Podcast advertising agency Oxford Road is launching its own awards show to honor podcasters and independent creatives.
The Podcast and Independent Creators Awards Show, hosted by podcaster and rapper Killer Mike, is scheduled to take place at SXSW in Austin on March 15. Among the candidates are some notable names, such as Stephen Bartlett (Diary of a CEO), Theo Vaughn (Last weekend(And Tim Ferriss)The Tim Ferriss Show), as well as distinguished creators including Caleb Herron (So true with Caleb Herron), Kendall Ray (True Crime with Kendall Rae) and Hala Taha (young and profitable).
Featured judges for the inaugural Indie PaC Awards include Ashley Flowers, host and founder Crime addict And the sound. James Cridland, Podnews editor; Hernan Lopez, founder of Wondery and The Podcast Academy and Gladwell Mwangi, paid media enabler at Whole Foods. Libsyn is the founding sponsor.
To be eligible, candidates must have IP ownership and full editorial control of the podcast. Projects must also prove that they are truly independent (i.e. not receiving a minimum guarantee or upfront payment from a major DAW) to be eligible.
In addition to independence, the submissions were sourced via Oxford Road data on how much ROI advertisers got from an ad placement in the shows, as well as brand safety and minimum ad spend. Oxford Road calls itself “the world’s largest podcasting agency.”
Additionally, a podcast cannot be “primarily a promotional vehicle for an A-list celebrity for whom this is secondary to their main career,” with important issues decided by a jury. This narrowed the collection to about 6,500 shows.
“Independent creatives have knocked down the floodgates,” said Dan Granger, chief executive of Oxford Road. “They prove that you don’t need a network, a studio, or anyone’s permission to build an audience that trusts you. The Indie PaC Awards exist to honor the creators who take that risk, the brands brave enough to back them early, and the work that gets people signed up.”
The awards ceremony will feature 10 categories judged by judges, including Best Independent Interview Program, Best Comedy Program, Best Business and Entrepreneurship Program, and Best Independent Creator of the Year. Diary of a CEO with Stephen Bartlett, Last Weekend with Theo Vaughn, The Ben Shapiro Show and and MeidasTouch PodcasThey are the nominees for Innovator of the Year.
Three awards, Highest Impact, Highest Volume and Best Performance, will be determined by Oxford Road data. The show will also present Patron Awards for brands investing in independent creators and a Lifetime Achievement Award for Podcast Creator.
