Why Big Tech is Taking Over Podcasting
Spoiler Alert: It’s not because they like listening while they drive
I’m an avid podcast listener. I’m also a hobbyist podcast creator.
When Twitter and Amazon both announced a podcast related acquisition within the first week of 2021, I realized they were coming to change the podcasting world.
Nowadays, people love multitasking and listening to podcasts are one of the best ways to do so. Especially compared to other sources of media, such as Netflix or YouTube, users can listen but not watch content while working out, driving, cooking, and much more.
Podcast Market
The podcasting market has been experiencing exponential growth in terms of revenue and users. In 2019, the podcasting market value was 9.28 billion USD, in 2020 it was 11.07 billion, and by 2027 it’s projected to hit 60.5 billion.
While Spotify isn’t considered “big tech”, it’s known as one of the most popular and mainstream media companies. Spotify made several early moves within the podcast space. Since 2018, Spotify’s been actively expanding its podcasting acquisitions, from acquiring software companies to content creators (first The Joe Rogan Experience and then Michelle Obama).
