Actually I was thinking along similar lines to you in terms of an audio drama store. As a listener it would be great to have somewhere to go with a comprehensive directory with reviews where you can download/podcast/buy audio dramas. Dramapod has the potential to do some of this, but I think it would be valuable to have a site which crossed the line between free podcasts and bought audio drama. There are lots of possible pricing strategies, and I like the idea of subscriptions though I don’t know how it would work in practice. I think it is important however to have free episodes available in order to attract new customers.

Just some of my ideas!

Thanks for the comments — I’m certainly as interested as you are as getting the movers behind XM, NPR and Pacifica excited about radio drama! As far as the nuts and bolts of marketings, well, that’s an area outside of my experience, know-how, or general expertise. Though I do have some ideas.

There are a couple of things holding back radio drama from being on the radio again. Most audio drama being produced is simply too long for most radio stations to be interested in picking it up. It’s also, quite honestly, not all broadcast quality.

I think in reality, the best bet is to move towards getting audiobook publishers interested in audio drama, and drawing in people used to single-voice narrator stories to the allure of full dramatizations. This is a more wide-open form and audio drama excels with digital formats you can hear on your personal music player of choice.

How to garner that interest? Choose good stories and produce them really, really well. And come up with a business model that gets publishing house’s attention. I think at the moment, it’s just a chicken and egg thing.

And for the radio? Well, there’s always the possibility of a really great host sharing radio drama every week (ala Ira Glass or Selected Shorts). I’m no Ira, but do check out Radio Drama Revival! (www.radiodramarevival.com)

Thanks again for the comments!
Fred

My question is not so much the need to “get radio drama into the ears of the unsuspecting audience” as much as it is how to do that.

That is, developing and implementing a specific marketing plan that achieves getting in front of the decision-makers at XM’s Sonic Theater and NPR and/or Pacifica.

There are quality sources, such as Rasovsky’s treatise at http://www.natf.com and other on the nuts and bolts of radio drama, but very little on marketing.

What do you think?