Unlocking the World Of Podcast Listeners
By Tom Seest
How Many Podcast Listeners Are There?
At PodcastBig, we help new podcasters develop strategies to create content, traffic, and revenue from podcasts based on our experiences and experimentation.
Podcasting is an audio form that can be consumed on demand, setting it apart from other forms of media such as social networks or YouTube videos.
Podcast listenership statistics are essential for podcast producers as a means of tracking the show’s growth and popularity. This article will introduce three methods of checking podcast listenership stats:
Understanding podcast statistics is vital to creating an engaging, popular show. By understanding this data, you can more effectively market and monetize it to generate monetization revenue for yourself and earn a return.
How Many Podcast Listeners Are There?
Table Of Contents
How Many Podcast Listeners Are in the U.S.?
Podcast listeners tend to have varied interests, though most frequently tuned-in podcasts cover news and current affairs, reflecting their use as an effective way of staying informed on current affairs. Podcasts also serve as an effective means of learning something new: according to a Slideshare study, 74% of listeners say that they tune-in for specific shows so as to gain new knowledge.
Spotify is currently the most popular podcasting platform, followed by Apple’s Podcast app. While most listeners stream podcasts live or download them offline later, most listen to around six episodes each week regardless of which platform they use.
According to a survey by Discoverpods, podcast listeners find their new shows through social media feeds, recommendations from friends and family, advertisements, search engines, search engine results pages (SERPS), search engines such as Google or Bing and search apps such as YouTube, iTunes or SoundCloud.
In the US, podcast listeners who fall between 12 and 34 years old make up 48% of total podcast audiences; 32% comprise those aged 35-44 years; while 20% of overall listeners fall under 55+ age bracket.
How Many Podcast Listeners Are in the U.S.?
What Do Podcast Listeners Tune in to Learn?
According to recent podcast stats, 74% of listeners tune in primarily because they want to learn something new, followed by entertainment (71%), staying informed (60%), and relaxation (51%). People typically discover new podcasts through charts and recommendations on podcast apps; word of mouth from friends; promotions on social media or through other podcasts – comedy being the most popular genre followed by music and talk shows.
About one third of podcast listeners fall between 12 to 34 years of age and 35-54 years. By 2021, almost half of all podcast listeners will be monthly subscribers – totalling an estimated total of approximately 104 million Americans.
Most podcast listeners access their shows via Spotify and Apple Podcasts; Spotify being the primary destination among US listeners; however YouTube can also provide access to audio-only experiences (such as driving).
Virtually all podcast listeners subscribe to at least one podcast; popular categories include comedy, society & and culture, news & current events, sports, personal growth, money & finance, and religion and spirituality, which are also well represented in this space. Three listen to true crime podcasts, while other topics, such as self-help/relationships/religion podcasts, are popular as well. Most listeners access podcasts via their smartphone versus an iPod/MP3 player or computer.
What Do Podcast Listeners Tune in to Learn?
What Makes Comedy the Most Popular Podcast Genre?
As a podcast creator, it is crucial that you identify which genre your content belongs to. Each genre attracts its own distinct audience size and listenership – selecting one can help attract more listeners to your show, turning it into a successful platform.
Comedy podcasts remain the most popular category, followed by society & culture, news and true crime podcasts. Nearly half of podcast listeners tune into comedy shows each week; to promote yours you can share its link on social media or via other platforms and even cross-promote it on other related podcasts for maximum reach.
Podcast listeners typically tune in for educational or entertainment reasons, while current affairs updates and staying informed are also popular reasons for listening. Although many listeners enjoy learning from podcasts, many do not remain tuned until the end of each episode; in fact, 45% of listeners either do not complete or skip some episodes altogether!
Podcasts can be enjoyed on various devices and can be streamed or downloaded for later consumption. On average, podcast consumers tend to consume six podcasts each week on average; some listeners may consume as many as ten!
Podcasts are most prevalent among young adults ages 12 to 34; this age range represents the greatest concentration of podcast listeners; however, after this age range listenership drops off due to less interest from older generations in podcasting.
What Makes Comedy the Most Popular Podcast Genre?
What Makes Podcasts So Popular?
Podcast listening continues to increase steadily thanks to digital audio’s rise and its massive reach; making it easy for podcasters to build an audience for their shows. Furthermore, most podcasts are free download and listenership offers another great way to pass time!
By 2021, eMarketer estimates that the United States will have the highest monthly podcast listenership of any nation on earth due to its large population and high smartphone penetration levels. Other nations such as China and Brazil may also experience growth in podcast listenership this year.
According to a Spotify fan study, Gen Z is leading the charge when it comes to podcast consumption; twice as likely than older audiences and more likely than any other age group to listen during commute time.
As podcast popularity increases, multiple organizations have taken to collecting and analyzing podcast statistics. Edison Research and Triton Digital are among the primary sources for podcast data in the US; their Infinite Dial report is among them.
Apple Podcasts remains the most downloaded platform, while Spotify comes close behind. Most listeners utilize both platforms to access their shows – most listening sessions typically involve three to ten episodes each week.
What Makes Podcasts So Popular?
What Makes Podcasts So Popular?
Podcasts are an inherently decentralized medium with numerous ways of consumption – people may download podcasts manually onto phones or tablets, stream them online through podcast apps like Apple or Spotify, listen via radio, TV or car speakers or use services like Stitcher and Audible – making the number of podcasts hard to calculate accurately; however some companies such as Rephonic, The Infinite Dial Report and Buzzsprout have begun collecting stats about podcasting listeners and listenership.
Rephonic’s Podcast Charts offer an approximate picture of podcast popularity based on downloads and “listens”, but due to multiple platforms supporting podcasts across numerous countries and demographics it can be challenging to gain an accurate assessment.
By and large, however, podcasting is growing increasingly popular. According to Edison Research’s report on podcast awareness among Americans (64 percent are familiar) more than half (59 percent) tune in monthly – with 65% finishing an episode as opposed to 27% who drop out halfway through.
Additionally, regular podcast listeners tend to be highly educated. In fact, they’re 45% more likely than the average American to hold postgraduate degrees; and many (58% have net worths exceeding $250,000 – significantly more than in any other demographic in America.)
What Makes Podcasts So Popular?
What Drives the Podcast Community?
Podcast listener statistics show an increasing trend: each year more and more people tune into at least one podcast episode or more, representing 40.0 percent of internet users versus 35.2% globally. By 2021 nearly 117 million Americans will listen to one or more episodes regularly representing 40 percent of American internet users; global average is 35.2 percent.
People discover new podcasts by searching, browsing iTunes or podcasting apps, or asking their friends. Once they discover an episode, most listeners tend to stick with it for its entirety; Panoply reports only 5% of listeners stop midway through listening a podcast – far lower than other digital media formats!
Most podcast listeners tune into episodes while commuting or at work, making podcasts particularly popular among younger audiences; according to an infinite dial report, Gen Z podcast listeners were over twice as likely to tune in than other demographics.
Podcasts provide marketers with a highly targeted, engaging format to connect with consumers in an unparalleled manner. According to eMarketer’s research, brand ads on podcasts increase purchase intent by almost 50 percent compared with brand ads elsewhere, especially within news/politics/culture/society, sports/comedy genres, and comedy. Podcast creators looking to monetize their content should take note; for example Patreon provides various chat rooms that help build communities between creators, and their fans/donors etc allowing creators and supporters/donors/donors/etc allowing creators/creators/creators to create communities among them that boost brand ads/ads increased purchase intent by nearly 50%!
What Drives the Podcast Community?
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