Russ: So the guy from the band Ghost is directing part of a V/H/S movie. [beat] Well, alright.
Nadia: This is Nadia.
Russ: And this is Russ.
Nadia: And you're listening to Feed Drop for Monday, September 21st, 2026.
Russ: The podcast about the podcast industry... though for some reason, today we're talking a lot about movies.
Nadia: Because the parallels are just too good to ignore, Russ. We've got three stories from the film world that say more about audio than you'd think.
Nadia: We'll talk about how the producer of 'Midsommar' and the singer of Ghost are accidentally writing a new playbook for indie podcast networks.
Russ: Then, we're asking if government money can actually lead to good podcasts, with Spain doubling down on its creative fund.
Nadia: And we'll look at a Korean box office story that reveals the biggest lie in podcast ad sales.
Nadia: Okay, so Variety has an exclusive: a new Swedish genre film company, Mylla Films, just announced its first slate of movies.
Russ: Mylla. Right. This is from the production designer of 'Midsommar', Patrik Andersson, and some other Nordic film exec.
Nadia: Not just some guy—Jakob Abrahamsson is a giant in Nordic indie film. The point is, these are serious people who know how to make a very specific thing: high-quality genre movies.
Russ: Indie horror guys. Got it. So what’s the actual news, besides another production company popping up?
Nadia: The news is a name on that slate: Tobias Forge, the frontman for the band Ghost, is directing a segment for the horror anthology 'V/H/S Mixtape'.
Russ: Right, what I mentioned off the top. I'm just not seeing the connection, Nadia. A rock star makes a short film. What does that have to do with us?
Nadia: Russ, this is the podcast playbook. You've got an anthology format—think 'Black Mirror' or 'The Twilight Zone'—but for audio. And you bring in a creator from a different world, a musician with a huge, built-in fanbase, to create a halo for the entire project.
Russ: So this is just like a podcast network hiring a movie star to 'create' a show where they basically just read from a script.
Nadia: Exactly. It’s the QCODE model. It’s what Realm does. You use established talent from outside the industry to cut through the noise. Mylla is doing it for indie horror, but it’s a blueprint for any indie podcast network trying to compete.
Russ: Okay, but let's be real, the V/H/S movies are famously hit-or-miss. So the takeaway for listeners is you might get a great new horror podcast... or a celebrity vanity project that's totally unlistenable.
Nadia: That's the risk, always. But the strategy is sound: a curated slate with a strong genre identity and a big, splashy crossover talent. It’s how you build a brand.
Russ: A brand that hinges on whether the guy from Ghost can actually direct. [beat] We’ll see.
Nadia: Next, let's go to Spain, where the government has pledged to keep funding its huge audiovisual hub.
Russ: I saw this in Variety. More government cash for movies and TV. Again, why is this a podcast story?
Nadia: Because it’s a national strategy for creative industries, using their Spain Crece Fund. And when governments pour money into 'audiovisual' production, audio is part of that. This is how you jumpstart a podcasting ecosystem.
Russ: The government is going to start making podcasts? That just sounds awful. I'm picturing a PSA about recycling.
Nadia: No, not directly. It's about building infrastructure. Look at the BBC in the UK or the CBC in Canada. For decades, public funding created some of the most advanced audio markets in the world. Spain is trying to do the same for Spanish-language content.
Russ: But those are legacy media giants. Does that model even work anymore? Is the future of podcasting really... government subsidies?
Nadia: Well, the alternative is a market totally run by a few global tech companies. This funding could empower a generation of Spanish creators to build their own studios, tell their own stories, and own their own platforms.
Russ: So, what this means for me as a listener is that in a few years, my podcast app might be flooded with shows about flamenco and tapas?
Nadia: It means more global competition, more diverse stories, and a check on the power of Silicon Valley. I’d say that’s a good thing.
Russ: I'm still nervous about any government committee getting to decide what counts as 'art.' It just feels like a recipe for bland, safe content.
Nadia: Alright, our last story takes us to South Korea, for a box office report that explains everything you need to know about podcast metrics.
Russ: Okay. The Variety headline says a local comedy remake, 'The Intern,' had the most ticket sales... but Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' made the most money. My head hurts already.
Nadia: Forget the details. It’s simple. More people bought tickets for 'The Intern.' But 'The Odyssey' made more money.
Russ: How is that possible? Were the tickets for the Nolan movie just way more expensive?
Nadia: Exactly. Premium formats, IMAX, longer runtimes... it adds up. Now, forget movies. Let’s apply this to podcasts. What are the 'ticket sales' and what is the 'revenue'?
Russ: Ticket sales... that's downloads. The number of people who listen.
Nadia: Right. And revenue is ad sales. The money. And this story proves that those are two completely different things.
Russ: So 'The Intern' is like a viral comedy podcast with millions of downloads but it's funded by cheap mattress ads... while 'The Odyssey' is some niche fintech show with a thousand listeners that has a single million-dollar ad from a bank.
Nadia: That is a perfect analogy. You can be number one on the charts and still be broke. You can have a tiny, dedicated audience and be incredibly profitable.
Russ: So the takeaway for listeners is that any podcast network bragging about being 'Number One' is probably leaving something out.
Nadia: You have to ask, 'Number one in what?' Listeners, or revenue? This report shows they are not the same thing. One is a measure of popularity, the other is a measure of value.
Russ: Huh. I am never going to look at the podcast charts the same way again.
Nadia: So, to recap: a new Swedish film company just gave indie podcast networks a new playbook.
Russ: Spain's government is pouring money into creative industries, which could be a blessing or a curse for your podcast feed.
Nadia: And the Korean box office is the perfect reminder that in podcasting, like in film, downloads and dollars tell two very different stories.
Russ: Before we go, Nadia. You talked a lot of theory today. What are you actually listening to?
Nadia: I just mainlined the new season of 'Echoverse'. It’s an audio drama about a sound designer who finds a dangerous frequency in old recordings. The way they use and manipulate archival audio is just... incredible. So well done.
Russ: Alright, I'll add it to the list. I'm still working through that dense history show you made me download last week.
Nadia: That's all the time we have for today. We'll be back tomorrow with more.
Russ: Until then, be suspicious of anyone who tells you they're number one. This has been Feed Drop.
This show is made with AI: the hosts’ voices are synthetic and the scripts are AI-assisted. Every story links to its original source.