Community Builder Spotlight: Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown

Author: Mehgaan Jones

Jamaican born, Brooklyn raised Kerry- Ann Reid Brown is the founder of Breadfruit Media, the Caribbean Podcast Directory and the host of Carry On Friends The Caribbean American Podcast. Recently, Blk Pod Collective had the privilege to chat with the podcast extraordinaire. 

Why Podcasting?

I remember in high school, where I had this assignment for our music class. It was to do a radio commercial, and I really enjoyed it. I love music and there were all these other elements of audio that I enjoy, and so in 2011, I was like, "Yeah, I think I want to do a podcast." But I was like, "I'm not ready. I don't know if I have the skills to do this. I don't know if I have the equipment” . I started to blog, but still knew I wanted to do something with podcasting. When I did my first survey on the blog, people said they wanted to hear more from other people like them, who were from the Caribbean. It really was knowing I had something to say, but was afraid and wasn't necessarily affirmed or encouraged, because no one else around me knew about this thing. 

What keeps you motivated to continue?

What keeps me motivated are the possibilities that I could do anything that I want and I could tell the stories that no one else tells. I talk about something within a subset of Black experience, which is being an immigrant Caribbean-American woman. When I started talking about that, I didn't see other people that were having these conversations. What keeps me going is the hope that more people create podcasts. I feel a huge responsibility. I feel it because it was one of the first shows dedicated to the Caribbean experience and one of the longer shows so I feel a responsibility to keep it going. 

What are some of the biggest setbacks you've had on your journey?

The stress of monetizing and  the ways people were telling me to monetize was like, "That's not really my jam. I'm not really feeling that as a way to monetize." I think it was a learning experience, but it was a big setback, because I spent so much energy figuring out how I was going to monetize. People thought you should monetize [by] doing coaching. I'm not a big coach person, or seller.  I felt that pressure.I think that was a setback. It also kind of helped me learn what I didn't want to do, but I think the majority of that was an immense pressure to monetize and make money and do things a particular way, as opposed to getting better at my craft. LeBron or Kobe comes to the NBA, first season, and everyone is like, "Championship!" It's like, not quite. They need to develop skills and be good basketball players and then they could get a championship. That's how I saw it. 

What advice would you have for someone looking to jump into podcasting?

Be completely clear as to why you want to do it. Whether it's if you want to make money, I'm going to tell you to manage your expectations, but if that's what you want to do, be prepared to work hard. Own your goal and then try to set some expectations around that. Have people hold you accountable. I think that is critical. If I didn't have people to hold me accountable, I would have stopped podcasting. 

Where do you see the industry going 5 to 10 years from now?

I think in another couple of years, we might be looking at regulations. If more media companies, like the Spotifys and radio are moving into podcasting, we may be looking at the FCC, or any other governmental regulations getting involved. It may be a possibility. I can't speak to the future, but I could speak to the issues that we need to address today that could change the course of our future. Stop running down to be a Spotify podcast or XYZ podcast because you ain't going to own that shit when you do it with them, bottom line. You're basically an employee of Spotify or Apple or whatever. There's nothing wrong with that, but just know that your intellectual property, over time, is more valuable than a bunch of cash up front. Just saying. 

What can we as a community do to ensure that our stories are showcased?

Tell our stories authentically. Don't be afraid to test things out. I think that's because that's what I'm doing. The more Caribbean people doing podcasts is great. I'm not worried about competition. Don't be afraid to push the limits. Don't be afraid to tell stories. We don't have to generalize. Even in New York City, a Jamaican person in Brooklyn is different from a Jamaican person in Queens. Everyone wants to say, "Oh, I have a million downloads, or a thousand downloads," or something, but having listeners who [say].. "I just religiously listen to the show, because I feel like you're talking to my soul," that's rewarding.

Being your true self is important in the podcasting industry not only to be set apart from the rest but to also touch the lives of listeners. Kerry-Ann weaves the art of authenticity throughout her work which is one of the reasons why Carry On Friends is one of the first and longest running podcasts devoted to the Caribbean experience.