The Relay FM Model
Build a durable independent podcast network on believed-in sponsorship plus listener memberships — and on shows that outlast any single host, sponsor, or tool.
The operating model behind Relay FM, the independent network Myke Hurley co-founded with Stephen Hackett in 2014 (16 shows and ~1.5M downloads/month within a year). Revenue rests on two legs: sponsorship from products the hosts genuinely use, and a listener Membership (launched Dec 2015) that lets the audience fund shows directly. Format is built for durability — fixed-panel topic shows rather than guest interviews, which Hurley abandoned after 6–7 years because booking, audio quality, and research load do not scale. The infrastructure is deliberately vendor-agnostic ("audio can come from anywhere") so no single tool or sponsor can take the business down.
- Believe-in-it sponsorship: only run ads for products the hosts genuinely use — turn down money that does not fit. "They are putting food on the table of my home and many others, and I want to always do the best job that I can."
- Land your first sponsor small: "Find a company that is small that relates to the topic that you're doing and pitch to them" — accept low early rates to build a track record that justifies bigger advertisers later.
- Dual revenue: pair sponsorship with a listener Membership so the show is funded even when ads are thin or absent.
- Panel over interview: fixed-panel topic shows scale where guest interviews do not (booking, audio quality, research load).
- Multi-vendor by design: build so audio "can come from anywhere" — no dependence on one host, tool, or sponsor.
- Separate the friendship from the business: keep personal and business conversation in different spaces so a co-founder partnership survives.
Hurley ran interview shows (CMD+SPACE, Inquisitive) and an earlier network (70Decibels, acquired by 5by5 in 2013) before launching Relay FM in 2014. The model crystallised from what he learned scaling those: interviews burn out, single-sponsor dependence is fragile, and an audience will pay to keep work they love alive if you ask.