Two weeks ago, our entire team flew to Chicago to attend Podcast Movement: Evolutions. We met with Advertisers, spoke with both our podcasters and folks on other platforms, and attended the abundance of great talks that the conference had to offer.
But we didn’t go just to schmooze, we wanted to take everything we learned during these jam-packed three days and share it with you!
Biggest Buzz
It’s no surprise that the entire conference hall this year was filled with murmurs of video and AI. Neither of these topics are new, but they did grow in popularity over the course of 2024. More folks than ever are dabbling with video, both as podcasters and listeners, and some are trying to figure out ways to make AI a part of the podcasting ecosystem.
Video has been a hot topic for the industry since YouTube made its first real attempt at podcasting all the way back in 2022. Multiple talks centered on the possible uses of video, from strategies on monetizing your video podcast to using video as a supplement to grow your audience. Understandably, folks have been worried about video podcasts cannibalizing audio-only content. But as we learned from one keynote panel, this is far from the reality! Video seems to be helping to widen the audience for podcasts rather than taking downloads away from traditional distribution channels such as Apple Podcasts. You can read more in our recent blog post here.
AI, on the other hand, was a more recent hot topic at this year’s conference. AI tools have been growing in popularity across the entire internet, so it only makes sense that podcasting gets in on it, too. Interestingly, it seems like even Advertisers are open to exploring how AI can help to improve podcast ads. From our perspective, AI appears to be a great tool to streamline production processes, but should not be used to replace the more creative side of podcasting.
Video and AI are most likely here to stay. We’ll just have to see how it affects the industry as a whole in the coming years.
Key Takeaways from Industry Experts
There were several keynote talks that took place over the 3-day conference. Rather than going through each one individually, we’ll condense the talks into the common takeaways from each one.
Growth in Podcasting
There has been undeniable growth within the podcasting industry. Experts saw an increase in listeners, an increase in revenue, and an increase in awareness. Podcasts are no longer a niche hobby but are widely enjoyed by pretty much everyone. It’s thanks to the number of distribution channels that podcasting has experienced such growth lately. Newer channels like YouTube are helping to bring podcasts to a wider audience.
And a wider audience leads to a higher number of downloads and a higher amount of revenue. It’s projected that the podcast advertising could reach $4 billion by 2030. And with only roughly 362k active podcasts, that’s quite a lot of revenue!
More and more folks are tuning in to podcasts. With newer, younger audiences finding shows through YouTube and older generations utilizing the classic Apple Podcasts, podcasting has quickly become a household hobby.
Podcasting is a Unique Medium
There’s nothing quite like podcasts in the world. They offer incredibly intimate experiences by literally being inside the heads of their audience. Trust in podcasting is incredibly high, more so than for any other medium. This is what makes advertising on a podcast such an effective way to reach desired customers, they really tune in to what the host is saying and carry their words with them. About 86% of frequent podcast listeners remember what ads were played. The amazing way podcasts can stick in the mind of those who consume them makes this medium such a unique one.
Podcasts offer an alternative to the doomscrolling and time-wasters of other internet-based mediums. Folks are listening to podcasts to learn something new or to take a break from their hectic lives. They seek podcasts for comfort and knowledge instead of a numbing way to pass the time. Podcasts are powerful thanks to the time and effort podcast hosts pour into their craft. And this effort is appreciated by listeners and pays out in the end.
Defining a “Podcast”
We know that podcasting can be lucrative for all involved, and we know that podcasting is a truly unique experience not found anywhere else on the web, but what exactly is a “podcast”? How is success measured? Is a download the same thing as a view? How about an impression? Are YouTube videos podcasts, or something else entirely?
Podcast Movement conferences grant us the opportunity to come together as an industry and share our voices. And we have a lot of voices. This is all too apparent in the way each listening platform/app defines a download. For example, Spotify use a collection of metrics called “plays”, “starts” and “streams” and each one vary wildly from each other and even from other platforms. Apple Podcasts tracks “engaged listeners” and “plays”, again differing so much from all the other platforms. Apple also auto-downloads the first couple of episodes of a show if you so much as follow it, muddying the definition even more.
There is no true unified understanding of a download in podcasting since almost every platform tracks it just a bit differently. While some, like RedCircle, do their best to adhere to an industry-approved standard (the IAB), others are determined to create their own definitions, to the detriment of the entire industry.
Oxford Road’s keynote on defining a podcast is a rallying call to finally agree on industry-wide standards – and stick to them. You can read more about their call-to-action here: https://linktr.ee/whatsapodcast
What We Already Knew About Podcasting
While there were plenty of new insights to gain from this conference, there was also a good amount of validation for the stuff we, the industry, already knew.
Popularity of Podcasts
There wouldn’t be a conference all about podcasting if it weren’t popular! (Well, that’s not entirely true as there are events even for Air Guitar.) But, Air Guitar doesn’t reach 67% of Americans like podcasts do. Podcasts are wildly popular and there’s no sign of them slowing down.
With the rise of video podcasts, younger generations are discovering a plethora of podcasts and are quickly becoming large consumers of the medium themselves. Roughly 60% of the U.S. population aged 12-34 listens to podcast. Even more impressive, there’s a total of 158 million monthly downloads across the entire industry. The popularity of podcasts is so high that there are even some in the White House!
Audience & Revenue Growth
Popularity often brings opportunities! And with 158 million monthly downloads, there’s plenty of opportunity to grow both your audience and revenue. We know that Advertisers are interested in podcasting, as there’s a projected $4 billion in revenue for podcasts by 2030. And we know that more and more people are jumping on the podcast train.
Trust in Podcast Hosts
The meteoric rise of podcasts isn’t a fluke, though. As we mentioned earlier, podcasting is a unique medium that’s difficult to replicate anywhere else. Podcast hosts can reach a place that no other content creator can – directly in their heads! This uniqueness has helped to build trust between podcast hosts and their audiences. Podcast listeners trust their favorite podcasters more often than not. Listeners are fully engaged whenever they listen to their favorite shows. There’s an incredible link between podcast hosts and their audience that has helped make podcasting what it is.
Where Podcasting Is Heading
As the medium of podcasting ages, so do the calls to leave the “wild west days” and come together as an industry. New tools, like video and AI, are starting to make their way into mainstream podcasting. And with these new tools come new definitions of “podcast”. As the CEO of Oxford Road urges, we as an industry need to unify and set the path forward for podcasting.
Podcasting has become a legitimate source of entertainment, a viable career path, and an influence in our society. It’s joining the ranks of newspaper and online journalism, AM/FM radio, and the king among entertainment, television. It’s growing rapidly and there’s no sign of stopping.
Have a podcast and want to launch it to new heights? See how RedCircle can make all the difference!
