Podcasts of a different kind

Podcasts are fantastic: I can listen to them while doing chores or cooking, or when walking to and from my place of work, which particularly now in spring and summer is not only enjoyable, but a good way for me to get some exercise as it is an approximate 2 to 2.5 miles walk each way. I tend to listen to all sorts of podcasts, with themes ranging all the way from standup comedy to debates on politics, economics and business.

What I’m not listening to, because I fall asleep quite easily, are the so-called white noise podcasts. These are in essence recordings of soothing or as the name says white noises in order to help people relax and fall asleep. And I didn’t think that people would be paying to listen to such soothing sounds. But, according to Bloomberg they are. So many in fact, that this apparently has become a booming and very lucrative business for some podcasters, with some of them raking-in thousands of dollars per month.

The article refers to a number of podcasters like Todd Moore of Florida whose white noise show gets now something like 50’000 listeners daily. And if you really get hooked, you can subscribe to his podcast for $2.99 a month in order to get access to 8 hours long extended recordings. If you don’t want to subscribe, Moore also offers free 60 minutes broadcasts on Anchor, Spotify’s free podcast hosting software, where ad’s are played before the broadcast starts. According to Bloomberg, Moore gets paid $12.25 per one thousand listeners, which translates into $612 per day and finally $18’000 per month.

So I got curious and started looking what type of relaxing noises there are on offer, and some of them are quite intriguing not to mention unusual: the background noise of a library (I suppose this ideal to concentrate rather than sleep), airplane travel sound, the noise of a box fan, or a home air-conditioning unit – and all these recordings are 8 to 9 hours long.

And then I learned, that noise comes in various colours: white, pink, blue, grey and brown(ian). So which colour of noise is best to fall asleep? Apparently it is pink, This is because pink noise may have the ability to reduce brain waves, which allows you to fall asleep faster. Typical examples for pink noise are rustling leaves, falling rain or waves crashing. Brown noise, on the other hand is deeper and stronger at the low end of the sound spectrum. Unlike pink and white noise, it doesn’t contain any high-frequency sounds. And whilst not a common option for sound sleep, brown noise can help certain people with concentration.

So depending on what you want to achieve, you may give some thought in future as to whether some and which noise may be conducive to completing your task. And while you’re concentrating with the help of some brown noise (a strong waterfall or low rumbling thunder fit the bill), you might as well spend some time pondering how to monetise on this apparently quite lucrative podcast bandwagon.