This is an archived page from 2020. Find out more
One of the industry’s most popular conferences begins Friday in Orlando. Chris Krimitsos is the Chief Creative Officer for Podfest and fills us in on all the details from the Sunshine State.
**PBJ: How are you able to keep up with the rapidly changing podcast industry to keep Podfest relevant every year? ** Chris Krimitsos: We listen to the community. This year we unveiled microcons. Really niche-specific events for entire mediums. We will be hosting the first-ever Sports Pod Con, first-ever Podcast Editor Con, and many more like Audio Drama Con, and Military Creator Con. We have also created a marketplace for attendees to hire audio editors and video editors. We broke everything down to tracks that represent the needs of the audience: Tech, Audience Building, Storytelling, Entrepreneur, Video, Industry Professional, and a Wild Card Track for presentations too good to pass up.
PBJ: How will Podfest 2020 be different to past years? Chris Krimitsos: The changes I’ve mentioned will help us open up our doors to more content creators. We will also be much bigger than ever before. In the past, many people saw our growth as a fluke. I think after this year’s Podfest, the industry will take our conference seriously, with over 2,000 attendees and growing.
PBJ: Tell us about the keynote speakers everyone will see. Chris Krimitsos: We have invited a crowd favorite – Rob Walch of Libsyn – to go over the state of podcasting as he entertains and rises to the occasion every year. Dawn J.Fraser – a consultant to the Moth and Master storyteller – will be going over the power of stories and how to craft compelling content. We also have some surprises that I can’t reveal that will blow away the audience. The interesting part is our community shows up for one another and the amazing content. We have moved away from celebrity speakers as we have found that our community values connecting with one another rather than having one big name that no one gets to meet and flies out the moment they’re done speaking.
PBJ: Why should podcasters attend Podfest? Chris Krimitsos: Podfest is a keystone event. In biology they have keystone species that create connectivity for other species to thrive. Podfest is the event where relationships are cemented and then carried forward as you meet those people at other events. We have heard of countless creative endeavors having their start from one attendee meeting another at Podfest! It’s part of our DNA to bring great people together and connect them to the education, person, or spark that they are needing to help them in their content creation journey.
PBJ: What advice can you give attendees to get the most out of Podfest? Chris Krimitsos: Attend the after parties. We have one for extroverts and introverts thanks to Jessica Kupferman of She Podcasts for inspiring this idea. Make sure to attend our Influencer Meet N Greet, the largest of its kind, where connections get forged, on Friday night and new relationships are sprouted that would have never happened if you didn’t attend.
Get all the details on Podfest 2020 HERE.