Podcast Analytical Celebration
An Edison Research and James Cridland double bill? For Podcast data geeks like myself, this is like Christmas and Birthdays together. I have James’ masterful ‘how to understand podcast stats’ as a bookmark for its clear-eyed, no BS guide into the labyrinth world of Podcast Analytics. And as I write this he’s presenting alongside the clever people at Edison with a jar of vegemite. I sit on 6pm Webinars so you don’t have to.
This was their latest podcast research measuring a US audience. As the world’s biggest podcast audience, and the audience that is driving the platform’s decisions - it’s important.
A few insights for you:
-
In Q4 2024, the service most Americans used to consume podcasts was YouTube - 31% YouTube, 27% Spotify, 14% Apple Podcasts. The big scary number for Spotify which is driving much of the rest of this newsletter.
-
Just ‘Watching’ podcasts is small. So 7% of All Weekly Listeners, out of 55% overall. So the vast majority are listening as their primary mode of consumption. But - it is driving the small growth in podcasts year on year- without it US Podcasting would be pretty level with 2024 (47% 2024, 48% 2025), and the 'watching' audience is more male and the rise is bigger (8%) in the 12-34 age-group.
-
In-Car Listening is growing swiftly in the US, 40% now listen to some kind of digital audio. Apple CarPlay is a big feature-ask for any new car-buyer. This is where a lot of the new platform growth is coming from. And the eyes will stay on the road while the ears will be entertained.
Depressingly, they also look at divisions between Democrats and Republicans, and they also drive a lot for a long time. Driving 3 hours to have lunch is a thing.
Gen-Z and Podcasts (or Spotify vs YouTube Part 1)
Back when I heard about Gen-Z first, in the heady days of 2010, I assumed they’d be like robot people - plugged in to their devices 247, walking along the street watching an influencer micro-video-blogs on some robo-goggles whilst expertly weaving through the crowds in a mega-city. Now I actually live with one (my 16 year old son), I realise they’re much more into craft and real stuff then I could have ever imagined. He has 10 vinyl LP’s and no record player. I sat with him for two hours and watched Mulholland Drive on actual film in an actual packed cinema on Sunday night. It was beautiful and authentic and real. You could see the scratches on the film, you could hear the actual projector clicking. And the crowd? Gen-Z.
This analogy stuck with me when I saw Transistor’s research on Gen-Z’s consumption of podcasts. 56% prefer Spotify, 21% prefer YouTube, and 10% prefer Apple Podcasts. Of that Spotify audience a whopping 88% listen to audio only, and 12% prefer a mix of video and audio. The lazy insight in the industry is that YouTube is winning the podcast game, all the kids are watching podcasts now (or interview shows with big microphones in) and billions of minutes of time are being spent. Yes, YouTube is an amazing platform, and increasingly is TV, but I wonder how much of those billions are open tabs playing while the listener looks at his letterboxd account, rather than the video. How this shakes out will be fascinating.
Alternatively, ‘RSS audio platform’s research reveals that audiences love audio’ should also be taken with a modicum of salt and a healthy dose of cynicism.
Spotify vs YouTube part II
The logo of Spotify is lovely. A big green round badge with a cool little sound-wave playing to the top right hand corner. It’s pure sound. When I first worked with Spotify in 2012, their laser-focus on audio was a defining strength. A music library in your pocket. Unlike the multi-faceted Apple, audio was Spotify - and Spotify was never satisfied.
So now, when my favourite podcast defaults to video, and tries to download a big video file rather than an audio file, and I find myself watching essentially a zoom call, squinting my eyes to look at Rory Stewart’s kettle - is that a good thing or a bad thing?
And I get it. YouTube shouts loudly with big red trousers. It casually places a podcast tab on its TV home-screen. Those lucrative video CPM’s are hard to ignore. To be able to choose to watch a video podcast as a Spotify Premium member, without ads, is nice.
But it is undeniably messy. Podcasters have relied on audio ad and host-read revenue to keep going and make their time worthwhile. Swapping over half of your downloads (and audio ad money) to embrace video and unknowable subscriber revenue is risky. To watch a video ‘host-read’ of a host reading a script into a laptop isn’t premium.
For podcasters, whether brands or creators, it underlines a few home truths: 1.) Don’t rely on a single platform, because the platforms will always win, as Californian product managers can cut your revenue to a small fraction with the press of a button 2.) It makes owning your own revenue streams - through membership, events, social content, merch, and the valuable love of your fans even more important 3.) Podcasting is still young - nobody’s perfect, no platform is perfect - we all need to dive in and be ready to adapt, episode by episode. We’ll be watching closely - and we’ll be advising each of our clients to be where their audience are, giving them value in return for their ears and eyeballs, and where possible, creating an always-on multiplatform franchise. If that’s what you want.
|