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Reporting strong results across the board in its latest quarterly earnings release, the music streaming giant Spotify gave a special mention to an entertainment trend which has really taken off recently. In a letter to shareholders it wrote: “We have seen early indications that our investments in podcasts are having a positive impact on conversion of free to paid users”. Spotify isn’t the only company to see the benefits of the medium, either.
As the latest data from Podtrac shows, publishers are pulling in huge audiences from around the globe with their podcast content. In January alone, NPR had 185 million unique downloads and streams, while iHeartRadio hit 177.7 million.
The format’s rise in popularity coincides with a general increase in digital media consumption, specifically on mobile devices, but it was also helped by the fact that the selection of quality podcasts seems virtually limitless these days. Covering anything from politics and sports to pop culture and investigative journalism, both major media organizations and independent producers are embracing podcasts as a way to reach an engaged audience with long-form content.
FIPP has launched a podcast called FIPP Insider, containing news, insights, and opinions from around the media world. Click here to listen.
