You know, for all Audio Drama seems to be a diverse, inclusive space that anyone can enter if they have an idea, a google doc and a mic - this space has quite the gatekeeping problem.
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It very much can have, yes. There are also those of us who try to encourage and foster creators and community, though everyone is human and thus imperfect.
Given there isn't a ton of money in the medium, there's also often a crabs in a barrel mentality causing some to work against others.
I've also noticed there isn't really one creator space, but rather various pockets of creators, with occasional overlap or connection. I'm always intrigued and excited (and often nervous) when I find a connection to a new pocket.
Oh absolutely! Honestly, it's those pockets of creators/small communities that have fostered systems of support that are really incredible, and being invited into those communities is incredible. I'm just awful at approaching people to forge those connections myself, but I want to change that.
I keep thinking on this. I know it *has* to be true, but when I look around at the creator world I'm part of, women, LGBTQ+, and/or BIPOC seem to make up a huge share of the group. I think there's a ton of cishet white guy AD creators out there I just don't know about, as a creator or a listener.
I feel like somewhere out there there's a pocket of AD creators who believe that inclusion and diversity are bad things, but thankfully I don't know them.
See, that's been my experience in the Actual Play/TTRPG space, which is why I've been so disappointed with the AD space and the shows and creators that seem disproportionately praised, who seem to serve only themselves.
Interesting! I have some (minimal) connection to the AP creator community and while the ones I know are all diverse and inclusive, my perception was that the wider AP world was not so diverse. I may have been wrong, need to reexamine that.
I think it's probably about "mainstream" (and I use this term very loosely) visibility, in terms of sheer numbers. But that's also on me for allowing that my timelines so clearly then are dominated by white-led shows, and I could do with some housekeeping, so to speak.
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Given there isn't a ton of money in the medium, there's also often a crabs in a barrel mentality causing some to work against others.