Podcast Movement has introduced public voting for its 2026 conference sessions, allowing the podcasting community to directly influence half of the event’s agenda for the first time.
This new approach means that every eligible session submission is available for public review, and the sessions with the most votes will make up 50% of the final schedule.
The remaining half of the agenda will be curated by a newly announced selection committee, which will use a published evaluation rubric to ensure content quality and reflect the diversity of the podcasting industry.
Podcast Movement received over 750 session submissions from more than 500 unique speakers, representing a wide range of creators, publishers, platforms, brands, agencies, and technology companies worldwide.
The selection committee includes Alice Florence Orr from Podcast Review, Ami Thakkar Ravi from The Podcast Academy and The Ambies, Anne Baird from Audio Fiction Conference, Demetrius Bagley from The Black Podcast Awards, Fatima Zaidi from Quill Podcast Awards, James Cridland from Podnews, Lauren Passell from International Women’s Podcast Awards, and Peter Lewis from SXSW.
Bryan Barletta, President of Podcast Movement and Partner at Sounds Profitable, explained the motivation for this change: “The event industry is overdue for an update. In the six years I’ve spent building Sounds Profitable, I’ve had the opportunity to work with companies across every corner of podcasting, and one thing has become incredibly clear: our industry thrives when the best ideas, not the biggest budgets, get the spotlight.
“Too often I see conference stages reward visibility over value, and sponsorship over substance. That’s what inspired us to change our approach to Podcast Movement this year.
“We’re putting meaningful decisions in the hands of the community while making the rest of the process transparent, because attendees deserve to know how a conference agenda is built.
“Great ideas can come from anywhere, and they deserve a fair opportunity to earn their place on stage.”
Voting is open until 21 July 2026, and anyone interested in participating can visit podcastmovement.fider.io to review and vote for their preferred sessions.
