Heard at #PM19

If your brand missed out, we’ll fill you in.

Published in

AdLarge Podcast Network

4 min readAug 30, 2019

With over 3,000 attendees — from podcast hosts to producers, DR shops, and researchers — it’s no wonder the energy at Podcast Movement was unlike any other industry event. The gathering boasted a dizzying number of panels, fireside chats, and keynotes — bringing together diverse facets of the podcast world to learn from and connect with each other.

And those connections being made were apparent throughout the week. In the hallways and common areas, individuals gathered to share ideas and soak up information.

“I attended Podcast Movement last year in Philly, and I immediately noticed that the energy felt more intense, more infectious this time around. It’s impossible not to feel like you’re a part of something really big.”
— Don Wachsmith, CRO, cabana

What once was a small, podcaster-focused event has now embraced its growing business-side. Sure, there were the puppies and free beer and all the parties (you might have seen us at one or two), but it was all about the content. The 100+ high-caliber sessions and 360+ speakers signal that creators are getting serious about the medium as the industry matures.

For those marketers and agencies who weren’t able to attend, here’s what we heard at #PM19 and why it’s worth listening up.

Started from the bottom now we’re here

Growing audience. More investments in tech and content. Bigger brands and even bigger celebrities coming into the fold. Though they’ve been around for over a decade, the changes podcasts experienced more recently have been seismic. The big question becomes: how does the industry scale?

Thanks to improving ad tech and IAB v2 measurement (which remains the gold standard), advertiser perceptions are changing and more are coming back after seeing that podcast advertising works. Now the focus shifts to quality control. Implementing best practices and maintaining high CPMs will be the key to preserve podcasting’s unique environment.

And what about concerns of hitting “peak podcast” or the bursting “bubble?” Not here. This year’s overall mood was bullish on podcast’s continued trajectory.

No longer just a hobby

The attention towards ad revenue is mutual for brands and creators alike. Just as more advertisers are eager to break into the medium, more podcasters want to learn how to make a living off their passion. The event featured entire educational tracks dedicated to monetization and marketing, so podcasters had their pick of topics on everything from sponsorship strategy to audience growth.

This ambition is promising and we hope to see more creative, high-quality content being produced from here on out. Podcasters know the competition is stiff, but speakers made it clear that if they are serious, then they need to up their game in order to thrive.

Rookie year

Of course, would all this be possible without the listeners? Edison Research’s Tom Webster returned for another keynote, this time dropping some new insights into the very different habits of old and new podcast fans.

Established podcast fans (or “Veteran” listeners) may already be set in their ways, but there’s good news when it comes to newcomers to the medium. “Rookie” listeners tend to be more diverse, skewing younger and more female (yay!). The push for more diverse voices in podcasting has made some headway; looks like we may finally see that reflected in the audience too.

When it comes to finding the shows that turn rookies into veterans, the lines are blurring. People are finding podcasts, just not where you’d expect. Nurturing overall audience growth means embracing a fluid definition of what a podcast is and looking at good content more holistically.