Greetings PM family,
Last week Edison Research & Triton Digital released their annual Infinite Dial report. If you’re unfamiliar with the report, it’s basically the State of the Union for the podcast industry. All kinds of positive news came out of the study, which you can check out the full 2018 Infinite Dial report here.
Podcast Movement was grateful to welcome Edison Research as a part of our opening keynote session this past summer in Anaheim, and we are proud to announce that Edison has agreed to take part once again this year at PM18 in Philadelphia!
We asked Tom Webster (Senior Vice President of Research) if he would be willing to share a few thoughts about the Infinite Dial report released this past week:
By now, many of you have seen the latest Podcast data from the Infinite Dial 2018. We’ve been diligently tracking podcast consumption, and giving that data for free to the podcast community, for over a dozen years now—a period marked by steady, linear growth. We know that there are plenty of stats out there about the podcasting space, but the one thing I can assure you about The Infinite Dial—there are zero compromises in this series, from how we meticulously weight the results by census data to the (ever-growing!) percentage of our sample who are mobile phone-only. We know how many of you rely on these numbers for your media kits and business plans, and we are maybe a little insane relentless about data quality.
The news for the medium this year is good: monthly podcast consumption (the number I pay most attention to) rose from 24% of Americans 12+ to 26%, while the number who say they have ever listened to a podcast grew by 10% (from 40% to 44%.) That’s the good news. And here’s the great news: the average number of podcasts the weekly podcast consumer listens to grew to seven, after being stuck at five for a couple of years.
So, as I put it in the Infinite Dial webinar, both the numerator and the denominator for podcasting have grown, which is resulting in a lot more podcasts being listened to than the prior year. But still, some nagging questions remain. Why is there such a gap between monthly listeners (26%) and those who have ever listened (44%)? Why is there an even greater gap between monthly listeners and those who are at least familiar with the term “podcasting” (64%)? These are crucial questions for this industry to consider, as we all want to grow audience, revenue, and/or both.
We’ve learned some of those answers over the past year with work we have conducted for our private clients. And this July, we want to share a brand new study with you that we have designed specifically for Podcast Movement, to explore these issues definitively. We will once again be bringing you a research presentation that combines quantitative data with video ethnographic research from the keynote stage, and we think this year’s presentation will be essential viewing for anyone involved in podcasting.
And on a personal note, it has been my great privilege to have both served the podcasting community for so many years, and to be a podcaster myself! If you run into me at Podcast Movement, say hi! I’m taller in person than my avatar.
Thanks to Tom for contributing to this week’s newsletter. Give him a shoutout on Twitter, or remember to say hello this summer in Philadelphia!
Register for PM18 by midnight to save $$$
Speaking of Philadelphia,if you’re not already registered, we’ve got another price increase on the cost of registration tonight at midnight. Don’t miss the chance to join us this summer for the world’s largest gathering of podcasters, at the lowest possible price!
Things you should:
Want to see more of – Jennifer Dean, a 2014 University of Arkansas graduate, started a podcasting venture with girl students at Leander Middle School!
Celebrate – More Asian women are using podcasts as a way to speak their voice, their passion and be their true selves in the process. Sheena Yap Chan put together a fantastic list to shine the spotlight on podcasts hosted by Asian women.
Preserve – A trio of archivists and podcast fanatics have received a grant to help educate podcasters on how to preserve their work.
Learn from – New (and experienced) podcasters often get confused by the difference between dynamic and condenser microphones. Our friends at Samson have started a series to help you better understand.
Consider – Last week we announced the first annual PM Scholarship Program, and have had a great response! You have until April 15 to submit your application if you qualify.
Remember – Podcast Movement is hosting a community meetup in Las Vegas on Tuesday, April 10. Please make plans to join us if you are in the area!
Not Miss – Next week we will start making PM18 speaker announcements!
Are you enjoying 2018 so far? Would you be willing to share a recent win that your podcast has experienced? Please hit reply and tell us so we can celebrate with you and help spread the word!
Always grateful,
Team PM18
