This mid-year report is part of VOXNEST's main program for 2020, and its content is very different from what was imagined at the beginning of the year. The State of the Podcast Universe report is usually published once at the end of the year, but this year, because of rapid and unpredictable developments, a report was published in the middle of the year. This report has addressed the business, advertising, listeners and content of podcasts. It also examines the impact of COVID-19 on the world of podcasts. In the midst of the challenge of the modern world, namely coronavirus, interesting things have also happened in the world of podcasts, which we will get to know below.
The rise of podcast publishers
In the past, the only podcast publishers were small self-run publishers or large podcasting networks. At present we are witnessing the emergence of a large number of publishers who fall between these two groups. While the industry's large companies are constantly attracting listeners and visits, a third layer between personal podcast-makers and large companies is finding its place in this industry. RAIN News describes the third category as follows: "energetic initiatives... between 3 and 20 shows"
A VOXNEST spokesperson also added that one of the clear reasons for the rise of podcast publishers is the products that podcast technology and service companies have produced to meet their customers' needs. The publisher program the spokesperson referred to was introduced this year to be an easy way to meet the needs of podcast-makers who needed support beyond a self-run publisher but not at the level of a fully customized network. One of the core elements of serving podcast publishers is that they make sure this network does not limit the number of downloads, makes collaboration easy, and has a campaign manager that makes monetization easy.
People of the world beware, Spotify means business
It is clear to everyone that Spotify(Spotify) is trying to pull Apple down from the throne of power in the world of podcasts. The power war of these two platforms has reached interesting points since 2019. This tug-of-war has become a contest of victors who expand their territory every month.
Where will the war between Spotify and Apple end up?
How was Spotify's success achieved?
In short, they have made very large and risky investments with the aim of establishing dominance in the world of podcasts. So far in 2020, they have produced 78 self-made or exclusive podcasts, absorbed The Ringer and obtained exclusivity over Joe Rogan's experience (The Joe Rogan Experience), the latter probably the most popular podcast on the planet. These large bets have apparently paid off. Amid this global outbreak, Spotify achieved unexpected growth in the first quarter of this year, and its listeners, with a striking increase in April, rose from 16 percent to 19 percent.
By contrast, Apple's focus and investment appear to be elsewhere. While we constantly saw improvements, changes and their focus on podcasts in 2019, from the beginning of this year it appears they have put the bulk of their focus on planning +Apple TV. While at first this shift in focus seemed temporary, our question is whether they have permanently left podcasts on the sidelines and surrendered to Spotify (and the power of Android). Apple is the first platform to reach the record of one million available podcasts, although Spotify joined Apple only ten days later!
Apple is the first platform to reach the record of one million available podcasts, although Spotify joined Apple only ten days later!
Advertising in the world of podcasts
Getting advertising accepted by listeners who from the start of podcast publishing have been used to it being ad-free is a very difficult task. Even so, this is a fight worth having. A large podcast audience means abundant profit. In traditional advertising, the ad never reaches all customers. But with in-podcast advertising, this group of customers can be reached. PodcastOne and Edison Research call this group podcast "super-listeners". 44 percent of listeners say they pay more attention to in-podcast ads than to other types of advertising. 37 percent of them also believe that podcasts are the best way for brands to reach customers. According to information obtained from VOXNEST, since January, programmed advertising at this company has increased by more than 65 percent. For example, Xaxis, which is a media company, is seeing greater listener impact this year with in-podcast advertising and is thinking of larger goals.
Follow the rest of the world of podcasts in later parts with Namafar . You can also see figures in the field of music and podcasts from here.
Note:
- This report was compiled under the title "The State of Podcast Universe" by VOXNEST, which Namafar translated into Persian and published in Aban (October–November) 1399 (2020/21).
Machine-translated from Persian by Namafar; the Persian original is authoritative. Read the original in Persian