Interview with Ian Wheeler, Founder of Talkhouse (Subway Takes, How Long Gone, etc.)

Today we sit down with Ian Wheeler. Ian Wheeler is the co-founder and publisher of Talkhouse, founder of Talkhouse Creative Studio, and co-founder of Partisan Records. Talkhouse is the media company behind Subway Takes, How Long Gone, and a growing roster of podcast, video, and TV properties. Wheeler has spent his career building platforms at the intersection of music, media, and culture.

AvA: What do you think traditional media or entertainment companies often miss when it comes to creating platforms for modern day talent?

Wheeler: We're pretty clearly in the middle of a big shift right now where audiences want more "approachable" media personalities and I think that's still really tough for legacy media companies to get their heads around. People like Theo Von (or-- quite opposite-- even Talkhouse's very own Kareem Rahma!) don't really fit the mold for traditional media but obviously audiences are really responding to something there that feels more authentic to them. I think a lot of it is just this kind of apathy towards traditional media that has built over the past 10 years. It exists on both sides of the political spectrum. I do think traditional media is looking at these non-traditional personalities and trying to figure out how they can work with them or develop that kind of talent internally but that sort of feels like deciding whether or not to wear a really garish shirt to a party... At the end of the day, I think they'd just rather not take the risk... Institutions are inherently risk averse and that doesn't work well in risky times. 

Quick note: Go watch SubwayTakes if you haven’t yet. One of my favorite series.

AvA: What’s your approach to standing out in a crowded industry without chasing trends and short-lived virality?

Wheeler: I think we're still chasing virality and trends! But ultimately our core focus is on talent and concepts that feel like they're really sustainable and will be around for a long time. But I think that's always been the case-- if you look at late night, back to Johnny Carson or David Letterman, the idea was to build a sustainable brand around "long term" talent but to still be chasing the moment on a night-to-night basis and doing schticky things and being really timely. We're definitely thinking about it that way. We want to work with talent that is going to be relevant 30 years from now, but on a day-to-day basis we're thinking about which guests to book on the shows, which gimmicks to pursue, what to post on socials, etc. We definitely advise our shows to avoid anything that feels TOO flash-in-the-pan but a lot of the conversation is weighing short-term clicks against long term sustainability. 

AvA: You’ve worked with some groundbreaking talent across many different industries. What have you learned about how great art actually gets made?

Wheeler: Definitely the biggest thing is that the talent leads. The art itself has to be really great. There has to be a clear vision. And then it takes a team of people to work really really hard to tell the story and execute that vision. There's always some luck and cosmos-type-shit with any successful campaign/release/etc but that's on top of really really hard, grinding work executed by a team of thoughtful people who are communicating really effectively.  

AvA: What is your 5 year prediction for the Entertainment Industry, and more specifically the areas you are operating in? 

Wheeler: I think we're going to continue to see media get weirder. Publicity campaigns will increasingly be eating chicken wings, answering questions on the subway, slamming Celsiuses while talking with DUDES for 3 hours in Austin. But I think we'll see some legacy media try to create those kinds of franchises too, and maybe some of them will break through. I think TV is going to get confusing as Netflix tries to become more like YouTube and vice versa. I think podcasts will continue to grow, but maybe not necessarily the well-reported ones that value craft and journalism. I think, at some point, the music industry is going to have to reckon with Spotify as a too-powerful force. And I think TV and film will indefinitely continue their cycles of prestige programming vs cheap, lowbrow reality stuff.

AvA: What excites you most about where Talkhouse is headed next?

Wheeler: We're focused on video for a lot of our podcasts and are finally at a place where we feel like it makes more sense to play in that space more, and a lot of it is happening organically with How Long Gone and Subway Takes and some of our other shows. We're also really focused on TV and film at the moment as I think there's still so much potential there to make things that really connect with people and still feel very authentic and original. I think music storytelling, in particular, is still an area where we're seeing so much interest-- whether it's "A Complete Unknown" or the FOUR forthcoming Beatles biopics... I don't think we ever really recognized how much we lost when MTV just became Rob Dyrdek reruns and so much great music storytelling went away. I also think we're eventually going to enter a period where very pure narrative podcasts with great stories (that aren't solely focused on gruesome murders) are going to break through again, and we've got some really incredible ones in the can at Talkhouse. I think, with Amazon and other places pulling back on narrative storytelling, it creates a real opportunity for indies to fill that gap. We're really excited about all of it. 

AvA: One piece of advice for someone early in their career? 

Wheeler: Eat spotty bananas. The alkaline difference from normal, unripened bananas is critical. 

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