Should you pay your podcast guests?

There's a discussion raging right now in a few podcast groups about whether you should pay guests for appearing on your show.

As a journalist, I've been trained to focus on objectivity in all forms of my reporting. And because of this, I never pay guests for appearing on my podcast. If someone asks for payment, I will never agree to it. If they insist on payment, I will find someone else for the show to maintain my ethical and journalistic obligations.

But should this approach be a blanket rule across the podcast sector? Let me lay out a couple of scenarios for you:

The case for not paying guests

There are many podcasts that are works of journalism, or sit on the fringe of being journalism. For these shows, there's absolutely no reason why you should ever be paying for a guest to appear on a podcast.

As I outlined already, for journalists the ethical obligation to maintain objectivity, outweighs any desire to make guests happy.

The moment your interviewee starts getting paid, is the moment the objectivity and credibility of your reporting comes into question. Part of the issue, is that when people are financially incentivised to share a story, it can change the way they actually tell that story.

People who are financially motivated, might feel like they have to embellish information because they've received a payment. This can mean that a journalist might struggle to get the real picture of what's going on. Of course this can also create a problem with perception, especially considering good practice is to disclose any payments to your audience. For your listeners it can make them wonder whether the show was an interview, or a piece of promotional content?

Once you start paying a guest, it becomes chequebook journalism - a practice that is usually frowned upon throughout media circles. It does happen in some areas of media - particularly in tabloid media - but it's not the general way news companies like to operate. I don't blame people for chasing money if something significant has happened to them, but for news media, ethics should outweigh the need to get the story.

In fact the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Code of Ethics says:

"Be wary of sources offering information for favors or money; do not pay for access to news. Identify content provided by outside sources, whether paid or not."

But what if you're not a journalist?

This is where things start to get a little murky. If you're not trying to produce a work of journalism, you don't have the same ethical obligations as a journalist. So if you're an independent podcaster who is not a journalist, the decision to pay your guests might be a moral, or a financial one.

Every guest you pay will increase the budget for producing your show. I know very few podcasters who have the money to start paying everyone who accepts an invitation for an interview. So before you opt to pay for a guest appearance, perhaps ask whether or not you can afford to continually pay for interviews. Because if one person gets a payment, they will share that with someone else, and soon everyone will expect a payment.

The other consideration is what is the motivation of the guest. Are they trying to promote a new book, or a product? If so, the fact they get to come on your podcast should be enough motivation. Don't pay them for the privilege to come on your show. Do your best to land interviewees who don't care about payment, they will be a lot more authentic in the conversation.

Depending on the country you live in, the act of paying a guest might also have the potential to be considered a type of sponsored content that's covered under influencer disclosure laws. So if you do make a payment, you might have a legal obligation to disclose that financial relationship. I'm not a lawyer though, so you would want to check with a lawyer who understands your local market.

Personally, my view is to avoid paying guests wherever possible. It's cheaper, avoids issues of perception, and it's more ethical. But this doesn't work for every situation.

The case for paying guests

Despite the many reasons against, there are some circumstances where it might be appropriate to pay a guest.

One example, is if you're producing a commercial or brand podcast. When you're producing a brand podcast, a guest might see this as a promotional activity and therefore ask for an appearance fee. In this instance, the payment might make sense because the podcast itself is being used in a commercial way. It's perfectly normal for people to be paid to appear in a brand video, so why not a brand podcast?

For other podcasts, you really need to think about the motivations of the guest, and you might want to consider how you value time. If someone is coming on your show, they're taking time out of their day to be interviewed - so what is that time worth? I see this argument all the time from podcasters, and while I disagree with the idea, I can see the logic. People value their time, and so should you.

Although I don't recommend you offer guests a fee for being on your show, for particular sorts of podcasters, this might be the only way you can land a big name. I've heard that some guests won't appear on podcasts unless they are paid, or unless the show is so big that the exposure would be more than enough payment. I have never experienced this, but it can happen.

In the case of panel podcasts, it might be more appropriate to pay everyone who appears on the show a fee. This is much closer to a work for hire arrangement because everyone on the panel is essentially hosting that episode of the show. This is a similar model to what you see in traditional television. Often there can be a rotating panel who are all paid an appearance fee to cover their time.

If you do decide to pay a guest, what is an appropriate fee?

That is a very difficult question to answer and it really depends on the size of your show, and the notability of the guest.

The more famous someone is, the more you will pay. As a start, you could set a small fee in the low hundreds, and then go from there. For a bigger guest, it could be in the thousands of dollars.

Remember, if you start paying guests, you will have that additional expense for every episode you publish.

To pay or to not pay guests

It's a difficult question that only an individual podcaster can answer. And you need to consider the mission of your podcast and what you want to achieve.

My view is that regardless of the size of your audience, you are giving guests a platform to share their story, and that platform should be worth something. Don't discount the value you hold as a podcaster.

Why should you have to pay for someone to come on your podcast to promote their latest book? And what happens if you agree to pay them, but they come on your show, start promoting their product, and then avoid any meaningful questions?

Ultimately, it's a slippery slope when you start paying guests, so tread very carefully if you want to open up that expensive can of worms.