The Rapid Growth of Podcasts
By: Devon Gabauer
History of Podcasts
Podcasts were thought of by two men Dave Winer and Adam Curry in 2000 and were originally supposed to have video attached. The two waited until 2004 to start developing their idea, and shortly after the program was developed Apple made podcasts available on all of their devices which helped popularize the new medium immensely.
Brief Timeline of Podcasts
2004 - Dave Winer and Adam Curry put out a fully functional podcast program
2005 - Apple releases devices that support the podcast program
2008 - Apple comes out with the 3G phone, allowing users to download podcasts from anywhere
2009 - The Adam Carolla Show receives more than 59 million unique downloads
2013 - Apple announces that they have received 1 billion podcast subscribers
2019 - 90 million monthly podcast listeners in America
The Growth of Podcasts
As you can tell from the timeline, podcasts, although relatively new have grown to be extremely popular. One of the reasons for that is due to the availability of them. There are now countless applications, including the iPhone application that comes on every Apple product, that offer these podcasts.
Breakdown of where people get their podcasts from. (Courtesy of TechChrunch)
Podcasts are not just for students or those who are commuting to and from their 9 to 5 job, however their listening numbers were up 10% from 2018 to 2019. The 55+ year old demographic saw its podcast consumers go from 13% in 2018 to 17% in 2019.
One reason for this uptick is the almost unlimited amount of original shows by some of the biggest companies in the world. Companies like NPR and The New York Times are doing short news podcasts, which allows people to get their news in audio form, rather than reading the news from the newspaper. The rise of celebrity podcasts has helped grow the number of podcast consumers as a whole.
The most popular podcast on the Apple Podcasts application is The Joe Rogan Experience. Joe Rogan is a comedian and UFC ringside announcer who interviews all types of celebrities, CEOs, and ex-military members which might not sound interesting, but once you start listening it is hard to stop!
News and Comedy may be the most popular genre on the iPhone Podcasts application, but the True Crime genre is what really helped popularize podcasts. Americans seem to have a fascination with crime and in 2014 the podcast Serial was released and introduced many people to podcasts for the first time. “As best-selling true-crime author and podcaster Billy Jensen puts it, “Serial is the most important, because it went viral, got into the zeitgeist, introduced many people to podcasts, and got them hooked.” (Vulture).
Ad Revenue through Podcasts
There are two main platforms consumers can use to access specific podcasts; free-based platforms, or subscription based platforms. The main difference between these two platforms is pretty simple, there are no advertisements on the subscription based platforms.
This may sound like a negative for some, however the ad revenue produced by the free-based platforms has grown tremendously over the years and is projected to keep growing for years to come. According the the Internet Advertising Bureau, ad revenue for these podcasts reached $679 million in 2019 and is expected to reach $863 million in 2020.
Via Forbes:
From Edison Research and Podcast One’s report on super listeners (those who listen to 5+ hours of podcasts each week):
· 70% of super listeners have considered a new product or service based on a podcast ad.
· Even though super listeners generally avoid ads, they agree podcast ads are an effective way to reach them.
This feedback from these “Super Listeners” is what drives the advertising firms to want to continue using podcasts to sell their products.
Advertising for Podcasts
Many of these podcasts, whether on the free-based platform or the subscription platform, do not have to spend much if any money advertising themselves. The main reason for this is because of one thing: Social Media.
How listeners find out about new podcasts. (Courtesy of TechChrunch)
The free-based platform has made it simple for anyone to start their own podcast about anything, and the availability of Social Media has made it extremely easy to advertise for your podcast.
You can tell from the graphic above that Social Media is the most popular way to get your podcast out to the world, but another way that has gained popularity is advertising by going on other podcasts.
Future of Podcasts
There is no doubt that podcasts are here to stay and will inevitably continue to grow. In the future it would not be surprising to see podcasts become a multi-billion dollar industry and give AM/FM radio a run for their money.