Report Reveals Podcasting is Not As Easier to Do as It Used to Be

A recent report by WSJ shows that podcasting is getting tougher for those who do not have a large following. The data from WSJ shows that the top 100 podcast shows reach only 60% of US audience while top 25 podcast shows reach half of regular podcast listeners in the USA. Podcasts started getting popular in the early 2000s and Apple made them mainstream after supporting them on iTunes and then synching them with iPod.

Anyone with a microphone and a good story to tell can start a podcast but there's no guarantee if it can reach a large audience. Nowadays only the podcasters who have a large following can earn most of the cash and audience because the brands only reach out to them. According to Podcast Industry Insights, there are about 450,000 active podcast shows but only the top 25 of them are able to reach half of US weekly listeners.

Many top podcasters like Alex Cooper, Trevor Noah and Joe Rogan have millions dollar deals with their respective platforms and even have their own tours and merchandise. Right now, Spotify is on the top podcasting list and earns a great revenue from it. Amazon’s Wondery podcast is also doing good and making big deals.

The podcast named Archetypes with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was a flop and cost Spotify $20 million. The launch of Apple’s iOS 17 was also to be blamed for reduced listeners of podcasts. With the iOS 17 update, podcasts do not download a new episode automatically and this way listeners miss the new episode. One company says that with this new update, they lost $9 million.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World