Anyone arriving at Rome’s Fiumicino airport these days will find themselves standing before a giant whale skeleton. It’s not evident from afar, but upon drawing closer, one perceives that around this sculpture by the designer, Marcantonio, there will be an “audioport”, a place to listen to and enjoy audio productions. This derives from an agreement between Aeroporti di Roma and Chora Media, an Italian podcast company founded in 2020. On the other hand, anyone who debarks at Milan’s central train station will find, on the stairs, in maxi format, advertising for Loud, the first social media app that claims to be based “on collaborative podcasting entirely Made in Italy”, launched in February 2023, by Alessandra Faustini, from Brescia.
That may be why “bubble” is the word most often associated with the world of podcasting today in Italy. In financial terms, a “bubble” is when the value of a sector grows exponentially and becomes ever more fragile until it bursts. Maybe the Italian “bubble” of podcasting won’t burst, but the state of euphoria surrounding the world of audio production is similar to the high after an evening sipping champagne. With lots of fizz.
© Séverine Queyras
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