In recent years podcasts have come to the forefront as a new form of audio media. As their popularity continues to grow around the world, artists have begun to worry that this new style of listening will eventually overshadow music. This concern has only been exacerbated by the fact that podcasts are now bringing more new subscribers to streaming platforms than music. The good news for independent artists is that such fear may not be entirely founded – let’s look at what we know.
A New Form of Entertainment
While podcast popularity continues to grow and music streaming plateaus, these two forms of media occupy different listening windows and fill different entertainment niches. Studies have shown that people typically listen to podcasts during their commute or while doing a simple activity that allows for them to focus on the podcast content. Meanwhile, music is most often listened to in the afternoon, evening, and on weekends during less “productive” periods. Today’s trends in the popularity of music versus podcasts is likely due to podcasts being a new, exciting form of entertainment that will likely reach a critical mass of listeners in the next few years and then plateau just as music has. Neither are going anywhere, and neither can replace the other.
Information Accessibility
Podcasts have managed to do something powerfully unique within their particular niche. Covering an incredible array of topics in numerous genres, they have democratized knowledge and education that used to be difficult to access. Many subjects were previously available only through college courses, specialized workshops, or specific books – assuming one knew what to look for. Now, anyone with an audio streaming app can tap into the knowledge of experts in hundreds of topics.
This new form of accessible learning isn’t completely cut off from music. There are hundreds of podcasts on music ranging from industry insights to music education and more. With 383.7 million global podcast listeners, this new audio media is here to stay, but it’s not likely to take over the music industry by any means. Currently, podcast popularity is growing fastest in Chile, Argentina, Peru, Mexico, and China. This is great news for artists in Central and South America who want to dabble in the music side of podcasts.
A New Industry
With over 100 million active listeners in the U.S. alone and the budding industry likely to be worth $4 billion in 2024, it’s understandable that many artists have grown to dislike the presence of podcasts on audio streaming platforms. But considering that the two serve separate purposes and occupy different listening windows, there isn’t much to worry about. If anything, some podcasts may expose listeners to indie artists they hadn’t heard of before. Podcasts are simply a new form of entertainment, not a replacement for music.