The Podcastfestival 2022 will take place in Groningen on the 24th of September and in Amsterdam on the 30th of September. The events in Utrecht and Rotterdam will take place at a later time this year.

Sometimes you just need to pause a podcast. Either because it was a bit too shocking or it’s so amazing that you want to share it with others immediately. Sometimes pausing means losing track of the storyline, but sometimes it’s just impossible to pause because you’re in a podcast binge. The pause button gives the listener a certain sense of power; they decide when there’s a moment of silence. But podcast creators too depend heavily on moments of silence, postponements or a pause. Silence tells the listener to pay attention. Listen. Pay attention to what’s going to happen next.

The theme of the Podcastfestival 2022 is: The power of pause. This fifth edition – anniversary alert! – of the Podcastfestival we’ll be taking a step back. A little intermission to look back at where we’re at. The audio scene is changing immensely and growing rapidly at the same time. 2020 marked the first time you could find a million different podcasts in public podcast directories, and in 2021 there were already over two million. Just a few years ago everyone looked for their next podcast in one place, you can now find them on many different (paid) platforms. The world of podcasting is commercializing. What does it mean for creators? And for listeners? What opportunities will arise and who will be taken along for the ride? Which podcasts will we be thinking of when we’re looking back at podcast history?

During the Podcastfestival 2022 we’ll collectively take a pause to research these questions. Because if one thing is certain, it’s that after silence there will be sound.