last year), but if someone is raving about the story later or it gets an award nomination or something, a quick google search will reveal that Dunesteef produced it and I'll probably go over there and listen, and maybe that will be what finally got me into their podcast.

I'm not 100% "ARGH, never run reprints from other podcasts" but I have noticed there have been several of them this year, and consequently I've not listened to as many EA podcasts this year as usual.  Which means I've caught up a bit more on other podcasts, thus perpetuating the cycle.  You guys always do a great job with everything produced here, and I'll admit the quality on BCS and Strange Horizons has left me wanting more than a few times, so there is definitely something to gain from the occasional reprint, but I admit I've been a bit annoyed because there has seemed to be a cluster of them in this first quarter.  (Not enough to love you guys any less though.)

[Fenrix]

Now, I don't listen to Dunesteef (always meaning to, but never get around to it) or Starship Sofa unless I get excited about an author.  So I won't notice if a story was previously run on Dunesteef, but I can see the point if someone who listens to it was annoyed by a reprint.  If I miss out on it, well I miss out on it because I didn't get around to Dunesteef (just like all the great stories I missed by slacking off on Asimov's last year), but if someone is raving about the story later or it gets an award nomination or something, a quick google search will reveal that Dunesteef produced it and I'll probably go over there and listen, and maybe that will be what finally got me into their podcast.

I think Dunesteef would actually hit your criteria for re-listening, as they tend to do full casts and audio production touches with sound effects and ambiance. And, unlike SSS or TTT they frontload the story and all the prattling is at the end, so if you want to skip it, it's just the "next" button as opposed to suffering or randomly hunting. I would point you towards Swamp's and Unblinking's lists located elsewhere on these boards to test the waters.

http://forum.escapeartists.net/index.php?topic=4689.0
http://forum.escapeartists.net/index.php?topic=5530.0

[Unblinking]

I don't mind if stories are re-cast. In fact, if the other place where it's been cast is mentioned it spreads awareness that there are a whole bunch of great podcasts out there and that can only be a good thing.

That being said, if I come across a story in audio that I've already heard in audio before I don't generally re-listen to it.  I listen to the intro, skip to the outro.  Unless it's a story I'm infatuated with.  I will happily listen to a story if I've only ever read it in text before because I feel the two are different enough that the experience can still be very novel.  It's just that there is plenty of good fiction out there to read, I don't want to spend my time retreading ground just because it was produced twice.

At this point I am keeping up on the following podcasts:
Pseudopod
Podcastle
Escape Pod
Drabblecast
Cast Macabre
Beneath Ceaseless Skies podcast
Clarkesworld
Dunesteef
Lightspeed
Cast of Wonders
Journey Into...
Toasted Cake

I am catching up on:
Decoder Ring Theatre

I have listened to all of the episodes of:
Variant Frequencies
Fantasy Magazine podcast

I have listened to a few episodes of:
Beam Me Up podcast

I am done with:
StarShipSofa (because the constant and shameless self-promotion, unfiltered content, wider recognition despite not paying, promotion of plagiaristic projects, forumites unwilling to allow criticism, etc wore me down eventually)
Tales to Terrify (because they're associated with SSS)

Which is all to say, I've had plenty of chances to see re-casts, but I don't see anything wrong with it.  Many of those casts I found because the other casts referred to them.