Gen Z and Podcasting — What Are Young People Listening To?
I was just on a call with one of our clients, The Federal Reserve Bank, and they were asking me if I knew much about Gen Z and podcasting. Since I have been teaching college freshman podcasting for 9 years, I know quite a bit of anecdotal information like:
- When I started teaching podcasting 9 years ago about 60% of students listened to radio and 10% podcasts. Today that number is 100% podcasts and less than 10% radio.
- They talk about podcasts like my generation talks about TV Shows.
- The podcasts they listen to impress me often with a lot of young adults listening to shows like “This American Life” (When I told one student that it was a radio show, they were shocked.)
Anecdotal stories aside there have been some great studies about Gen Z and podcasts including one for YPulse who specialize in this generation. Here’s what they found.
- 25–34-year-olds drove a 60% rise in the number of people listening to podcasts via mobile apps when compared to January 2018
- Over a third (37%) of 13–37-year-olds saying they listen weekly or more.
- Millennials are more likely than Gen Z to be listening regularly, with 41% of 19–37-year-olds saying they listen weekly or more, compared to 25% of 13–18-year-olds.
- 51% of 21–24-year-olds report listening weekly or more making them the most active.
So what are all these Gen Z folks listening to?
- 41% of 13–37-year-old podcast listeners saying they listen to Comedy
- 33% say Music is their favorite.
- 31% say that Interviews are their top pick.
A couple of other things to note are that 46% of 13–35-year-olds say they don’t mind brands advertising on their podcasts and a whopping 25% say that they pay for podcasts each month. The bottom line is that if you are a brand and you want to reach Gen Z, Podcasting is a safe and cost-effective way to do it.
I have to add, that The Federal Reserve is doing amazing things in podcasting. Check out one of the shows we have gotten to work on with them, Zip Code Economies.