A look into the who, what, and why of audio’s most compelling format.
Want to catch the day’s headlines? Immerse yourself in a murder mystery? Nerd out on the neuroscience of happiness? All on your commute? Whatever your curiosity, there’s a podcast for it. And with the podcasting boom, audio has maintained solid footing in the world of content––telling great stories and growing a loyal audience along the way.
48% – Comedy … 2 Dope Queens, The Joe Rogan Experience, WTF with Marc Maron
40% – Educational … TED Radio Hour, Freakanomics Radio, Radiolab
38% – News … The Daily, Up First NPR, Serial
27% – Sports … Pardon My Take, Fantasy Focus Football, 30 for 30 ESPN
22% – Politics … Pod Save America, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, NPR Politics
18% – Gaming … Game Scoop, Giant Bombcast, Fireteam Chat
16% – Tech … 99% Invisible, TechStuff, Vergecast
16% – SciFi … Girl In Space, LifeAfter, Tanis
A whopping 68 million, or nearly 1 in 4 Americans,[3] tune in monthly. These regular listeners tend to be educated, Millennial, and male––and the genre is growing fast.
A Growing Active Listenership:3 (defined as listening on a monthly basis)
Age of monthly listeners:
● 44%: Millennials (Age 18–34) ● 33%: Gen X (Age 35–54) ● 16%: Baby Boomers (Age 55+) ● 7%: Gen Z (Age 12–17)* |
Gender of monthly listeners:
● 56%: male ● 44%: female
|
Education level of monthly listeners:
● 30%: Graduate degree ● 27%: Bachelor’s degree ● 27%: Some college ● 15%: High school or less |
This burgeoning audience [read: market] isn’t lost on advertisers. In the past 2 years, podcasting ad revenue has grown by double digits.[4]
Journalists have linked the podcast boom to the ubiquity of smartphones, time spent in transit, and online music services. Others attribute it to the brain-stimulating and addictive effect of audio learning, or the multitasking potential of listening. The beauty is in the overlap.
Education:
“Audio is one of the most intimate forms of media because you are constantly building your own images of the story in your mind.” – Emma Rodera, communications professor, via The Atlantic[7]
“In a sense, I’m painting something but I’m not holding the paintbrush. You are. So it’s this deep act of co-authorship, and in that is some potential for empathy.” – Jad Abumrad, host of Radiolab, via Slate[8]
Perhaps podcasting’s secret ingredient is that it multitasks better than any other medium, bringing a dose of productivity to any part of your daily routine.
Where do people listen?[9]
[1] “State of the Media: Audio Today 2017,” 2017, Nielsen
[2] Top Podcasts page, 2017, iTunes
[3] The Podcast Consumer, 2017, Edison Research & Triton Digital
[4] “IAB Podcast Ad Revenue Study: An Analysis of the Largest Players in the Podcasting Industry,” 2017, Interactive Advertising Bureau
[5] “Adult Learning and Retention: Factors and Strategies,” 2010, Cultural Orientation Resource Center
[6] “The Value of Using Podcasts in Class,” 2016, The Atlantic
[7] “Inside the Podcast Brain: Why do audio stories captivate?” 2015, The Atlantic
[8] “What makes podcasts so addictive and pleasurable?” 2014, Slate