40 Memorable Podcast Statistics

By DarkoMarch 12, 2020Blog

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]People around the world have embraced the return of the radio shows in the form of podcasts. This type of series or individual shows can be found across numerous podcasting platforms or applications, such as Google, Spotify, or Apple.

What’s more:

They can be downloaded or streamed online, and the number of creators and listeners is increasing every year.

So, we’ve decided to present you with the hottest and most interesting podcast statistics available at the moment. Go ahead and check them out.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Amazing Podcast Facts and Stats (Editor’s Picks)
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51% of Americans have listened to at least one podcast.
56% of podcast listeners are male.
There are more than 800,000 podcasts across all platforms
43% of people who love podcasts are using Spotify.
The top 25 most downloaded podcasts in 2018 are published by Apple.
51% of monthly podcast consumers are employed full-time.
70% of people are not doing anything else while enjoying podcasts.
141 podcast downloads per month is an average.

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1. 51% of US citizens have listened to at least one podcast.

Source: DiscoverPods

As we pointed out earlier, the podcast is a format that is gaining popularity among the population. Every other American has already listened to at least one podcast.

2. People listen to half of all podcasts (49%) at home.

Source: Cision

If we take a deeper look at podcast listenership and habits, we can conclude that almost half of all podcast listening is done from home. This means that people like to dedicate their time to their favorite show and listen to it without any distractions.

3. 22% of podcast listening is done during the commute to work.

Source: Cision

Another popular place for enjoying your favorite podcast is while you’re driving your car or using another type of transportation. While going through available podcast stats, we can see that just over one-fifth of all podcast listening is done during the commute, which means that people like to keep themselves occupied while traveling.

4. 56% of podcast listeners are male.

Source: BuzzSprout

Men are more likely to listen to podcasts than women. If we take a look at listening statistics, we can see that over half of all listeners are male. The slight lead in favor of men in podcast demographics can be explained by a great volume of podcasts that are dedicated to sports, a topic that men are more interested in.

5. 19% of people increase podcast listening speed.

Source: Musicoomph

Almost every fifth podcast user is choosing to play their podcast at a higher speed. This might be one of the most interesting statistics about podcasting. It tells us that some of the most dedicated podcast listeners want to hear as much as they can for less time. That’s the reason why they are speeding up their favorite shows.

6. 62 million American citizens listen to podcasts every day of the week.

Source: Edison Research

Needless to say, podcast culture is going mainstream. The variety of shows created daily is so wide that the majority of people enjoy podcasts on a regular basis. While looking at podcast download statistics, we can see that more than close to one in five Americans are very interested in the podcast industry and are listening to podcasts during the whole week.

7. There are more than 800,000 podcasts across all platforms.

Source: DiscoverPods

If the number of podcast listeners is increasing every year, there should be a lot of podcast creators as well, right? So, how many podcasts are there?

As the latest surveys show, there are over 800,000 active podcasts available for download. Clearly, creators are not idle and are investing a lot of time in making plenty of content.

8. Spotify paid $340 million to acquire Gimlet Media and Anchor.

Source: Forbes

The podcast game is huge, and that’s why the biggest media players are investing a lot of money in the podcast publishers and podcast production software. If we look at available Spotify statistics, we can see that this company invested a large sum to acquire Gimlet Media and Achor. This move was very smart since they now hold second place among the most popular podcast platforms. Apple is still top.

9. 43% of people who love podcasts use Spotify.

Source: Edison Research

The biggest music streaming platform, Spotify, is fighting for the podcast industry as well. Among other Spotify user statistics, the one that says a lot about Spotify’s success when it comes to podcasts is surely the percentage of people using this platform to listen to podcasts. As it turns out, almost every second podcast lover uses Spotify.

10. Spotify has 207 million monthly users.

Source: Businessofapps

One of the biggest streaming platforms in the world, Spotify, is also a leader when it comes to the number of monthly users. Other available Spotify stats show the platform has a chance to provide a service for more than 200 million users monthly.

11. Spotify podcast listening in Germany grew by 150% in one year.

Source: Podnews

The dizzying growth of Spotify wasn’t limited to the United States. The company has become very popular in Europe as well. Unfortunately, we don’t have data for each country, but after looking at Spotify listening stats collected in Germany, we could see that podcast listening grew massively in a short period of time. All of this happened after Spotify acquired the aforementioned companies.

It is obvious that podcast growth is something global, and it’s yet to be seen how this culture will change the worldwide entertainment industry.

12. Spotify podcast grew by 367% worldwide.

Source: Podnews

The second-largest music streaming platform is taking over the world, thanks in large part to its podcasts. Thanks to Spotify podcast analytics, we can see that the global growth for the last year was a staggering 367%. The answer to the question of why are podcasts so popular, may be hidden behind their convenience. People can listen to a podcast while doing something else.

13. Apple is hosting over 700,000 podcasts on its platform.

Source: Musicoomph

The biggest podcasting platform in the world, currently, is Apple. This multinational tech giant is also leading in the field of music streaming, and it’s not a surprise that according to iTunes podcast analytics it currently hosts more than 700,000 podcasts. This means that if you can’t find your favorite podcast on this platform, you won’t be able to find it anywhere.

14. 52% of podcast lovers listen to podcasts on Apple Podcasts.

Source: Discoverpods

Even though the podcast market is fairly young, all the biggest companies have already entered this area and are dominating it. According to Apple podcast analytics, 52% of all podcast listeners are using their platform for podcast research. It looks like only two companies are taking over the podcast industry. If we add Apple’s 52% to Spotify’s 43%, we can conclude that there’s basically no space for other platforms interested in podcast hosting.

15. 54% of people who listen to podcasts on a smartphone are on iOS.

Source: Musicoomph

It should come as no surprise that people prefer to listen to podcasts on their smartphones. If you do it this way, you can do stuff around the house, walk, run, ride a bike, shop, or engage in any other activity where your hearing isn’t needed. While going through recent iTunes podcast stats, we found out that 54% of people who like listening to podcasts via their smartphones are using the iOS ecosystem, which means they use Apple’s smartphones. All of this helps explain why Apple is a leading podcast platform.

16. The top 25 most downloaded podcasts in 2018 are published by Apple.

Source: RAIN News

Thanks to its popularity and the ability to recognize the hottest trends, Apple is not only the biggest podcast host, but also the most popular publisher. During 2018, according to Apple podcast stats, it managed to publish the top 25 most downloaded podcasts. This means that everything hot and trendy is on Apple’s podcast platform.

17. Each episode of Washington Post’s “Pardon My Take” earns $50,000.

Source: Discoverpods

Now that we’re familiar with the data about the biggest podcast platforms, it is time to learn something about the possibilities of income while producing these radio shows. One of the most popular Washington Post podcasts, “Pardon My Take”, earns approximately $50,000 per episode. This means that for a couple of hours of recorded material, some podcasters can create a very comfortable lifestyle. Of course, this isn’t easy since it takes time, expertise, and good connections with advertisers who are ready to invest in your show.

18. $479 million was the revenue earned thanks to podcast advertising in 2018.

Source: Forbes

People who are new to podcasting will ask themselves:

“How can I earn money while recording podcasts?”

The answer is simple:

“You’ll need to advertise some products and services.”

During 2018, podcast revenue earned thanks to advertising increased by 53% compared to 2017 and stopped at approximately $479 million. It is projected that this trend will continue in the next couple of years and hit a mind-blowing $1 billion by 2021. It is obvious that the popularity of podcasts goes in hand with advertising possibilities, so make sure to find businesses you can talk about in your shows.

19. There were 10% more young podcast listeners in 2019 compared to 2018.

Source: New York Times

It is easy to answer the question:

Who listens to podcasts?.

Well, everybody. According to the latest podcast statistics, young people between the ages of 12 and 24 are getting really interested in this type of entertainment. More precisely, there were one-tenth more young listeners in 2019 than during the previous year. This means that not only are there more podcasts and advertisers, but there is also an increasing number of people who like podcasts.

20. 70% of Americans are familiar with podcasts.

Source: Edison Research

After looking at the latest podcast listener survey, widely recognized as The Podcast Consumer, conducted by Edison Research, we can say with certainty about two-thirds of Americans older than 12 have heard about podcasting. More precisely, there are 197 million Americans who are 12 or more, and 70% of them are familiar with podcasting. This number is increasing year-by-year, and that’s the best proof podcasts are taking mainstream.

21. 17% of all podcast listeners are older than 55.

Source: Edison Research

People of all ages like podcasts, the latest podcast audience statistics reveal. During 2017, only 12% of people older than 55 stated that they’ve been listening at least one podcast in the last month. The data gathered in 2018 showed 13%, which went up to 17% in 2019. This trend is set to continue in the years to come.

22. 66% of all monthly podcast listeners in the US are white.

Source: Edison Research

It looks like the podcasts are most popular among the Caucasian population. While learning about podcast listener demographics, we’ve found out that two-thirds of all monthly podcast listeners are White. African-Americans make up 11%, Hispanic 9%, and Asian-Americans at 4%.

23. 41% of podcast lovers live in households with an income of over $75,000.

Source: Edison Research

When it comes to annual household income, we can see, the latest demographics of podcast listeners show that four in ten podcast fans who listen to shows every month live in wealthy households.

What’s more:

12% of them are between $75K and $100K, 17% between $100K and $150K, and 12% earn more than $150K. So, we can conclude that podcasts are the entertainment of choice for the middle and upper classes.

24. 25% of monthly podcast consumers have college degrees.

Source: Edison Research

Other interesting podcast listener statistics reveal that one-quarter of people who listen to podcasts monthly are college graduates. Another 28% have some grad school or advanced degree, 27% some college, and 20% have finished high school or less. This data shows that the distribution of education among podcast lovers is pretty equal and that people of any education will put their headsets and enjoy a show.

25. 51% of monthly podcast consumers are employed full-time.

Source: Edison Research

Gathered podcast listener numbers show that every second podcast fan has a full-time job. These people listen to the most popular podcasts every month, usually in their cars, while walking, or doing house chores. 17% of podcast consumers are employed part-time, 8% temporarily unemployed, 8% retired, 10% are students, and 3% homemakers.

26. 22% of US podcast listeners tune in every week.

Source: Edison Research

Every fifth podcast consumer in the US listened to their favorite shows every week in 2019, according to the latest podcasting statistics. The year before (2018), the number of people listening every week was 17%, and in 2017 it stood at 15%. If we add 2013, when only 7% of people listened to podcasts regularly, we can say again that podcasts have really taken off.

27. 21% of podcast listeners listen to four or five podcasts every week.

Source: Edison Research

Those who love podcasts obviously love them a lot since one in five people are listening four or five shows a week, according to available podcast facts we managed to gather. There are those even more obsessed with podcasts (17%), who listen to six to ten shows every week.

And that’s not all:

Believe it or not, there are 11% who will listen to 11 or more shows weekly. When it comes to moderate podcast lovers, we have 17% who listen to three, 15% who listen to two, and 16% enjoying only one podcast per week.

28. 65% of people use smartphones or tablets to enjoy podcasts.

Source: Edison Research

There are a lot of interesting statistics on podcast consumers, and one of them is that people mainly use their smart devices, such as phones and tablets, to listen to their favorite shows. Additionally, some 25% will use a Computer or Laptop, and only 10% use Smart speakers. The last percentage will probably increase in the future since this type of device is fairly new on the market.

29. 12% of weekly podcast consumers have been enjoying podcasts for 5+ years.

Source: Edison Research

Podcast listening culture is fairly new, and that’s the reason for the following statistics about podcasts consumers. 15% of listeners have been tuning in for 3 to 5 years, and 30% have been enjoying podcasts between 1 and 3 years.

On the other hand:

There are a lot of people who have just discovered this way of entertainment. 21% have been listening to podcasts between six months and a year, and 22% just recently got on board and have been listening for less than half a year.

30. 73% of people find podcasts by searching the internet.

Source: Edison Research

Podcast analytics suggest people prefer to look for podcasts by themselves. They know where to find podcasts they like, and nearly three-quarters are using an internet search to do so. Another way of finding podcasts is via social media (67%), and 66% take recommendations from their friends and family. In the end, another great way to find out for new shows is to get recommendations from other audio program hosts. 62% of podcast consumers are doing it this way.

31. 70% of people are not doing anything else while enjoying podcasts.

Source: Edison Research

While there are people who like to run, drive, or do chores while listening, some podcast statistics show that seven in ten, prefer to focus on the content, listen to the show, and do nothing else. It looks like most podcasts require more focus and concentration, so people like to get isolated and just listen.

32. 39% percent of people said their favorite topic is music.

Source: Edison Research

Most podcast lovers listen to various topics, but after looking at podcast subscriber numbers, we were able to conclude that about four out of ten favor music topics. Additionally, 36% of survey respondents said they also like podcasts that provide them with news, 32% are listening to podcasts about celebrities and entertainment, and 31% love history podcasts. The other 31% said that sport is their favorite topic, and 30% love to listen to shows about food.

33. 47% of people listen to a podcast within 24 hours of downloading it.

Source: Edison Research

Most people listened to a podcast within 24 hours after downloading it. This means that those who are into these audio shows can’t wait for the new episode and are a very dedicated audience. That’s great since just a couple of years ago, radio was proclaimed dead. But it’s now coming back, and it looks like it is here to stay. It can’t hurt to know that the other 31% of people listen to their shows within 48 hours of downloading them.

34. 58% of people listen to the whole episode once they’ve downloaded it.

Source: Edison Research

Not that people quickly listen to new episodes, it looks like most listened to whole podcasts once they’ve downloaded them. Namely, 58% of people typically listen to 76% to 100% of new episodes of their favorite podcasts. There are 20% of consumers who usually listen to between 51% and 75%, 15% that get enough after 26% to 50%, and only 7% who listen between 1% and 25% of the downloaded episode.

35. The average podcast episode length is approximately 43 minutes.

Source: Cision

When it comes to podcast length statistics, it is good to know that the average podcast length is somewhere around 43 minutes. This means that the most interesting podcasts are longer than 30 minutes and shorter than one hour. This is enough time for hosts to tell a story, interview a guest, and take care of the advertisement. That’s also enough time to take care of some house chores, drive to the office, or exercise. Once we know that, it becomes obvious why this average podcast length works best both for hosts and podcast consumers.

36. 141 podcast downloads per month is the average.

Source: Income School

Every aspiring podcaster has many questions about this business.

And one of them is:

“How many downloads do I need to be successful?”

Luckily, there are plenty of podcast metrics that can show what is the number of downloads they’re fighting for. Look no more, fresh podcaster:

37. Podcast episode needs around 50,000 downloads to be very successful.

Source: Income School

The success of any podcast is measured for 30 days. The most downloaded podcasts reach around 50,000 hits for one month. Podcast hosts who manage these numbers will be known as the most popular podcast. On the other hand, in order to place in the top 5%, you’ll need around 9,000 downloads and 3,400 downloads to be among the top 10%.

38. Release the podcast on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.

Source: Medium

Another question that comes up when you are thinking about starting this business is:

“What is the best day to release a podcast?”

The answer is pretty simple:

“Do it during the middle of the week.” This means that you’ll need to work on production and editing during the weekend in order to get ready for release on the abovementioned days.

39. Ad revenue growth was 1,000% in the period between 2015 and 2018.

Source: Musicoomph

The podcast growth statistics can be presented by using a number of consumers, a number of podcasts, or a number of downloads. We’ve already shared these above, and it is a good time to see how this industry is growing moneywise. Podcasts are usually being monetized thanks to in-show advertising, and overall ad revenue skyrocketed over the last few years.

40. Podcast Ad revenue is projected to be $659 million by the end of 2020.

Source: Musicoomph

While talking about podcast popularity statistics, we should mention that podcast ad revenue went from “only” $69 million in 2015 to $119 million in 2016, to $314 million in 2017, to $402 million in 2018, to $514 million in 2019. And it’s going to hit a record of $659 million by the end of 2020, according to latest the projections. It is yet to be seen where will this trend hit its peak.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”FAQ” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]

Q: How many podcasts are there in 2019?

A: There are more than 2 million podcasts registered by their company. Of course, not all of them are active. By the latest measurements, there were approximately 800,000 active podcasts in 2019. This means that almost two-thirds of all registered podcasts don’t make it.

Q: How do you find out how many listeners a podcast has?

A: It can be fairly difficult, but there are ways. One of the ways to find this out is to check the number of “Play” hits on the most subscribed podcasts. Of course, this will give you the answer about the most successful podcasts, so go ahead and look them up. Another logical move is to simply look at the number of subscribers and try to come up with an estimate on how many of those people actively listen to every or most of the episodes.

Q: How many downloads is a successful podcast?

A: When it comes to podcast download numbers, we can say that every podcast that has around 50,000 downloads per month is one of the most successful ones. Every podcast with between 3,000 and 9,000 monthly downloads is considered highly successful. In the end, in order to be motivated and strive toward success, you’ll need around 150 downloads during the first month.

Q: Do podcasters make money?

A: By analyzing the most popular podcast platforms, Ad revenue growth over the years, and listening to a number of the most popular podcasts, we can say that yes, podcasters make money, And some of them earn a lot. For example, Joe Rogan makes around $30,000 per episode, and he’s creating up to five episodes every week. Keep in mind that his show is one of the most successful ones, and it’s a long way to get close to this kind of earnings. Some estimates say that every 1000 listeners will earn you between $25 and $40.

Q: How much money do podcasters make?

A: Global podcast statistics suggest podcasters can and are earning money for their effort, but it is hard to say with certainty how much they really earn per episode, monthly or annually. The reason for this is that podcasts can earn from different income sources. Podcasters usually have in-show advertisements and Patreon accounts, or they use their publicity to land another job. Thanks to all these variables, it is hard to say how much they really earn. It looks like that’s highly individual, and there no simple answer.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Conclusion” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Podcasts are mainstream and are here to stay. After analyzing all available podcast statistics, we can say with certainty that people love podcasts, that podcasters love to make new episodes, and that big companies love to get advertised during these shows.

Bottom line:

When we look at all of this, we can conclude that the golden days of podcasting are upon us. It is hard to say when this format’s peak is going to happen. So, put your headphones on, tune in, and relax. We’ll see you next time.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Sources:” font_container=”tag:p|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]

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