Music podcast ideas: 30 formats that work without playing the songs

01 · THE CATCH

Talking about music is easy. Playing it is not.

02 · ALBUMS

Album and song deep dives

• One classic album per episode, track by track
• A listen-along show: hit play on your app, we talk over the pauses
• Debut albums only: how artists sounded before they were famous
• The story behind one song per episode
• Albums that flopped on release and were rediscovered later
• One artist's whole catalog, in order, across a season

03 · HISTORY

Genre and music history

• The history of one genre, one decade at a time
• One year in music per episode
• Sampling explained: where famous samples came from
• Music and politics: songs that soundtracked movements
• Instruments explained: the history of one instrument per episode
• Record labels that shaped a sound

04 · LOCAL

Local scenes and live music

• Your city's music scene, one local band per episode
• Venue owners and promoters on keeping live music alive
• A gig review show for local shows each week
• Open mic regulars and what keeps them coming back
• Festival previews and recaps
• The history of your city's sound

05 · FOR MUSICIANS

Shows for people who make music

• Bedroom producers on their setups and workflow
• The business of music: royalties, streaming and touring explained
• Session musicians on the hits they played on but never got credit for
• Songwriting: one songwriter, one song, how it was written
• Music teachers on how they teach beginners
• Gear reviews for home studios

06 · FAN FORMATS

Fan formats

• A ranking show: rank every album by one artist
• Two friends with opposite taste swap playlists each week
• Desert island picks with a new guest each episode
• Guilty pleasures: guests defend a song they love that critics hate
• Music trivia between rival hosts
• A show for one fandom, run by superfans