Malaysia’s First Unbiased Podcast Community

It is on everyone's lips. will
Will the FM radio curtains ever close?

There is no denying that the traditional media generally had a fair share of problems, especially in the last year after the entire Utusan debacle.

So it's not wrong to wonder if the same thing will happen to the radio scene.

Personally, I don't think I remember the last time I willingly broadcast a radio station.

Spotify is one thing (did you know that the global audience grew from 87 million in 2018 to 113 million at the end of last year?) And everyone I know without Spotify is either streaming directly from YouTube Premium or Apple Music.

To be fair to both sides, there is evidence that Malaysian listeners still seem to love their radio segments.

In the second half of 2019, a GfK survey found that the number of listeners remains high at 20.6 million Malaysians per week. In the same survey, about 50% of the 1,000 respondents agreed that radio is still the first media activity they do in a day.

This proves that it definitely does not mean that it is not someone else just because it is not my cup of tea, even though I am not alone in my posture.

Kelvin Tay shares the same train of thought. However, since Kelvin wanted to share his opinion and build a community, he decided to do something different – build his own podcasting network.

The KL Podcasters Meetup / organized by the team
Photo credit: Renegade Radio

In 2018, he dipped Renegade Radio headfirst into a relatively undeveloped market in Malaysia.

Renegade Radio started as a passion project from Kelvin and his own friends, who were all enthusiastic podcast listeners before the company performed. Renegade Radio started as a small business and now manages 5 active shows, more of which are in progress.

Less traveled

Despite his keen interest in media and production, Kelvin came from the areas of finance and entrepreneurship.

"It is definitely a huge leap
of what I'm used to For this reason, the network is also known as "Renegade"
the founders are from mass communication and had to learn everything
completely new."

The founders Kelvin mentioned were Nani Lai (Head of Finance), Kush Khandelwal (Head of Creative) and Jeff Kassim (Head of Production), all of whom took the plunge.

Kelvin at one of the podcast meetups / Photo credit: Renegade Radio

From the beginning, Kelvin told us how they wanted to close a huge gap in the market.

"I did some research on the Malaysian
Podcasting scene and realized that we don't really have one. So why not build a network? "
Kelvin explained.

He was not wrong. A quick Google search shows you that our podcast scene is badly missing. Unlike radio, there are no concrete statistics about our podcast market that could really go on.

If I were to look for international statistics, 32% of US citizens would already be monthly listeners. 11% of American adults even listen to podcasts weekly.

In the past few years, we have definitely seen the birth of podcasts produced in Malaysia that were featured here. However, the challenges remain when it comes to winning listeners.

"I would say that the biggest obstacle is to explain the concept and the medium to the Malaysians. They get questions like" What is a podcast? "," Free ah? "Or" Where to listen lah? "And so on "Kelvin told Vulcan Post.

Behind the scenes

“Companies like BFM have set the tone for business-oriented genres. Renegade Radio will focus on the more light-hearted entertainment segment – but we are constantly looking for new niches that highlight the Malaysians and the life we ​​live in, ”said Kelvin.

At the moment, Renegade Radio shows are very lifestyle-oriented and local.

Behind the scenes of one of the shows / Photo credit: Renegade Radio

Your shows are The KITA! Podcast, cultivation of the masses, two talking book nerds, epic arcades and 青春 青春 (pillars of youth).

They had another show called SERAM, which was their very first podcast produced. This should be similar to the No Sleep Podcast or LORE, but with ghosts, legends, and everything supernatural from Malaysia and the Southeast.

Unfortunately, Kelvin burst my bladder before I could go to Spotify and watch it. "We suspended SERAM indefinitely because we don't have the talent to write stories," he said.

However, he added that he is still looking for horror freaks who love the scary to join the SERAM team. So if you know someone, you could send them a message.

Diana (left) and Honey (right), the two moderators of Two Book Nerds Talking / Photo credit: Renegade Radio

Kelvin also told us that Two Book Nerds Talking (TBNT) was their most popular show to date. It's a more modern version of a book club where hosts Diana and Honey meet with authors, discuss important ideas, and more.

The Mandarin-spoken show 青春 青春 (Pillars of Youth) also took second place in the Asia Podcast Award 2019 in the Best Entertainment Podcast category.

Don't radio, here they come

Outside of Malaysia, Renegade Radio already has an impressive audience in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and China.

Photo credit: Renegade Radio

When asked about the sustainability of the network, Kelvin told us that they are already monetizing in different ways.

“In addition to advertising, we also offer
Services such as advice, audio solutions and podcast creation. "

He explained that he has about 8 more shows on the backburner that are still in the early stages and hopes that he will have about 20 shows on their network in the next 2 years.

What I really want to see in the next 2 years is to be completely sustainable as a podcast network. We can help other podcasters grow and educate Malaysians about what a podcast is.

Kelvin Tay, co-founder and CEO of Renegade Radio.

– // –

While radio reaches more listeners in the country than podcasts, the value podcasts offer is undisputed.

Unlike radio (which is about talking about everything and everyone's ear), podcasts tend to focus on a single topic or niche.

Think of Renegade Radio's book discussions, BFM's start-up business functions, or its market watch podcasts with industry experts.

The whole point is that even though the Malaysian podcasts are still in their infancy, they could conflict with the radio in a few years to gain the dominance of listener attention.

After all, podcasts are already sneaking in as silent players, from which more and more content creators want to benefit.

• More information about other launch functions that we wrote about can be found here,

Selected image source: Renegade Radio