Before we get into the meat and bones of this episode, an announcement. This podcast will be ending in 2030 and by our calculations, if we carry on the same rate of listens for the next five years, we’ll reach 800,000 in total. So dear listener, here is where you come in. Share this podcast with 5 of your friends today and help us reach the 1 million listen mark before we bring this podcast to a close. Simples!

Now on with the show, and in today’s episode Stuart and William discuss two of those listener questions, beginning with this corker from Jess in Bishop’s Tatchbrook, Warwickshire, England - “Random question for you today. Whats the most memorable live musical performance you’ve seen?”

For Stuart, the most memorable performance was Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock in 1969. He goes on to elaborate about the timing of the performance and what he gained from the experience, particularly highlighting Hendrix's improvisational skills.

When William interpreted this question, he saw it as being about performances actually witnessed in person, and since he has seen many memorable performances, he finds it difficult to select just one. However after a little internal deliberation he settles on two particular performances. One recent, and one from around 20 years ago. 

The first was a performance of Beethoven's 5th piano concerto at Oxford's Sheldonian Theatre, where he was amazed by a virtuoso pianist playing entirely from memory. His second pick was seeing The White Stripes at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, where he was impressed by Jack White's stage presence and the duo's chemistry. He also concludes with an action: to see The Flaming Lips live, you won’t regret it!

After all that musical waffle, Stuart and William then go onto talk through the following question from Brenda in Northumberland, England - “I notice you don’t have too many promotional platforms, or try to do too many things. Is this because of time constraints or do you feel doing too many things and having too many offerings for your audience could be a distraction and divide your audience?”

Stuart initiates the discussion by explaining that time constraints limit their promotional efforts. He notes that expanding to new platforms can divide audience attention and potentially serve as an excuse for failure.

William goes on to describe their recording process, which ensures the podcast is consistently released on time. He emphasises that word of mouth remains their most effective form of promotion.

Stuart expands the conversation by expressing his frustration with creatives who constantly launch new channels or ideas rather than committing to one project and seeing it through.

Stuart points out for this podcast their listener numbers remain stable even without active promotion, which he sees as a testament to the podcast's success. He prefers maintaining a consistent audience rather than pursuing a boom-and-bust approach that chases listener numbers.

William concludes by questioning whether creatives truly understand the implications of having a large audience, suggesting many pursue big numbers without considering the consequences.

What do you make of this discussion? Do you have a question that you'd like us to discuss? Let us know by sending an email to ⁠thepeoplescountryside@gmail.com

Sign the Petition - Improve The Oxfordshire Countryside Accessibility For All Disabilities And Abilities: change.org/ImproveTheOxfordshireCountrysideAccessibilityForAllDisabilitiesAndAbilities

Fundraiser For An Extreme 8 All-terrain Wheelchair: justgiving.com/wildmanonwheels

This podcast's overall themes are nature, philosophy, climate, the human condition, sustainability, and social justice. 

Help us to spread the impact of the podcast by sharing this link with 5 friends podfollow.com/ThePeoplesCountrysideEnvironmentalDebatePodcast, support our work through Patreon patreon.com/thepeoplescountryside⁠. Find out all about the podcast via this one simple link: linktr.ee/thepeoplescountryside