Podcasts: More Than Just a Trend
There is no doubt that podcasts continue to grow in popularity today, even though the medium has been in existence for more than a decade. Many people who regarded podcasting as a passing fad are now eating their words, with statistics showing a steady growth of podcast listeners year over year.
According to consumer pollster Edison Research, about 39 million Americans listened to a podcast in the past month, that is, 15 percent of the over-12 population. It certainly is the highest number on record, growing from a mere 9 percent in 2008.
But if the number of podcast listeners is based on statistics, then the number is poised to grow higher in the following years. With the continuous development of smartphones and tablets that deliver podcasts to listeners, “the audience is going to shift from 40 million to 240 million,” said Matt Lieber, co-founder of Gimlet Media, referring to US radio listeners. In fact, Edison Research revealed that more than half of US podcast listeners use devices like smartphones, tablets, and portable digital audio players to listen to podcasts.
The quality of podcasts has also contributed to the growth of the medium, as there are too many great podcasts out there from every niche imaginable. More than a million people tune in every week to a new podcast show called Serial — a real-life story of a re-investigation of the 1999 murder of a Baltimore high school girl. There is StartUp, an episodic story of NPR veteran Alex Blumberg’s attempt to create a podcasting business. A whole slew of celebrities like Snooki and Ice T also created their own podcasts for their fans to listen to.
Indeed, podcasts have evolved from amateurish ramblings to full-scale production with real budget and staff. According to The Financial Times, many big companies had become attracted to spoken audio content, like Amazon’s Audible, a digital audiobook service. The streaming music company Pandora also carries more than 350,000 comedy tracks. In the UK, the AudioBoom app developed by AudioBoom Group PLC (AIM: BOOM) has seen a tenfold increase in market capitalization in the past six months. It has also partnered with several big media names, like BBC, TIME Magazine, and The Financial Times.
However, one of the biggest reasons for the so-called “podcast renaissance” as coined by Kevin Roose in NYmag.com has nothing to do with podcasts and advertisers, but with cars. According to NYmag.com, an estimated 44 percent of radio listening happens in the car.
Cars are now going online, with most new cars in the US having the ability to play through the car’s speakers. According to Forbes.com, 50 percent of new cars sold by next year will have Internet connectivity, and by 2025, all cars will have that feature. “When that happens and there are podcasts in everybody’s car, it’s not podcasts anymore. It’s just the radio,” The Art of Charm podcaster Jonathan Harbinger said in an interview.
Such growth in the podcast industry makes it possible for people to make a legitimate living out of podcasts as advertisers flock in. In fact, plenty of start-ups and individuals are already doing just that, like AudioBoom’s insertion of pre- and post-roll advertising in its audio content. Advertisers like Midroll charge about $20 to $30 per 1,000 impressions, about five times the cost for traditional radio according to Midroll’s CEO, Adam Sachs. Indeed, the future of podcasting remains bright, as the old long-form audio storytelling starts to flourish once again.
