September 24, 2023
Music IndustryPodcast

How Hot is Podcasting? Stupid Hot.

Podcasting used to be the domain of people working in their parents’ basement. Not anymore. Nieman Lab takes a look at how big podcasting has become.

When Jenna Weiss-Berman left her job as head of Buzzfeed Audio earlier this year, she hoped that she could attract a little startup capital for her new podcast startup. Indeed, she could: Within four weeks, no fewer than four venture capital firms began offering her and Pineapple Street Media cofounder Max Linsky funding.

How hot is podcasting? Stupid V.C. money hot.

Money is chasing money. Podcast advertising expanded at a 48 percent rate last year, and it’s forecast to grow about 25 percent a year through 2020. By that point, it would be approaching half a billion dollars in annual ad revenue. That growth is rising from a small base, yes, but it’s very reminiscent of the old Interactive Advertising Bureau charts of Internet advertising we saw at the turn-of-the-century: tiny numbers growing explosively.

We can mark 2016 as the year the podcast business came of age.

Keep reading.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 37097 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

5 thoughts on “How Hot is Podcasting? Stupid Hot.

  • Pingback: How Hot is Podcasting? Stupid Hot. – A Journal of Musical Things (blog) | Americas Top Ten Podcast

  • As an early 50’s white guy in the suburbs, other than “news/traffic only” radio when I’m driving in the city, I now listen to 95% podcasts, usually science, astronomy or sports based. There’s no repetitive commercials, perfect sound quality and specially tailored content that is just not available on commercial radio. My listening time has value and podcasts are now getting the vast majority of listening time.

    Reply
  • Not sure I’ve heard a single podcast from someone’s parents’ basement since the beginning.

    Definitely some amateurs, but damn, the ones that have stuck with it have seriously grown since their beginnings.

    Reply

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