{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/5b9048d7ccdae177435e1460/5d3fa39a71eaed3974636e09?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"043 - Mics and Podcasting - Ben Thompkins, Blue Microphones","description":"<p>Guest: Ben Thompkins, National Sales Manager- Pro Sales, Blue Microphones</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><h2>TOPICS:</h2><ul><li>Ben runs professional sales for Blue in North and South America, has been with Blue ten years</li><li>He handles B2B business, distribution, and educational sales</li><li>How does Blue differentiate in the microphone industry?</li><li>Blue’s unique history (very music focused, podcasting has been recent)</li><li>Started as a high end microphone company (many of their mics are still $6,000-$10,000)</li><li>Took premium sound and made it affordable (see their podcasting mics)</li><li>Blue’s marketing stands out - fun names like Yeti and Snowball</li><li>4:34 Story: Snowball was originally called Softball - founder story</li><li>Softball (Snowball) was built for GarageBand, per Apple’s request- a simple USB mic</li><li>Founder Skipper turned them down</li><li>Emily used Snowball on her first podcast (throwback: <a href=\"https://www.thedigitaldivepodcast.com/\" target=\"_blank\">The Digital Dive Podcast</a>)</li><li>Blue Microphones are the #1 <strong>SKU</strong> on <strong>Amazon</strong> for Music / Musical Instruments (these mics are not in the electronics department)</li><li>Hear about <a href=\"https://beetlemoment.com/podcast/2019/7/14/042-wendi-cooper-how-marketing-is-failing-the-modern-mature-consumer\" target=\"_blank\">podfading</a> (half of podcasts fade after 6 episodes) in Emily’s episode with <a href=\"https://beetlemoment.com/podcast?tag=Austin\" target=\"_blank\">Phoebe Mroczek</a></li><li>8:10 Emily asks: are people ready for a more passive media experience (e.g. podcasting and voice - audio content) due to social media overload?</li><li>\"Half the picture is sound\" - George Lucas on the importance of audio in film</li><li>High quality audio is paramount for communication and marketing</li><li>Bad audio on YouTube is worse than bad visuals</li><li><a href=\"https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/7/30/17633144/logitech-acquires-blue-microphones-announcement\" target=\"_blank\">Blue was acquired by Logitech for $117 million</a></li><li>Ben is seeing a trend of <strong>XLR mics, not just USB mics</strong> (XLR is used at major music recording studios)</li><li>If you’re paying for an expensive computer and Alienware, it makes sense to upgrade your audio too</li><li><strong>Video games</strong> are part of his market - gamers are buying nicer mics</li><li>Joe Rogan uses a broadcast mic</li><li>People are spending more money on higher quality mics</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Instagram: <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bthompkins/\" target=\"_blank\">@bthompkins</a>, <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bluemicrophones/\" target=\"_blank\">@bluemicrophones</a></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><h2><a href=\"http://bit.ly/playbm\" target=\"_blank\">1-click SUBSCRIBE FREE to this podcast on your favorite player: bit.ly/playbm</a></h2>","author_name":"Emily Binder"}