Media Kit · 2026
Essential Tremors.
A show in which musicians and other creators talk about the songs that shaped who they are. Hosted and produced by Matt Byars and Lee Gardner. A Big Ears Festival partner and a Seventh Stanine Festival sponsor.
Monthly downloads
Where they listen
Apps
- Apple Podcasts28,98741.4%
- NPR12,18017.4%
- Spotify10,11714.4%
- Amazon Alexa6,3969.1%
- Overcast4,6406.6%
- Chrome3,0604.4%
- NPR One2,7523.9%
- Pocket Casts1,8922.7%
Platforms
- iOS57,89573.6%
- Android8,32610.6%
- Amazon Alexa6,3968.1%
- Windows3,2414.1%
- macOS2,8553.6%
Device type
- Mobile68,31784.1%
- Smart speakers & HiFi6,5428.1%
- Desktop6,1087.5%
- Tablet2700.3%
Who's listening
Top countries
- United States60,30779.0%
- United Kingdom7,1459.4%
- Canada2,3463.1%
- Australia1,7502.3%
- Germany1,0481.4%
- France9501.2%
- Netherlands7641.0%
- New Zealand7180.9%
- Ireland7000.9%
- Japan5810.8%
Top cities
- Knoxville, TN7,08424.8%
- Baltimore, MD5,84820.4%
- New York, NY3,93213.7%
- Washington, D.C.2,3508.2%
- Nashville, TN1,9806.9%
- Alexandria, VA1,7176.0%
- Chicago, IL1,6845.9%
- Oak Ridge, TN1,5835.5%
- Atlanta, GA1,2224.3%
- Los Angeles, CA1,2184.3%
Audience snapshot
- —Deeply engaged music obsessives: listeners who follow festivals, buy records, and read long-form music writing.
- —Strong roots in Knoxville and Baltimore, with national reach across New York, D.C., Nashville, Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles.
- —27% of downloads come from outside the U.S. — notably the U.K., Canada, Australia and Germany.
- —96% of plays arrive through podcast apps, meaning full-length, in-app listening rather than incidental web plays.
- —83% mobile listening, with a meaningful smart-speaker and hi-fi audience (6,542 downloads).
Beyond the feed
- —Selector Series — live listening events with artists and critics at partner venues.
- —Big Ears Festival partner, recording live guest episodes on site.
- —Public radio distribution via WUOT (Knoxville), plus NPR app placement — NPR and NPR One together account for nearly 15,000 downloads.
- —Email newsletter, Substack, push notifications, and an active merch line.
Partnership
Work with us
Host-read pre-roll
15–30 seconds at the top of an episode, read by Matt or Lee in the show's voice.
Host-read mid-roll
30–60 seconds inside the conversation, where attention is highest.
Season or series presenting sponsor
Billboard on every episode, logo and link on essentialpodcast.com, newsletter inclusion.
Selector Series event sponsorship
On-site presence, stage mention, and program placement at live listening events.
Newsletter & site placement
Dedicated slot in the mailing list and a sponsor tile on the site's Sponsors section.
Ad rates
Pre-roll
15–30 sec, host-read, top of episode
Mid-roll
30–60 sec, host-read, inside the conversation
End-roll
15–30 sec, host-read, close of episode
Rates are CPM-based on actual downloads. At roughly 1,800 downloads per episode, a mid-roll runs about $36 per episode; back-catalog downloads accrue after the campaign at no extra cost. Production of host-read copy is included.
Sponsorship
Tiers
Bronze
A focused run across a handful of episodes.
- —Host-read mid-roll on 4–8 episodes (~1,800 downloads each)
- —Copy written and voiced by Matt or Lee
- —Link and mention in episode show notes
- —Post-campaign download report
Silver
Full-episode presence plus off-feed reach.
- —Pre-roll and mid-roll on 10–16 episodes
- —Everything in Bronze
- —Sponsor tile with link on essentialpodcast.com
- —Dedicated slot in the newsletter and Substack post
- —Social mentions across the run
Gold
Presenting sponsorship of a full season and the live series.
- —Season presenting billboard on every episode ("brought to you by…")
- —Pre-roll, mid-roll and end-roll placements throughout
- —Everything in Silver
- —Selector Series live event sponsorship: stage mention and program placement
- —Logo on the site Sponsors section and on event materials
- —Custom segment or bespoke episode, produced with the hosts
Suggested ranges — every package is built around your goals, and tiers can be mixed with straight CPM buys.
Why it works
- —Top 20% of all podcasts by downloads — a proven, above-average audience for a genuinely independent show.
- —Host-read, hand-written copy — no dropped-in network reads.
- —Evergreen back catalog: 130 episodes that keep earning downloads long after release.
- —Small, loyal audience with unusually high completion and app-based listening.
- —Cross-platform: podcast, public radio, live events, newsletter and social.
- —Highly educated listeners who value music and the arts, and invest significant time and money in them.
Contact
Matt Byars & Lee Gardner — essentialpodcast.com
Rates and availability on request — we'll build a package around your goals.
Essential Tremors · Media Kit 2026 · Source: Omny Studio, Sep 2024 – Aug 19, 2026