Podcasts have been doing immensely well. The podcasting industry has seen steady and overwhelming growth across variables like the number of creators, listeners, and podcast shows.
The potential for growth is promising. Podcasts have a bright future.
But what is the future of podcasts? As a business involved in the podcasting industry, we’re always keen on exploring new ways to help evolve what podcasting means. But we’re not the only ones who sense an opportunity here. Major podcasting apps like Spotify, Apple Music, and others have witnessed rising popularity in the segment.
The total number of existing podcasts globally has increased nearly 4x since 2018. Podcast statistics reflect that there are currently over 2 million podcast shows and each of these podcasts has multiple episodes. In the US, 60% of the people listen to podcasts.
So many people have involved themselves with podcasts in some way or the other. As a result, newer and more creative ideas are coming into practice. We want to explore what they are and what the future of podcasting may look like.
#1 Short-form Podcasts (or as we call them, micropods — micro podcasting)
Media as a whole has lately been shifting toward shorter & more concise forms of delivery. A great example is how insanely popular TikTok became throughout the world with their USP being short, highly edited videos. Other major platforms like Instagram too adopted this short-video format quickly. User-generated content has played a major role in boosting short-form media.
As it turns out, short-form videos make sense! A short-form podcast makes sense too. Being a podcast company, we wanted to implement this idea — we call it the micropod. The 3 Minute Audiocast.
In 2022, it is so easy to start a podcast!
A micropod can be about anything. It could be about something interesting you saw while walking or a rant about the lack of toppings on your pizza!
#2 Audiobooks
Audiobooks are a fairly controversial topic among readers. Some people say that audiobooks are one of the greatest technological innovations in audio. Others don’t think they are a good replacement for paperbacks. Let’s see what the data says.
Multiple global & American studies have concluded that every 1 in 5 “readers” use audiobooks. Although audiobooks have existed since the 1950s, their popularity has massively increased in the last decade. This can primarily be credited to general advances in technology.
By 2020, audiobooks were already a $1.3 billion industry! The number of audiobooks released in 2011 was under 10,000 audiobooks. Within a decade, that number has jumped to over 70,000 audiobook titles being released in a single year.
Audiobooks are easily looking to be the best podcasts on future technology.
#3 Audio-based Social Networking
Social media has drastically changed the way people communicate and connect with each other over the last 20 years. It has become an integral part of many people’s daily lives. Most social media platforms are currently based on text, images, and videos primarily. But as the trend continues to adopt audio as a format, audio-based social media apps have become a reality.
Let’s take the best example currently — Clubhouse. It is an app where people come together to talk, listen and learn from each other in real-time.
Although other major social media platforms have slowly been adopting audio, they primarily remain focused on text, video, and images still. Clubhouse has managed to maintain its audio-only format and it has seen success. Clubhouse hosts over 2 million users weekly on average. This, too, is a clear indication of an audio-friendly future.
#4 Live Audio Streaming
Live audio streaming seems like a great feature to have in the future, but it’s actually an older idea. Live broadcasts of radio shows have long been a part of audio content. Live audio streaming uses the same formula radio shows used to (and still do), but the medium has changed.
Compared to radio, live audio streaming is more accessible, highly efficient, and has diverse forms of delivery.
Concluding Thoughts:
There are multiple (sometimes unrelated) reasons for the success and the growing popularity of podcasts. Lives have become busier than they used to be. People have lesser and lesser time for simple indulgences like books or movies. Audio presents itself as a convenient way to receive intellectual stimulation.
Podcasts, audiobooks, and audio-based social networking sites present an alternative. They allow people to not have to look at their screens or do another activity simultaneously. The success of audio can be credited to the fact that users are liking it, and starting to prefer it.
The question, “What is the future of podcasts?”, has multiple answers, which are too detailed to talk about in a blog. Simply put, the future of podcasts in India, and globally, is really looking up.
