We’ve been listening to some great podcasts recently – most notably, The Black Tapes, and brand new show The Message (by the way, check out the story behind this one). These shows are audio fiction for sure, but the term docudrama probably suits them best. In this episode we take a look at inner workings of docudrama-style podcasts, and ask ourselves questions like; blacktapes

Are these shows more accessible to first time listeners than traditional Audio Drama?

Is creating this style of show a better option for you, if your main interest lies in writing, rather than heavy production?
How can creators of docudrama shows find ways around “reported action”, and should they even need to?

We then move on to the topic of the month – Locke & Key. We talked with Fred Greenhalgh last week about creating this wonderful Audio Drama, this week we look at a small minority of negative comments the show has received in Audible’s reviews section.

The reason we bring this up is that much of these comments are judging an Audio Drama on the fact that it isn’t an Audiobook, and not on actually judging the overall quality of the story, acting, and production.

In the main, Locke & Key has been marketed as an Audiobook. Is this part of the problem? And does this mean Audio Drama might actually benefit from being ‘rebranded’ with a new name?