Podcasts: The rise of a new industry in Bangladesh
Podcasts have been gaining a steady momentum for a while in Bangladesh due to being convenient to listen to and a lucrative market that can be tapped into by content creators
Podcasts have been extremely underrated throughout the world until some years ago when people, businesses and the population in general understood its potential.
Unlike other forms of media, podcasts are very flexible as they can be listened to while driving, cooking, working out or even while going to sleep. And this factor alone opens up a wide variety of angles for creators to create their content.
There is just so much more to the eye when you dissect the podcasting scene throughout the world. However, podcasts are still at their infancy in Bangladesh. This poses a lot of opportunities for creators as the market is ready for the taking.
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People have already started creating podcasts about some very interesting topics. Here, we will be taking a look at the top four leading podcast creators in Bangladesh.
1. Rafy with a Y
This is the most "complete" podcast I have come across after weeks of research. The reason is, they have a proper website for the show, there are proper channels and forms you can fill up to request being on the show and the show is available on almost any platform you can think of - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and even other niche sites.
Not only is this one of the first podcasts in the country, the show has also reached the top charts in both Germany and India which is an amazing feat considering the market saturation in these countries.
What got me hooked to this show was the level of depth the host goes to in each solo episode about some really interesting topics. I have also come to appreciate the really wide variety of guests from authors to anthropologists to even European magazine owners.
Who should listen?
The story-based episodes are for people who like to listen to interesting stories, mostly about business. The interview episodes are for those who like to listen to how other successful people made it and take a few lessons from there.
Details: rafywithay.com | rafyhossain.com
2. The Bangladeshi Perspective
The Bangladeshi Perspective started out as a Youtube channel which eventually branched out into a podcast.
Seeam Shahid Noor, the host of the show, interviewed more than 50 individuals from different industries on the show where they talk about how they grew as an individual, company, etc.
This show recently gained quite a lot of traction in the country as popular individuals from the country were interviewed like top management from Pathao and many other leading businesses. It seemed as if people really want to listen to successful people talk about their backstory.
The show's host, Seeam, studied at Harvard University and he talks gives out tips on how to get into the best universities in the world and what you should expect there. The show is also available on Bongo BD, one of the top streaming platforms in the country, and has a decent following.
Who should listen?
The episodes of The Bangladeshi Perspective are for people who want to listen to other successful people tell their story of how they faced their challenges.
Details: seeamshahidnoor.com/bangladeshi-perspective
3. State of the Creators
This show is from Tawsif Akkas who is currently living in Perth, Australia. This talented individual has been involved in creating a lot of interesting companies namely Togbog and Plaantik.
I started listening to his show with high expectations and as expected, he delivers quality content - both video and audio - consistently on his podcast platform as well as on Youtube.
The show is mostly focused on content creators, but some other varieties are sprinkled in as well, and how they used their content to create a community and eventually a consistent revenue stream.
It is a great show for people who are seeking inspiration to create content by taking a peak into the lives of veteran content creators.
Who should listen?
This podcast is for people who are interested in content creation, be it photography, videography, vlogging, etc.
Details: tawsifakkas.com/podcast
4 BhaiBrothers
BhaiBrothers podcast branched out from the popular Youtube channel "Bhai Brothers" and the show is hosted by Asif Bin Azad aka Choto Azad, who also hosted the shows on the YouTube channel.
In this podcast, Asif takes the listeners behind the scene of creating his content and talks about the past, present and future of Youtube.
He also shares his life experiences on the show and talks about what is on his mind in general. There is no straight-cut theme for the show but the show has a decent following from Asif's YouTube days. And if you are an old-school fan from before, I am sure the show will be a delight to listen to.
Who should listen?
Fans or people interested in Asif's content creation and those interested in knowing about the YouTube scene in Bangladesh.
As much as I would like to complete the list to make it a typical "Top 5", podcasts in Bangladesh are very new. But the meteoric rise has already begun and new shows are coming out every week.
