Have BF created a whole new market?

They're quite possibly Market leaders. I can't think of another provider of so much new content on such a regular basis (around 20hrs per mouth), aside from the BBC.

Regards

mark687

Would be great to get the perspective of Bafflegab and other producers.

Simon Barnard care to comment?

I feel bad I don't listen to more radio plays but yes for me it's time. I have so much Big Finish to listen to and well I paid for that. I mean I have listened to other radio drama but Big Finish definitely takes up the majority of my time. I still need to get the Star Trek radio drama of City on the Edge of Forever off my computer & onto my phone.

Ironically I started listening to the soundtracks of Doctor Who Missing episodes a little before I got into Big Finish. This was back in 2013. I got through a lot of them but I still haven't heard a few I bought. I keep meaning to listen to them but then I am like more Big Finish.

But to be fair there are some Big Finish titles I bought awhile back I haven't heard yet.

I'll be honest, I never even heard about the Torchwood full cast radio plays until it was announced that Big Finish was doing Torchwood. And I have heard other radio plays, but haven't purchased many that weren't Big Finish ones, with the exception of the Star Wars Humble Bundle I got a while back.

Interesting, but do you think BBV in any sense created a new wide appeal market or did they just feed a niche market? 10 years ago I would have said BF were feeding a niche market, its only been in recent years that I've noticed more entrants into the market, awards etc and that the market is being addressed more as a mass market than the a niche one.

I think a big part of it is that for a great many people, Big Finish was their entry point into audio drama, and so their house style and way of doing things is all many are really familiar with. Also, because Big Finish has become such a dominating force within their chosen niche, there is the (in my view, mistaken) belief that anything other than Big Finish is, or might be, somehow a step down in terms of quality, ambition and scope.  This, of course, isn't automatically true or necessarily the case, but if feels like that's the perception amongst  quite a few BF fans. Combine all that with the usual dolop of just plain brand loyalty, which you get a certain amount of with any entertainment franchise that is as successful as Big Finish has been of pleasing it's core fan base, and the fact that, as you say, there is only so many spare hours in the day, so it is perhaps not surprising that many stick with what they know and already have faith in, and even the economic factor that audio drama, given its niche appeal, isn't exactly cheap to buy in most cases compared to some other entertainments, and there you have it, I think.

It isn't always the case, though, as many here would likely attest. Big Finish was my 'gateway drug' into audio drama, as being Australian it wasn't a format that I was ever really exposed to, so I was rather ignorant on the subject before then. The only instance of audio drama I ever heard or recall was Hitchhiker's Guide, which I had somehow heard was going to be broadcast on local am radio back in the early/mid 80's, and which I subsequently tuned in as a kid and listened to (and very much enjoyed). An experience which, oddly enough, stuck with me. And yet it didn't leave me with a hunger for more of the same, and in fact I don't recall ever hearing anything else like that until I was exposed to Big Finish many, many years later. However, even though BF was my (adult) introduction to the possibilities and wonders of the audio drama medium, I have dabbled with other stuff over the years, when some other producer did something that intrigued me, or suited my particular tastes and interests. Maybe because I've never had a particular 'brand loyal' mentality made me more willing to branch out, I don't know. The BBC Torchwood audio dramas you mentioned were actually one such case, others such as Magic Bullet's Kaldor City and Faction Paradox series, and Bafflegab's The Scarifyers, also captured my interest over the years, and proved well worth the effort of tracking down and listening to. And I still have the Nest Cottage saga that I haven't gotten around to listening to, sitting patiently, waiting for me to do so. Got my eye on Bafflegab's upcoming Baker's End series, too, which sounds as mad as a bucket of frogs.

So I guess all we can really do is point out to folks when there is something other than Big Finish that we think is worthy of people's attention and consideration, but at the end of the day most folks will probably stick to what they know, as is their want. And so be it.

I think the trouble (is it trouble?) Big Finsh is now a brand & people trust it. I has big titles and high production values.
£10+ for an hour or so is often too much when you consider you can get all you can eat music or movies from the likes of netfilx & spotify

I have bought stuff from loads of other sources and to be honest no one including the BBC (audiogo) are so consistently high, reliable & easy to get hold of.

audible has Problems with it's bit rate for drama and often those seeking it want to keep a copy not have it in a copy protection lock.
the collapse of audiogo has left an air of unease over online libraries too.

bafflegab (cosmic hobo before), spiteful puppet & co. are such a daft names many will not seek it or trust it even though there stuff is excellent quality. they might pick up a CD but send someone a Link and they avoid it thinking its a con. trust me I have done this.

wireless theatre company and the like produce good stuff sometimes, but others are so terrible it makes you why bother!

radio 4 & extra have some great shows but they are stuffed in amongst the endless news & lecture programs, you have to seek stuff out & with the current changes the newsletter is now next to useless the website is full of 4 minute clips and the drama budget has been pretty reduced in recent years.
to be truthful I could not listen to radio 4, it's so dreary.

and often when they do a big production where is it to buy, the did a brilliant version of T H whites "once & future king", dantes inferno & earthsea.....not available to buy, even the brilliant pilgrim has taken an age to be released!

but i think the biggest bar to people enjoying audio drama is often it takes a while for you to get past the coconut shells for horses, the crisp bags for fire and so on.

I agree entirely. The amount of people in my own life who I've had to explain audio drama too is innumerable when they ask about my interests. They almost all assume its a solo reader, no music or effects and not putting on different voices.  I try the "Well, it's just like watching a show or film with your eyes shut" but I don't think they believe me.