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Creative Production 287ing is similar to that of talk-radio programs, but it also reflects the value placedon accessibility, dialogue, and blurring boundaries between producer andconsumer that are characteristic of online creative production.Production does not end with recording. In addition to editing the audio,podcasters must navigate distribution and publicity channels. Unlike mainstreammedia, in which a separate entity generally would handle the distributionand marketing of a program, podcasters (and most other amateurproducers) need to make decisions about the venues in which they willpublish and promote their shows. For many podcasts, the first step is creatinga show webpage. The show page acts as home base for the show and providesinformation about the podcast and links to download episodes. Other venuesfor publication of the show feeds include online music retailers such asiTunes, podcast aggregators such as podcastalley.com, or social network sitessuch as MySpace. Within the fandom, cross-promotion and linking are aregular practice, as fans tend to exist within small “neighborhoods” of sitesthat cater to their particular interests and favorite practices. It is not unusualto find out about new episodes of a podcast through one’s Friend list onLiveJournal, a MySpace bulletin, or a Friend’s Facebook status update beforethe episode is available on iTunes.In some cases, promotion extends beyond the fan community. Two podcastsmade of geographically dispersed, teenage and mixed-age adults areparticularly noteworthy. They are associated with large fan sites that haveachieved notoriety within the fandom as well as recognition by corporationssuch as Scholastic (the U.S. publisher of the series) and Warner Brothers (thestudio that produces the films). These two podcasts have produced weeklyepisodes (with few exceptions) for more than two years, and they continueto put out new episodes even after the final book was released on July 21,2007. One unique element of these shows is that they regularly record livepodcasts at events such as fan conferences, book releases, movie premieres,and occasionally, just because they happen to be traveling together foranother event. To support the costs of production (bandwidth, software,on-site production, travel, etc.), both shows feature advertisements in theepisodes and on their websites. In a manner very similar to early radio andtelevision, episodes start with advertisements for the shows’ sponsors, whichvary from website hosting services to major chain booksellers.Several popular Harry Potter podcasts are winding down production sincethe release of the last book, releasing sporadic special episodes rather thanweekly or monthly episodes. At the same time, some podcasters are beginningto experiment with video podcasts and live streaming technologies. It is amoment of transition for this type of production, just as it is for the fandomas a whole. Harry has grown up and defeated the Dark Lord, and fans, who stillhave much to say, are looking to new forms of production for expression.