Introducing Anchor’s new audience insights, powered by Spotify

Starting today, we’re expanding Anchor’s podcast analytics beyond standard podcast download metrics — to include true episode drop-off and aggregated listener demographics.

Anchor’s analytics have always focused on making sure you have a big-picture view of your podcast’s overall performance, particularly across different listening platforms. But making smart decisions about growing your show also takes a deep understanding of listener behavior, which had historically been rare to come by in an industry dependent on limited data.

When Spotify acquired Anchor in February of 2019, we made it clear that together, Spotify and Anchor would be able to expand the capabilities of podcast creators, and that new insights would be one way to achieve that vision — and we’re uniquely positioned to do that because of Spotify’s powerhouse of insights from its 270M+ users. Today, we’re taking our first step in that direction with the launch of these new, Spotify-powered analytics.

Now, your Anchor dashboard (on web and in our free app for iOS and Android) includes new charts that provide unique insights about your audience on Spotify, to help you better understand the people listening to your show and what they like about it.

This data comes directly from Spotify streams — as opposed to download counts or the limited data passed down from web players and RSS feeds — so it reflects down-to-the-second listening behavior that allows you to understand more deeply what keeps your audience engaged, where they’re dropping off, and who your podcast is resonating with most.

Episode Drop-off

When it comes to measuring consumption of podcast content, data has always been limited. That’s because traditional podcast distribution is powered by RSS and static audio files, where consumption can only be measured by whether or not a file is downloaded.

But starting today, Anchor can show you true episode drop-off information, powered by Spotify’s streaming technology and actual consumption behaviors of your listeners.

To see drop-off information for your episodes, just click on an episode in your web dashboard. You’ll see an episode performance chart that lets you measure the completion rate of each episode and the times when listeners are dropping off from your show, helping you organize your podcast around the most engaging moments. This can help you take the guesswork out of understanding what’s working — and what’s not — so your episodes can keep getting better and better over time.

For example, let’s say your latest episode has a much earlier drop-off than usual: Now you’ll know if maybe that extended intro you tested was a little too extended, and you can plan for a snappier segment next time around.

Aggregated Listener Demographics

Like episode drop-off, traditional podcast distribution makes it nearly impossible to understand who is listening to your podcast; instead, you only know that someone at some point downloaded your podcast. But starting today, Anchor can show you reliable demographic information for your listeners, including anonymized and aggregated age ranges and gender breakdown of your audience.

This data is perfect for tailoring your episodes to your current fans, or for branching out and marketing to people who haven’t yet discovered your show. Plus, if you work with any brands outside of Sponsorships, this information can also act as useful leverage when pitching to prospective advertisers and quantifying your podcast’s reach.

By bringing together these unique, Spotify-powered insights along with metrics from all major listening platforms, Anchor makes it easier than ever to track your show’s growth. Now you have everything you need to create, measure and grow your podcast — all in one place.

Head over to your Anchor dashboard or app to start exploring this new data for your show!