| The 'Barbie' Soundtrack Could Be as Popular as the Film Itself The Nonstop Podcast Listeners are on to Something Fallon, Colbert Join Late-Night Pals in Hollywood Strike Podcast The internet minted two new audio stars in the past couple months. Their stories at first seem very different, but each represents the new reality of stardom. First came Bobbi Althoff, who cut her teeth posting motherhood-related TikTok videos and then turned to podcasting. Somehow, she secured an interview with Drake. Clips from that podcast episode went viral in July, and in the month or so since, her name has routinely made headlines. She signed with the talent agency WME, scheduled a couple live shows in Los Angeles and has continued to book high-profile guests including Tyga, Mark Cuban and Lil Yachty. The other seemingly overnight sensation is Oliver Anthony. The musician has been posting his music for a few years, mostly strumming into obscurity. RadioWV, a YouTube channel that highlights music by West Virginian artists, posted Anthony's song Rich Men North of Richmond online on Aug. 8. Anthony released the track officially three days later. It debuted on top of the Billboard Hot 100. Multiple publications wrote about unusual online listening patterns around the song, suggesting paid downloads contributed to its charting. (These individually downloaded songs are a relic of the iPod era and have become a popular way K-pop fans ensure their favorite stars chart, too.) In this case, some writers posit that a bigger, conservative political machine is at work and wants Anthony's song, which bemoans welfare and taxes, to get attention from the masses. Both artists had been toiling away online for years only to strike sudden viral gold. This is often the nature of influence and success on the internet today. Many podcast executives lament how hard it is to discover new shows. People often find them through word of mouth. It turns out there are a lot of Drake fans eager to share all his interviews. I first came across clips from Althoff's interview on Instagram, where Drake reposted them to his 140 million followers. Drake's direct impact here was immense. Althoff has said the chance interview happened because the rapper followed her online after which point she messaged him to request a chat. He … said yes? It's unbelievable, but it's what we've got. Strangely, the Drake interview has since been deleted, which I don't have time to parse, but the internet offers plenty of speculation. YouTube and TikTok, which have both expressed interest in podcasting, would probably like you to think you could become the next Althoff. But not everyone will land an interview with one of the world's biggest celebrities and get him to post it on their channels. Still, YouTube and TikTok are algorithmic experts and could offer some much-needed assistance in podcast discovery. As for Anthony and the music industry, label executives have complained less about song discovery and more about the struggle to develop lasting fan bases around their artists. A song can trend on TikTok and reach millions of people, but those listeners might never bother to check out another track by that artist. Labels want more control over the system, a way to ensure their musicians receive sufficient attention to develop a coherent story and relationship with listeners. Anthony has at least one song that resonated with a large audience. Conservatives loved the message, and people employed well-worn fan tactics to ensure its success. However, Anthony has risked ostracizing that fanbase. He said in a video message that he found it "aggravating" that conservative media and politicians "act like we're buddies and act like we're fighting the same struggle here." He has said he identifies with the political center. Anthony and Althoff's stories are still being written. We don't know whether the next songs will chart or whether people will show up to the events in LA. But both their stories emphasize the haphazardness of celebrity today. | 
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