Remember when podcasting became a billion dollar industry? So picturesque. Let’s get into it.
Podcasting will be a $4 billion industry in two years
These are the boom times of audio. Prior to Podcast Upfronts, the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers launched their joint annual report in the podcasting business, projecting the industry to generate $2 billion in revenue this year and $4 billion by 2024.
That growth isn’t just because the number of podcasts and the time people spend listening to them are increasing (although that doesn’t hurt). Much of it, according to IAB executives, also comes from advances in ad technology that allow advertisers to better target audiences and encourage them to spend more money.
The way ads are placed in podcasts has changed significantly in recent years. Dynamically placed ads accounted for less than half of the podcast ad market in 2019; last year, 84 percent of ads were dynamically inserted into podcasts. Additionally, advertisers traditionally placed ads based on the genre and content of podcasts, which casts a wide (and sometimes ineffective) net. Now, technology has improved to target listeners based on location, age, and gender, and there are better methods for advertisers to track whether their ads had any effect on listeners.
That change has had a number of effects. First, it encourages advertisers to spend more money if they get better results. Second, it allows podcasters to effectively monetize their back catalogs by allowing them to place new ads on old episodes. “The value is not just from the advertiser’s perspective; it’s also from the creator’s perspective,” said Eric John, vice president of the IAB Media Center.
While the idea that podcast ads will follow listeners more closely may make some people uncomfortable, that influx of ad money is also necessary for the industry to grow. Podcasts aren’t based on dreams, people!
Audacy sees 37 percent growth in podcasting business
The last of the three largest private radio companies to report first-quarter earnings, Audacy echoed a similar theme as iHeartMedia and Cumulus: Podcasts are a major growth area, especially as traditional broadcasting faces setbacks in the advertising market. Ad-driven streaming revenue grew 14 percent year over year, while podcasts far outpaced it with 37 percent growth.
Podcasting is still a relatively small portion of Audacy’s business model: Its streaming business is three times the size of its digital operation, and podcasts only make up part of that. But the company’s 2019 acquisition of Pineapple Street Studios and Cadence13 is paying off. It reported 32 million podcast listeners a month thanks to big hits like Cadence13. Fly on the wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade and the Pineapple Street/Wondery collaboration it will be wild.
Audacy CFO Richard Schmaeling cited the IAB/PwC study’s projection that the podcast industry will grow 47% next year as a positive sign for the company’s trajectory. If the stock market continues as it is, Audacy will need it. As B. Riley analyst Daniel Day said hot pod In the past weekNewer, cheaper industries like podcasts tend to do better in a downturn than legacy media sectors like TV and radio.
Futuro Media and PRX win Pulitzer for Affable
Affablea seven-part podcast produced by Maria Hinojosa’s Futuro Media and PRX that follows three decades in the life of a man sentenced to life in prison as a minor, edged out competitors from NPR and NBC News to take home the Pulitzer Prize in Audio Reporting. Hinojosa, longtime host of the public radio show united states latinfounded Futuro Media in 2010 and since then has produced podcasts such as the political program La Brega: Stories of the Puerto Rican Experience with WNYC and anything for selena with WBUR. This is the Future first Pulitzer.
“When I heard the news that ‘Suave’ won the Pulitzer Prize, I felt like a tectonic shift occurred,” Hinojosa said in a statement. “The ‘Suave’ podcast was always rudimentary from the beginning. Never in my life did I think we could win a Pulitzer. I think that’s the reason we won.”
PRX recently deepened their ties with Futuro, closing a distribution agreement in February for podcasts such as Radio Rebels Latinos and Hinojosa-helmed in the thick.
EXCLUSIVE: Patreon revamps the audio section of their app
The audio tab in the Patreon app is getting a filter. Designed to make it easier to sort and listen to podcasts in the app, the filter will allow users to select or remove unplayed, ongoing, downloaded or archived podcasts. The new feature was released to iOS users on Monday.
Even though tech giants like Spotify and Apple have allowed podcasters to offer subscriptions, early in the game Patreon still has a string of big hits like Maintenance Phase Y Chapo trap house. The company claims that podcasting has doubled on the platform in the last three years. “Podcasting continues to be one of the most popular verticals on Patreon,” says Sandeep Rajan, Senior Product Manager at Patreon, “and the revamped Audio tab is a direct response to our creators looking to provide users with a richer audio experience. improved”.
Moves: Edison Podcast Data Leads Tom Webster to Head to Sounds Profitable
Tom Webster, the researcher behind Edison the infinity dial Audio Industry Report, Addresses Bryan Barletta’s Podcasting Business Post, sounds profitable. He will join as a partner and continue to produce research on the industry. In addition, you will do consulting work for audio companies and turn their newsletter, i hear thingsin a monthly column.
Webster, who is leaving at the end of the month, has been with Edison Research since 2004. Compiling the infinity dial, began tracking podcast data starting in 2005 and, after a decade of baby steps, saw the industry explode in recent years. Still, she tells her, “it’s such an undermonetized space.” In sounds profitable, you will work on more specific reports about the business. First: a study looking at podcasters themselves.
That’s all for today! I’ll be back later this week with Podcast Upfronts coverage.