Podcasts are now firmly established as a media source, income generator and a way to promote a business brand. Podcasts may be evolving, but they are here to stay.
Here are some of the changes you can expect in 2023 and beyond.
1. Advertising Spending is on the increase
Podcasts allow businesses to reach defined audiences with a greater degree of certainty and therefore a higher proportion of marketing budgets are being aimed towards podcast advertising. Many podcast platforms now offer dynamic ad insertion to enable companies to target defined demographics.
A whopping 86% of listeners say that they remember adverts that they have heard on podcasts more than adverts exposed to elsewhere. In addition, 69% of all listeners have responded to adverts they have heard on podcasts.
The podcast medium has given publishers more variety in how they communicate their promotions, from traditional adverts of varying lengths, sponsored social media posts and presenter mentions (on screen or audio only).
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PwC’s 2021 U.S. Podcast Advertising Revenue Study both suggest that the next two years will see a significant rise in US podcast ad revenue growth. In 2021, U.S. podcast advertising revenues rose to $1.4 billion (72% annual increase), and they forecast the figure will exceed $2 billion in 2022 and surpass $4 billion by 2024. The IAB study showed that pre-roll advertising had increased its share of revenue from 22% to 32% in 2020.
2. Large mainstream podcasts and the smaller niche podcasts are growing
Podcaster Joe Rogan signed a record $100 Million deal with Spotify in 2020 to exclusively host his Joe Rogan Experience podcast for three years on their network.
The first episode of the Joe Rogan Experience was published on Christmas Eve 2009 and is the world’s most popular podcast with approximately 11 million episodes per episode.
While that is the largest sum ever paid to a podcaster, and everyone else can only dream of Rogan’s listenership, there is money to be made by smaller podcasts too.
The mass availability of podcast production tools and platforms has meant a continued rise of independent and more niche podcasts that have found their market and created a relationship with the listeners.
3. The growth in Corporate Podcasting
Podcasting is now widely identified as a marketing tool and can encourage greater brand awareness and engagement with customers. Over the last decade has often been regarded as a tick box to show a wide-ranging digital marketing portfolio, but increasingly it is now considered a means to show off and underline a business’s credentials as an industry leader and showcase the value of the products on sale.
4. AI a key part of the podcasting future
The artificial intelligence market is expected to grow by $13 billion during 2022-2026, with the audio and speech recognition market a key area.
Natural Language Understanding can generate detailed transcripts of audio recordings, speech recognition and content editing, which enabled powerful search and analysis of audio content.
This will see producers and marketers able to create content increasingly quickly and accurately.
5. Changes in listeners' behaviour
Podcast listeners are wanting more from audio and are now prepared to invest in their podcast experience. Podcasts are primarily listened to for entertainment, education and increasingly for latest news, topics of interest, or as a form of escapism from busy lives.
Over 38% listen to podcasts to improve their mood, over 22% use podcasts as an alternative to music, while 25% fill their spare time with podcasts.
6. FOMO driving rise in subscription-based services
A fear of missing out drives many listeners to devour the trendiest shows and consequently subscription-based services are gaining ground. Subscription-based models give users exclusive content and are expected to increase their market share to $275 billion globally by the end of 2023.
With podcast subscriptions on the rise and showing no sign of slowing, it's a fantastic time to get podcasting and Yorkshire Podcast Studios can get you up and running.
Yorkshire Podcast Studios is just off the M62 in West Yorkshire, close to the Leeds IKEA at Birstall and within easy reach of central Leeds, Huddersfield, Bradford, Wakefield and Batley.
If you are looking for high-quality studios in which you can record podcasts, livestream broadcasts and get your audio or video to the audience you want in the most effective way possible, get in touch with us here at Yorkshire Podcast Studios.
We look forward to seeing you (for a brew and a chat) at Yorkshire Podcast Studios soon.
Give us a call 0113 479 0774
email: info@yorkshirepodcaststudios.com