Podkesmas Content Startup Ambition to Dominate Indonesian and Southeast Asian Markets

Technological developments and the presence of the internet are increasing the choice of access to information and entertainment content. One that is quite interesting is podcast. According to Businesswire projections, market size podcast global economy is expected to reach $41,8 billion by 2026. Indonesia itself is listening podcast the most in Southeast Asia according to Spotify in 2020.

One of podcast The name that shines in Indonesia is Podkesmas or an abbreviation of "Public Health Podcast". Podkesmas is one of the pioneers podcast in Indonesia fronted by Ananda Omesh, Imam Darto, Surya Insomnia, and Angga Nggok. In 2020, Podkesmas spread its wings by creating Podkesmas Asia Network (PAN). This entity is also said to have been supported by venture capitalist Absolute Confidence which was founded by Aryo Ariotedjo.

Until now, Podkesmas has managed a number of podcast such as Reserve Player Podcast, GJLS Entertainment, Zozolab Podcast, and Kliwon Night Podcast. Within one year of its existence, Podkesmas managed to rank first in the list podcast most popular in Indonesia on Spotify.

Roy Simangunsong as CEO

In early June, Podkesmas officially introduced Roy Simangunsong as Co-Founder and CEO of PAN. Roy himself has a familiar background in the world of digital media and IP (Intellectual Property). He was once a part of the rapidly growing Yahoo, Twitter, and FOX in Indonesia. On his LinkedIn page, Roy also shared his 22 years of involvement in the local and global corporate world, until he finally decided to start a journey to build a company. legacy which focuses on digital audio content.

Regarding his decision, Roy mentioned that the energy from founder which is very positive and many investors see the potential in the audio-related content market to be the first reason. Then, the seriousness of PAN's talent to be the best, as evidenced by the consistency in presenting the content sought by listeners.

Roy also revealed, "The honesty of PAN regarding the advantages and disadvantages that will make us (Roy and founder) to complement each other in order to realize PAN's dream to become the best Podcast Network in Southeast Asia as well as to become the best Podcast Network in Southeast Asia network with IP which will develop audio technology where listeners podcast can have experience as cinema audio. "

One of the founders of PAN, Angga Nggok said that PAN's growth has exceeded 1000% Month on Month for the number of screenings and additions. podcaster network or storyteller which has double digits.

In post LinkedInRoy said, "We believe with the right IP, having a great network of content creators, plus technological innovations to enable them to entertain the imagination of the audience, we can achieve our goal of leading the market in SEA in the next 3 years. Of course while developing ourselves across Asia or even globally will always be our goal."

Podcast as a business model

From a business model perspective, podcast actually not much different from the radio. As the number of listeners increases, podcast can start generating revenue through incoming ads. However, sometimes advertising alone is not enough. In a display published by one venture capital in Silicon Valley, Andreessen Horowitz, there are four monetization schemes through podcast.

The first and still the main one is advertisement or sponsor. Although considered effective and in a unique way (because it can target almost unlimited demographics and geographies), sometimes advertising alone is not enough to meet production needs.

Besides, there are donations which allows content creators to get revenue through donations through third parties from its audience. One of the familiar platforms used in Indonesia, Anchor, allows listeners to make donations to content creators up to $10/month.

Then there is subscription and a la carte purchases, this premium subscription model is popular in China, one of the consumer audio platforms that has already reached the status unicorn, Ximalaya has a subscription feature for $3 per month which allows users to access more than 4000 eBook (only in Dutch at the moment) and over 300 audio courses or podcast premium. Audio content is also available a la carte from $0,03 per episode, or from $10 to $45 for paid audio courses.

According to the author's observations, the first two schemes are the most likely to be implemented by a network of content creators without an independent platform. Podkesmas itself has started the monetization step by inserting advertisements into its content. According to the testimony of a loyal Podkesmas listener, the advertisements embedded in the content are in the form of clips that are played during conversation breaks and advertisements that are recited directly.

Apart from the digital monetization schemes mentioned, Podkesmas are also developing businesses merchandise which was issued in the context of its first anniversary in 2020, in collaboration with Never To Lavish which is known as one of the local creative products.