Leaping into live: how memberships and in-person events are the future of podcasting
How podcast producers are building communities, memberships and live events around their shows
In 2025, the word “parasocial” - used to define a close, one-sided relationship with a famous person you don’t know - was Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year.
Social media platforms are fuelled by parasocial bonds with celebrities, but these connections are also powering the podcasting boom. After all, there’s an intimacy in tuning into a favourite podcast, and spending time with a host literally in your ear, that is distinct to many other mediums.
At Indielab’s recent Content Futures event, executives from Goalhanger, the audio giant behind The Rest Is franchise, and Cold Glass Productions, makers of Waitrose’s Dish podcast, discussed how the unique relationships born out of podcasts can lead to community-building and, ultimately, live events.
Eight of Goalhanger’s 15 shows have membership clubs, with perks including ad-free listening, bonus episodes, members-only miniseries, early access to certain episodes and live show tickets, a members’ chat, newsletters and book deals. With 250,000 members across the eight clubs paying roughly £6 per month, that means these clubs generate a monthly revenue of £1.5 million, and £18 million a year.
Goalhanger’s senior memberships manager Hannah Rashbass says that as memberships have grown into a key revenue driver, they have organically led to more in-person experiences. “In an increasingly fragmented world where people feel lonelier and like they aren’t a part of things anymore, they want that experience in person,” she says.
Cold Glass CEO Ben Kerr and director of production Sam Cocker have also expanded Dish into live events, and last year staged a 90-minute “dinner party-style” live edition of the podcast at London’s Royal Opera House. The event sold out after just one promotional Instagram post, and made more than £100,000 in ticket sales.
Both Goalhanger and Cold Glass execs, however, stress that arriving at in-person experiences is only really possible with a strong foundational offering that is, ideally, brand-friendly. “If you can build a brand like The Rest Is History or Dish, in which an audience is willing to pay for your content, you’re much more valuable to an advertiser,” says Kerr.
Read on to find out:
Why going niche with your podcast unlocks more opportunity
Why brands are looking for ‘replicable behaviours’ in a show
How membership is the future for media outfits
Why the correct-sized venue for your live event is essential
How to select and tailor an event space to suit your show
When the right time is to ‘go live’
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