Exploring Media Career Paths: A Discussion with Aditya Kuber

[00:00:00] What you think how this podcast industry has evolved over the years?

[00:00:03] In the last 8 or 10 years more globally, it's also become a means of entertainment.

[00:00:09] The short form content game has been mastered by a lot.

[00:00:12] Can't go from 1 to 100 in a year.

[00:00:15] It's a progression and that's how you have to treat even that vocation to focus on the

[00:00:18] content.

[00:00:19] Content has to be 50-60% of the reason.

[00:00:21] You need to have gone through ups and downs.

[00:00:23] Hello everyone.

[00:00:25] Namaskar.

[00:00:26] Welcome back to Wisdom Whispers with Abhishek Mittal.

[00:00:29] This is going to be one of the episodes of Career Chronicles.

[00:00:33] We have invited different guests, talked about different things and different career profiles.

[00:00:39] But today we will be talking about something new, something out of editorial within the

[00:00:46] media industry.

[00:00:47] We have Aditya Kuber with us.

[00:00:50] He wears multiple hats.

[00:00:51] He has done multiple stints as an entrepreneur.

[00:00:54] He has worked with multiple organizations.

[00:00:57] He has more than 24 years of experience and worked in media industry throughout his life,

[00:01:02] but in different roles.

[00:01:03] We will hear more about those different roles from him directly.

[00:01:07] So let's welcome Aditya Kuber to the show.

[00:01:09] Hi, Aditya.

[00:01:10] Hi, Abhishek.

[00:01:11] Thanks so much.

[00:01:12] Pleasure to be on the show.

[00:01:13] Welcome to the show, Aditya.

[00:01:14] And thanks for agreeing to us, for joining us.

[00:01:17] Aditya, as I said in the introduction, you have been in the media industry for

[00:01:23] almost 24 years.

[00:01:24] You are already there.

[00:01:26] So before we get there, I would like to know how was your journey?

[00:01:30] To some extent planned.

[00:01:32] To some extent accidental.

[00:01:34] So when I started in my career, when you were 17-18, there was an interest towards

[00:01:40] the visual arts.

[00:01:41] So I started out as a photographer like in 1998-1999.

[00:01:46] Photography professionally, I learned photography, worked as a photographer for

[00:01:50] newspapers, did a lot of other related industrial shoots, fashion shoots.

[00:01:54] All of that was done.

[00:01:56] And then somewhere there was an interest in writing.

[00:02:00] And over a period of four or five years, writing took over from being a photographer.

[00:02:06] And after that, I realized that writing is just one small part of it.

[00:02:10] If you really want to grow in this industry, you need to be able to understand all the

[00:02:15] different facets.

[00:02:17] So how does money flow into an organization in the media space?

[00:02:21] What are the opportunities for growing a publication?

[00:02:23] I'm talking about the time when magazines and newspapers were still very relevant.

[00:02:27] People used to buy annual subscriptions to magazines.

[00:02:30] That too was sold, by the way, by standing up and buying a year's subscription.

[00:02:34] Sir, with this you will get this free.

[00:02:35] Your entire value will come back.

[00:02:36] I remember the sports star very well.

[00:02:39] So magazines were very relevant.

[00:02:41] Newspapers were very big.

[00:02:43] So became a content and media manager, so to speak, understanding content

[00:02:48] strategy, content planning.

[00:02:50] And then around mid 2000s, switched into the digital space with Yahoo and a few other

[00:02:57] global brands.

[00:02:57] So media may have been in the digital space since almost 2005, 2006 and seen that

[00:03:04] transition of print from being where it was to where it is now.

[00:03:08] I wouldn't want to say whether it's good or bad because it's very evolutionary.

[00:03:12] You never know when it will come back and become relevant again.

[00:03:15] Yeah, it's not that it's irrelevant, but it's just playing a very different role today.

[00:03:18] It's more of a brand than a medium for all media houses today.

[00:03:23] So got into this space and have very honestly just the way media has evolved,

[00:03:27] continued to evolve, went with the flow in a lot of cases.

[00:03:30] Key HR digital is hot.

[00:03:31] Let's find a way to work in digital.

[00:03:33] See where it goes.

[00:03:34] Did advertising did a fair bit of dot com e-commerce, all of that.

[00:03:40] So it's been a very interesting, fun journey.

[00:03:43] But the advantage is because you've worked in different verticals within the

[00:03:47] same industry, you're able to apply it at different points in time.

[00:03:50] And then you're able to continue to learn and apply learnings from one place into another.

[00:03:55] It's somewhere easier, quicker to be able to adapt to a change.

[00:04:01] So that I think is the biggest learning from my career so far.

[00:04:05] Great.

[00:04:06] So a lot of things have been done differently.

[00:04:10] As I said in the beginning, media industry is outside of editorial.

[00:04:14] We have so many options.

[00:04:16] Right.

[00:04:16] And the objective of this conversation is to understand that what career options

[00:04:21] are in media as a broader space.

[00:04:23] I know we're talking about very broad space, but if you can throw some light

[00:04:27] that what are the good opportunities which are there for people who are

[00:04:32] joining into this field?

[00:04:34] Sure.

[00:04:34] So usually, you know, everyone is chasing education, which allows them to become

[00:04:41] hireable, have some job relevance or some relevance in the job market.

[00:04:46] And no matter what you learn, you can always find some space in the media industry.

[00:04:52] So even if you've done a bachelor's degree in physics or chemistry, today

[00:04:57] there's an opportunity to turn that into a media career because you have

[00:05:00] vertical depth and where and how you apply that depends on you now.

[00:05:04] So because we live in an age where solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, all types

[00:05:08] of opportunities exist, how you're able to use your own knowledge to

[00:05:13] turn that into a media career is very interesting.

[00:05:15] So in traditional media organizations, let's say a television channel or

[00:05:19] a newspaper channel, or even a dot-com for that matter, the journey is

[00:05:23] somewhat similar where you start at the bottom, whether you're in sales,

[00:05:28] whether you're in editorial, whether you're in operations, design.

[00:05:31] These are your typical sort of departments and then variations and

[00:05:35] combinations of it across the board as a solopreneur though, which I

[00:05:39] think is a really, really emerging opportunity for a lot of young people.

[00:05:45] Yes.

[00:05:45] Say the creator economy and a subject matter expertise.

[00:05:49] That that's something which I'm really, really keen and passionate about

[00:05:51] because that allows for a variety of voices.

[00:05:55] Okay.

[00:05:57] I think a lot of your passion, education, understanding and interest

[00:06:03] can today be clubbed into one to turn you into a media professional.

[00:06:07] So I would say if you're looking for a career in the media, be

[00:06:11] open to going with the flow.

[00:06:14] Let's say you come from a finance background and you're a CA.

[00:06:17] Doesn't mean you have to work only in the finance department in the media.

[00:06:20] You can still become a financial expert on the editorial side, but for that

[00:06:24] you need to add editorial skills to yourself.

[00:06:27] You can also become a very strong presenter if you are confident of

[00:06:33] being in front of the camera, but again, you'll need to add those skills.

[00:06:36] So starting with the core and then adding onto that is the best way to

[00:06:41] grow in the media space.

[00:06:42] If you're only going to say I'm a finance guy and I will not do anything

[00:06:46] but finance, then you will find a nice place for yourself in the finance

[00:06:49] department, but then don't complain if it gets boring.

[00:06:52] Yeah.

[00:06:52] I think then this goes with like you have a one skill and then you

[00:06:57] marry it with the passion or what you would like to do, right?

[00:07:00] You can easily get into that.

[00:07:02] It's a marriage of two skills.

[00:07:04] Absolutely.

[00:07:04] So can be a finance person if you like media and within that editorial,

[00:07:09] as you said, like you can bring those two together and be a successful.

[00:07:14] And we've seen so many of these, right?

[00:07:16] There's a lot of people today who've become financial advisors online

[00:07:20] as creators.

[00:07:21] Yes.

[00:07:22] They come with a very strong financial understanding and a background

[00:07:25] of it, and they were able to marry their passion for storytelling,

[00:07:28] maybe their ability to be narrative, be exuberant and expressive in

[00:07:33] front of a camera.

[00:07:35] And they've made a career out of that.

[00:07:37] They're probably all still practicing as a CA or practicing as a

[00:07:40] financial advisor as well.

[00:07:41] So why not have the best of both?

[00:07:43] And that I think is possible in just about every vertical that you can find.

[00:07:47] Yeah, because I read somewhere like Solop and you talked about, right?

[00:07:51] There are a lot of video editors who have made it a successful career out

[00:07:57] of it because they connected with some of the content creators and they

[00:08:02] are supporting them and somehow those content creators become very famous.

[00:08:05] Yeah.

[00:08:06] And now they charge lakhs of rupees for every video editing.

[00:08:09] No, absolutely.

[00:08:10] I mean, see lakhs of rupees is probably takes time, effort and a big name

[00:08:14] for yourself, but just the ability as a single entrepreneur, the benefits.

[00:08:19] And it's a very romantic notion to be honest that I'm a

[00:08:22] solopreneur or I'm a freelancer.

[00:08:24] It's a lot of hard work.

[00:08:25] Yes.

[00:08:26] Because the one thing to realize is you have finite hours in a day.

[00:08:29] You are committed to delivering a certain quality without

[00:08:32] which you will not grow.

[00:08:33] Yes.

[00:08:34] You cannot really grow by having 50 clients as a freelancer.

[00:08:38] You can't service them meaningfully.

[00:08:40] So your growth is going to come from servicing existing clients very well

[00:08:44] and upping the value that you're earning from each of them.

[00:08:46] So your growth is not in the number of clients, but how much more is an

[00:08:50] existing client willing to pay you because you are indispensable to them.

[00:08:55] So that mindset is what needs to come.

[00:08:57] A lot of freelancers or solopreneurs typically start out seeking

[00:09:01] more, more, more in terms of I want more projects.

[00:09:04] Rather than going deeper and saying, I will give greater value in this project.

[00:09:08] So that I am securing repeat business from a client.

[00:09:11] And over a period of time, I'm able to increase the income.

[00:09:14] You can't go from one to a hundred in a year.

[00:09:17] It is a natural progression just the way it would happen in the job.

[00:09:20] You can't go from being, you know, a junior associate to a CEO in two years.

[00:09:26] It's a progression and that's how you have to treat even that vocation.

[00:09:30] Great.

[00:09:30] Thanks a lot for sharing that Aditya.

[00:09:33] I think that moving on to the podcasts, right?

[00:09:38] Which is your recent, the last one.

[00:09:41] I will not say recent, but your last journey where you have now

[00:09:47] like set up for some time.

[00:09:48] Now you're here for at least three, four years, but you have a good

[00:09:52] experience in podcasts from the last eight years, right?

[00:09:55] What do you think how this podcast industry has evolved over the years?

[00:10:00] It's continuing to evolve.

[00:10:02] And it's been a very interesting evolution where about eight, nine,

[00:10:06] eight years ago when India was just starting to understand what a podcast.

[00:10:12] I can assure you all the podcasters in India fit on a single page of a

[00:10:16] news, of a notebook.

[00:10:17] Yes.

[00:10:18] There are just about 25 of them.

[00:10:20] Most people didn't even know what was a podcast.

[00:10:23] Forget where you could listen to it from there to today, where podcasting

[00:10:28] has become a career for creators and for a lot of others.

[00:10:31] It's been a huge jump in just eight years.

[00:10:34] What we've seen along the way is a lot of big international players have jumped

[00:10:38] in, have changed the whole industry, have been disruptive in a good and in a

[00:10:42] bad way.

[00:10:43] And the whole evolution continues in the sense it started out as being

[00:10:49] pure play audio.

[00:10:51] It was a space where people would converse much like we are doing right

[00:10:54] now.

[00:10:55] And the intent was let's share information.

[00:10:57] Let's be more educational.

[00:10:58] Yeah.

[00:10:59] In the last eight or 10 years, more globally, it's also become a means of

[00:11:04] entertainment.

[00:11:06] People are consuming very, very high quality, well researched content in

[00:11:10] either the fiction or the non-fiction spaces.

[00:11:13] And now this whole shift to video, you know, over the last few years,

[00:11:18] video has continued to move into spaces you wouldn't expect it to.

[00:11:23] For a long time, we all thought podcasts were secure and beyond

[00:11:26] videos reach, but not anymore.

[00:11:28] So videos finally also moved into that space.

[00:11:32] And it's good because what we've also seen happen is a lot of audiences

[00:11:37] connect a little better when they're able to see the people that they

[00:11:40] like and the whole, the basic tenets of podcasting haven't changed.

[00:11:44] Why does anyone listen to podcasts is for entertainment, for education,

[00:11:47] for learning and who they listen to depends on how can they trust that

[00:11:51] person?

[00:11:52] So the direct connection, which used to be very in your ear now is

[00:11:55] also in your face.

[00:11:56] And that's great.

[00:11:57] Now where it goes from here, it's a little bit of a guesswork because

[00:12:02] it's in a bit of a flux situation.

[00:12:04] Videos are coming in, in a very strong way over the last 12 months.

[00:12:08] Audio is continuing to grow at the same time.

[00:12:10] So how these two will balance each other out, it remains to be seen.

[00:12:14] And I believe that some formats of podcasts will do well in video

[00:12:19] before, you know, rather than only in audio, but there are some

[00:12:23] formats which will stay audio.

[00:12:25] Because there's a, there's a reason why people like audio only the whole

[00:12:30] passive consumption space.

[00:12:32] It's non intrusive in your day to day activities.

[00:12:34] Right.

[00:12:35] Those, those characteristics will not go away.

[00:12:38] And that's why it'll continue to have a very strong space as

[00:12:40] audio only, but as video, there's definitely room for a lot more

[00:12:45] experimentation, a lot more creators coming into it.

[00:12:48] So it's exciting times for podcasting.

[00:12:51] So again, now the podcast or vodcast, whatever we call it, right.

[00:12:56] Yeah, let's not call it a vodcast.

[00:12:58] Might as well just call it a video show or a video podcast.

[00:13:01] Right.

[00:13:02] There is, there is only one platform of video podcasts right now, YouTube.

[00:13:07] Right.

[00:13:08] Do you, do you see there are more such platforms will come up or

[00:13:13] will not be able to disrupt like Microsoft, MS Office has, there is

[00:13:17] no other disruption there similar to that YouTube will

[00:13:20] not have anything else.

[00:13:21] Spotify has already gone in there.

[00:13:23] Spotify is starting to distribute video content.

[00:13:26] It's available in a few markets, including India now as it

[00:13:30] continues as more content is being created.

[00:13:32] It's a demand supply situation right now.

[00:13:34] There's enough supply now for audio content.

[00:13:37] A video will catch up eventually in the podcast space and YouTube is

[00:13:41] sorry, Spotify has become a very real distribution point for that.

[00:13:45] The whole consumption cycle for podcasts today also starts on Instagram.

[00:13:51] Where Reels is a very, very strong way to discover a podcast.

[00:13:55] The attention span argument aside, if I come across a piece of content

[00:14:00] for 30, 40 seconds and I can consume it and I'm like, maybe I

[00:14:03] can connect with this creator.

[00:14:04] I'm going to seek him out in the longer format, which is YouTube

[00:14:07] or eventually Spotify.

[00:14:09] So that movement has already started.

[00:14:12] Well, other platforms or will other medium or outlets come around to

[00:14:17] grow video is going to be harder because YouTube has a near monopoly

[00:14:21] today in that space.

[00:14:24] And I think it's not a very bad thing, but what every any new platform

[00:14:30] entering this space will have to identify an answer and plan for

[00:14:34] is how does the monetization work for a creator, which is where

[00:14:37] YouTube has a massive headstart and a massive lead because they've

[00:14:41] answered a lot of these questions.

[00:14:43] So for any content piece going into video, YouTube becomes a

[00:14:48] natural extension because monetization as a problem is already answered.

[00:14:53] Right.

[00:14:53] I think that's one question which I have.

[00:14:58] It's like, is this podcast industry has been just looked at

[00:15:04] as a commercializable hobby or it's really an industry?

[00:15:09] So I'll give you some numbers.

[00:15:10] Okay.

[00:15:11] About 2017, India had close to 4 million podcast listeners and this

[00:15:20] was also secondhand data.

[00:15:22] You know, it was sort of derivative from global reports today.

[00:15:26] There is anywhere between 80 to 90 million podcast consumers.

[00:15:31] I don't think an industry gets to this scale if it's a hobby.

[00:15:34] Okay.

[00:15:36] Okay.

[00:15:36] Okay.

[00:15:37] Look at the kind of creators that exist.

[00:15:41] It started out as being a hobby because some guy wanted to share

[00:15:44] whatever he or she knew, but the creators that exist today are

[00:15:50] professional either creators or professionals in another space.

[00:15:54] And see your hobby is something which you do in your downtime.

[00:15:59] There are people making time to creating this content.

[00:16:02] There are people making time in their day to day life to say,

[00:16:04] I want to do this because it helps me build my own profile.

[00:16:08] B, it helps me scratch that itch about sharing knowledge.

[00:16:12] Yes.

[00:16:12] And three, it allows me to actually nurture my own talent and skills.

[00:16:17] Whether as a storyteller, whether as an interviewer, whether as a

[00:16:20] researcher, whatever it is that I want to do, it's definitely no longer a

[00:16:24] hobby.

[00:16:24] It can start out as that for a lot of people, but the ones who

[00:16:27] really go forward are the ones who are committed to the craft and

[00:16:30] committed to seeing themselves grow in the space.

[00:16:33] Okay.

[00:16:34] That's good to know.

[00:16:35] Because I think I will, I will say even I started this journey four to

[00:16:40] five months back and I have not started this as a hobby.

[00:16:43] I just want to give back to society.

[00:16:45] So that's how I wanted to be consistent with that.

[00:16:47] I just, I just don't want to monetize right now, but maybe in

[00:16:51] the future, why not?

[00:16:52] Right.

[00:16:53] So, so that's, that's a fair point.

[00:16:55] That's a fair point.

[00:16:56] Now it comes to like when someone wants to pick up this as a, not just

[00:17:05] as an hobby, but really as a career option.

[00:17:07] Right.

[00:17:08] And naturally the person needs to find a niche of what exactly they

[00:17:13] want to share with their audience.

[00:17:15] What are the three, four aspects which they should look at one

[00:17:17] once a person is starting wants to start this journey of podcasting?

[00:17:22] I think the first question to ask is why should someone listen to me?

[00:17:27] Um, if you're putting out yet another podcast, which is just going to be

[00:17:32] a conversation, what are you talking about?

[00:17:35] Are you solving a problem?

[00:17:37] It's not to say that don't do another show in a, in a

[00:17:39] genre that exists, but are you able to find a differentiation?

[00:17:44] Uh, a lot of podcasts initially when they moved to video were more

[00:17:49] focused on how am I looking and that's not the intent of the podcast.

[00:17:53] You know, the whole, the richness of content that can come out of a

[00:17:57] podcast is what the focus needs to be.

[00:18:00] You have to focus on the content content has to be 50, 60% of the

[00:18:03] reason why someone is coming to you, which goes back to the point to say,

[00:18:07] how good are you at the topic?

[00:18:09] You are picking how good is your research?

[00:18:11] And if you're doing a guest-based show, are you able to get good

[00:18:14] guests who are helping you further this agenda?

[00:18:17] Um, very important for every creator is to also accept that they may not

[00:18:23] be immediately ready for a medium and that they have to take efforts.

[00:18:27] Right.

[00:18:27] Okay.

[00:18:27] Taking the effort on being a good speaker, uh, doing hard work on

[00:18:33] the research, being able to present your thoughts lucidly, very clearly,

[00:18:37] uh, and in a simple enough language that a large populace

[00:18:41] can understand, uh, is very important.

[00:18:43] So unlike it's easy with tools today, everyone thinks that, you

[00:18:47] know, I can, I have a mobile phone.

[00:18:48] I can start a podcast.

[00:18:50] I strongly recommend them to try, see what the feedback they get is and work on that.

[00:18:56] So first question, why should someone listen to you?

[00:18:58] Second, am I really helping someone by doing this?

[00:19:01] If not, you're adding to the noise very honestly, not to say don't try it,

[00:19:05] but keep evolving.

[00:19:07] You could start out with a very generic podcast or a very generic topic.

[00:19:11] Evolve into being more specific, grow with your audience,

[00:19:14] listen to the feedback.

[00:19:15] Try and be authentic and firsthand in the information you provide.

[00:19:19] Okay.

[00:19:19] So if you're going to do, let's say a sports based podcast, do

[00:19:23] you have something original to say?

[00:19:26] And even if it is an opinion, why should your opinion matter?

[00:19:29] If you're a fan, like everyone is of some sport, what is your

[00:19:33] insight that you are able to offer that differs from the others?

[00:19:38] So that is the niche rather than the topic, how you present your

[00:19:43] content and how you're able to build an audience is where the niche today lies.

[00:19:47] Because for every given topic, you'll have hundreds of experts, but not

[00:19:53] everyone is able to express themselves.

[00:19:55] Not everyone is able to build an audience.

[00:19:58] If you can solve for these two, the topic becomes secondary.

[00:20:02] Yeah.

[00:20:03] Okay.

[00:20:03] Great.

[00:20:04] Now moving on to recent journey where you have started

[00:20:08] binge pods or idea brews, right?

[00:20:10] So what exactly you are doing here and how people can also benefit from it.

[00:20:16] So we started out as an audio production house.

[00:20:21] We also went on to build India's largest podcast network.

[00:20:24] We manage a little over 600 shows today.

[00:20:27] We work with a very wide range of creators like yourself, media

[00:20:32] houses, publishers, individual creators, brands.

[00:20:37] What we're building here is a content studio now.

[00:20:39] Okay.

[00:20:40] And the objective is, can we connect creators to brands, creators to audiences?

[00:20:47] How do we close that circle of someone having a story to tell and someone

[00:20:52] wanting to listen to that story at a very base level it's that objective

[00:20:58] which we are chasing at a higher level if you like, what is the

[00:21:04] business opportunity here?

[00:21:06] Yes.

[00:21:06] Okay.

[00:21:07] Production houses abound.

[00:21:08] There's, there's one at every corner, but most of them are not able

[00:21:13] to strategize for content.

[00:21:16] Now it's, I don't mean this in a flippant manner, but it's not very

[00:21:22] hard today to find a production crew to shoot a podcast.

[00:21:26] Yes.

[00:21:27] What to shoot is where the challenge lies.

[00:21:30] So putting up a set and getting two people in front of a camera and a mic.

[00:21:35] Fair enough.

[00:21:36] But how do you grow that?

[00:21:37] How do you make a meaningful conversation?

[00:21:40] The short form content game has been mastered by a lot.

[00:21:44] Yes.

[00:21:45] The very long form format, let us say TV shows, films again, it's been mastered.

[00:21:50] But this 20, 30, 40, 50 minute conversation piece or storytelling piece.

[00:21:57] This is where a lot of brands are starting to see value because of

[00:22:00] authentic voices, because of information and useful information being given.

[00:22:05] And we are luckily in a situation where, because we've been in the content

[00:22:11] space, we've worked with creators who are also looking beyond just production.

[00:22:15] Are able to actually offer this and build out a content solution studio.

[00:22:19] So it's not just the production, but everything that goes before and after.

[00:22:23] Okay.

[00:22:24] So it's a complete life cycle way, which you are providing

[00:22:26] to the content creators, right?

[00:22:28] And brands and brands.

[00:22:30] Okay.

[00:22:30] So, so brands do come to you with the content creators or maybe, or

[00:22:34] you also work independently with brands as well.

[00:22:36] Absolutely.

[00:22:37] So brands are usually engaging with us, uh, with a problem statement point of view,

[00:22:42] uh, that brand X wants to reach this audience for this kind of product.

[00:22:49] What's the answer?

[00:22:49] So it's literally riddle in most cases, you know, um, I am a car brand.

[00:22:55] I want to sell more cars in this geography.

[00:22:58] This is my price point.

[00:22:59] Uh, what's the answer?

[00:23:01] And that is the answer, which we are usually trying to find for them.

[00:23:05] Now that can involve finding a creator that can involve non creator led content

[00:23:10] pieces.

[00:23:11] So anything in the content space is, is where we live today.

[00:23:14] Okay.

[00:23:15] Nice.

[00:23:15] So, uh, so it's, it's a good journey, right?

[00:23:17] So we have reached somewhere at least and, and there's a long

[00:23:22] journey to achieve, right?

[00:23:24] The whole evolution of media is never going to stop, uh, with technology

[00:23:30] and the many forms that it continues to take.

[00:23:33] This is going to continue and evolve.

[00:23:35] So we saw short form content come to life maybe five years ago over the

[00:23:40] last two, three years, it's gone back to a little longer in its format.

[00:23:45] Where will it go next?

[00:23:46] Um, what is the role that AI will probably play?

[00:23:50] How much will it replace either a creator or those who are helping a

[00:23:54] creator, right?

[00:23:55] Whether it is from a research writing, a production point of view.

[00:23:59] And what is the role that we have to play?

[00:24:01] Will AI help or hurt remains to be seen, but AI is still one part of it.

[00:24:07] You know, the final story to AI is still based on existing knowledge.

[00:24:11] It's not really creating the experiences.

[00:24:14] So, so long as as humans continue to have experiences, there's always

[00:24:17] room for media to grow.

[00:24:18] As you said, right?

[00:24:19] Podcast is growing.

[00:24:20] Absolutely.

[00:24:21] From, from those 7 million to 90 million, it's, it's a big journey.

[00:24:25] So, uh, how, what, what are the areas people can explore?

[00:24:28] So if you think of the whole content ecosystem, uh, podcasts today has a

[00:24:35] role for everyone in that ecosystem.

[00:24:36] Okay.

[00:24:37] Now, whether it is someone who does research and that can be subject matter

[00:24:41] expertise, uh, someone who's a writer to convert research into a script is an

[00:24:46] art.

[00:24:47] Yes.

[00:24:48] Okay.

[00:24:48] Uh, and there's a lot of training that goes into become to making an art

[00:24:52] out of that, uh, you then have skill based tasks, you know, like a sound

[00:24:57] engineer, a video editor, a production professional.

[00:25:01] There's also a lot of people based opportunities.

[00:25:03] So talent management is a talent unto itself.

[00:25:07] Uh, you need tons of patients, the ability to be extroverted, the

[00:25:13] ability to spend time with people, to make new friends every time, be a

[00:25:19] part of their life yet retain your own life.

[00:25:22] So these are some of the immediate opportunities, traditional career

[00:25:27] opportunities, you know, uh, like I said in, in finance and sales and

[00:25:31] marketing, all of those exist.

[00:25:33] Uh, how much breadth of content, breadth of understanding rather are

[00:25:37] you coming with is always more valuable.

[00:25:40] So if you are someone who spent five years in a financial institution

[00:25:44] because you're a CA and then were a writer and now want to start a

[00:25:48] podcast, you're actually much ahead of the race because you've already

[00:25:52] started two industries, you have a subject matter expertise.

[00:25:55] You also have some experience in reaching out to people.

[00:25:59] So for you planning content and executing it becomes a little more

[00:26:02] natural that gives you a massive head start to have a career in media.

[00:26:07] Great.

[00:26:08] Thanks.

[00:26:08] I have one last question before we close this section.

[00:26:12] Uh, recently we have seen a lot of young people who are coming into

[00:26:16] this podcasting or content creation field.

[00:26:19] They even they don't, as you said, right?

[00:26:21] If you have five years experience, then you are sharing something

[00:26:24] you're already achieved something, right?

[00:26:25] But there are people who are fresh out of school or fresh out of college.

[00:26:29] They don't, they don't, they haven't seen the life much or

[00:26:32] though it's been a good birthday.

[00:26:34] So what is your take on this?

[00:26:37] So if at 21, you're doing a life experiences show and you have

[00:26:41] an audience, uh, it's slightly worrying, but as a creator, it's

[00:26:46] enthusiasm, there is some opportunity for a few people to make a little

[00:26:51] money.

[00:26:52] Uh, it's not something that lasts forever.

[00:26:55] Okay.

[00:26:55] For anyone who comes with aspirations, I will be at 20.

[00:26:59] I will start an Instagram handle or a YouTube channel and by

[00:27:01] 22, I'll be a millionaire.

[00:27:04] Highly unlikely.

[00:27:05] There's always outlier cases, but in most cases it doesn't happen.

[00:27:09] Uh, you're more than welcome to start a career or a journey of

[00:27:14] a being a creator at 2021.

[00:27:16] So long as you're prepared to keep working at it, uh, and

[00:27:20] realize that it's going to take a few years before you make it.

[00:27:24] Most of the creators who made it and stayed there have had a long

[00:27:29] journey, right?

[00:27:30] You know, it's that old saying that overnight success takes a lot of time.

[00:27:33] So you will always have to put in the effort.

[00:27:36] There is absolutely no substitute for that.

[00:27:39] There's always flashes in the pan, but then flashes in the

[00:27:41] pan also die out.

[00:27:42] So be prepared for the long haul.

[00:27:44] Absolutely no substitutes for that.

[00:27:46] Okay.

[00:27:46] Great.

[00:27:47] Because I think that it's very important to address it.

[00:27:50] Uh, right now a lot of young people have been influenced by a lot of new

[00:27:55] content creators who are successful.

[00:27:57] That's at the age of 30, 35, 40.

[00:27:59] Right.

[00:28:00] And they see them and they say, Oh, okay.

[00:28:03] Maybe go to town.

[00:28:04] Well, maybe she's a root town.

[00:28:06] But just now,

[00:28:09] it's a life key understanding.

[00:28:10] There was a topic key understanding on a positive.

[00:28:13] I mean, you have to go through some stuff to be able to share

[00:28:18] the dos and don'ts.

[00:28:19] Yeah.

[00:28:19] Uh, again, I'm not belittling anyone who may have found a way to share.

[00:28:24] Yeah.

[00:28:24] Uh, great more power to you, but in general, uh, you will reach a point

[00:28:31] where you can't share anymore because you've run out of experiences.

[00:28:35] So you also need to keep your own learning going.

[00:28:38] Right.

[00:28:39] Uh, your learning will start when you start go out into the world and

[00:28:43] that's not necessarily whether you're working in a job or whether you're

[00:28:46] doing a business of your own, whatever it is.

[00:28:49] Once you're out in the world, once you're, you know, once you're responsible

[00:28:53] for yourself financially, physically, mentally, in all of those aspects,

[00:28:58] that is when your real learning starts, how you cope with all

[00:29:01] of that and continue to grow.

[00:29:04] That is what defines experience.

[00:29:06] And to actually get some meaningful experience, you need to have

[00:29:11] gone through ups and downs.

[00:29:13] So at 20, most people maybe come from some level of protected background,

[00:29:19] especially in the Indian, uh, sort of family systems.

[00:29:23] So for them to start sharing wisdom might be a little early.

[00:29:28] Uh, I do strongly urge to get some real world experience and maybe you

[00:29:32] have a way to share it will be far more meaningful when you do it after that.

[00:29:36] Thanks.

[00:29:37] Thanks.

[00:29:37] Thanks for sharing that.

[00:29:38] Thanks for putting a stamp on it that yes, it's possible.

[00:29:42] Uh, but it takes time.

[00:29:43] Yeah.

[00:29:44] You have to be consistent and you have to show that journey.

[00:29:48] Absolutely.

[00:29:48] It's not a one day overnight thing.

[00:29:50] So guys, uh, with this, we are closing the section one of this episode.

[00:29:56] Uh, so if you like it, please do, uh, like share and

[00:30:00] subscribe to our YouTube channel.

[00:30:02] And if you are hearing us on a podcast audio podcast

[00:30:05] platform, then do follow us.

[00:30:07] We, uh, we, we aim to bring more such episodes and

[00:30:11] more such conversations to you.

[00:30:13] So guys, please share your feedback so that we can bring more, uh,

[00:30:17] insightful thoughts and conversations with you.

[00:30:19] So I did this, uh, we'll move on to the second part of this, which

[00:30:25] is more of knowing you, uh, rather than discussing on this, uh, yes,

[00:30:30] you can relax.

[00:30:31] So, uh, Aditya now for you, what exactly success is?

[00:30:39] Oh, so many definitions and success is it's always difficult, right?

[00:30:47] Success is when you don't need anyone else to tell you that you're

[00:30:51] successful when you don't no longer seek that external validation of

[00:30:55] whether you're successful or not is when you're truly successful.

[00:30:58] I think, and I wouldn't count it in money.

[00:31:03] I wouldn't count it in material, owning belongings, any of that.

[00:31:08] It's when, and not a philosophical answer, but when I know that I no

[00:31:13] longer need to really prove anything to anyone and what someone else

[00:31:18] thinks of me doesn't matter is when I would say that, yes, I've, I've

[00:31:22] been successful at whatever I'm doing life personally or professionally.

[00:31:26] Okay.

[00:31:27] Yes.

[00:31:27] I think that's, that's important, right?

[00:31:32] That's success for a lot of people.

[00:31:34] I think that's for you as well.

[00:31:35] I've heard from your team that you work very hard.

[00:31:37] You do a lot of work.

[00:31:39] Right.

[00:31:40] So what do you do to unwind?

[00:31:42] To be very honest, I'm a couch potato.

[00:31:46] Uh, I will spend a lot of time watching TV, uh, within the background,

[00:31:51] but it's a bit of a fidgety nature.

[00:31:52] So don't usually go beyond 20 minutes of anything.

[00:31:56] And then somewhere something clicks again and off to off another rabbit hole.

[00:32:01] Uh, but hobbies, if you ask me, I play tennis.

[00:32:04] I love watching movies.

[00:32:07] I used to be a voracious reader no longer.

[00:32:09] I occasionally read now.

[00:32:11] Uh, but yeah, that's how I kind of wind down.

[00:32:15] Which is the last book you have read?

[00:32:17] You are the obstacle by Ryan Holiday.

[00:32:19] It's a good one that teaches you how you should get out of your own way.

[00:32:24] How you could be the thing that's actually, uh, holding yourself back when

[00:32:29] you in fact are thinking it's everyone else.

[00:32:32] So yeah, that was a bit of a, one of the few self-help books I've ever read.

[00:32:37] It came highly recommended and I'm happy I read it.

[00:32:40] So you did multiple stints in your career, right?

[00:32:43] Yeah.

[00:32:44] Uh, you started working for an organization, then you build up

[00:32:46] your own business, you sold it.

[00:32:48] Again, you work for organizations.

[00:32:50] Again, you are building your own business.

[00:32:56] The best fun about having a job is when you know, but the satisfaction is much

[00:33:05] higher when you're building something, you know, uh, there's a lot of

[00:33:09] frustration also with that.

[00:33:11] There's a lot of challenges, mostly sleepless nights, but there is that

[00:33:16] when something works out that you've tried to put together, even if it's a

[00:33:20] project, uh, the sleep that night is fantastic.

[00:33:24] You know, okay, okay.

[00:33:25] This may both men and this has worked out and I'm happy about it.

[00:33:29] And this can happen even when you are pitching for a big project and

[00:33:32] you win it, who's key excitement.

[00:33:34] So when you're running your own business, it's like you're, you're

[00:33:38] actually doing multiple jobs at the same time.

[00:33:40] Yes.

[00:33:40] So satisfaction comes from different places.

[00:33:42] Uh, so it's a difficult answer.

[00:33:45] There's nothing wrong in doing either the having a full time job or

[00:33:48] running your own business.

[00:33:50] I enjoy the business side of things very honestly.

[00:33:56] More than the control, it's the freedom sometimes that you have key.

[00:33:59] Yeah.

[00:34:00] I want to try this.

[00:34:01] Let's see where it goes.

[00:34:02] And we do that every now and then.

[00:34:06] Oh, what's the worst?

[00:34:08] Won't work out.

[00:34:09] Great.

[00:34:10] Thanks for joining us on the show.

[00:34:12] And it was great talking to you.

[00:34:14] I hope our audience will understand that this, there is a lot of

[00:34:17] opportunities which are there in this field as well.

[00:34:20] I hope so.

[00:34:20] Thanks so much for having us.

[00:34:21] It's a pleasure chatting with you.

[00:34:22] Thanks.

[00:34:22] Thanks.

[00:34:23] Thank you.

[00:34:24] Thank you.

[00:34:24] So this was an episode with Aditya Kubey.

[00:34:27] Uh,

[00:34:28] a lot of things have been discussed.

[00:34:30] Again, uh, this is an area where recently even I am trying to find

[00:34:38] myself, uh, which is in media and podcasts, so I got to learn a lot

[00:34:42] of things from them.

[00:34:44] Uh, and a lot of things were discussed that in this field outside of just

[00:34:48] a content creation and be an editorial space, there's so many

[00:34:53] areas where you can work on.

[00:34:55] So guys, please look at this space, uh, if you are passionate about it

[00:35:00] and if you can bring some complimentary skills onto this space,

[00:35:04] just don't jump into it because it looks very fancy.

[00:35:08] Uh, so, so just focus on that, that you have a perseverance, uh,

[00:35:12] you have a consistency, uh, you have a skill set to back up.

[00:35:16] Uh, you have some experience to share with your audiences if

[00:35:20] you are getting into podcast space.

[00:35:22] So, so these are things which we need to look at.

[00:35:25] And, uh, if you're watching us and if you are hearing us on audio

[00:35:29] platforms, so do follow us.

[00:35:31] If you're watching us, please like, share, and subscribe and, uh,

[00:35:35] share your feedback so that we can bring more interesting topics and

[00:35:40] can share those wisdoms with you.

[00:35:42] So guys, for the time being, I'm signing off from wisdom

[00:35:45] whispers with Abhishek Mehta.

[00:35:47] Uh, we'll be next, we'll be back next week with another episode.

[00:35:50] Thank you.