What’s been happening in the podcasting space throughout 2021? To sum it up… a lot. We wanted to break down important podcast statistics that all marketers should know. These stats are crucial for brands to start understanding the power of audio, so if you’re representing a brand and thinking about starting a podcast - this is for you! 

Growth 

1. In the US, podcast familiarity has risen to 78% of the total population, up 3% from 2020. 

2. In the US, podcast listening has risen to 57% of the total population, up 2% from 2020. 

3. Monthly podcast consumers grew by 16% year-over-year, cresting 100 million Americans for the first time. 

4. Weekly podcast listening has risen to 28%, up 4% from 2020. 

5. There are over 2 million valid podcasts on Apple Podcasts. 

6. Spotify has spent over $800 million on podcast related acquisitions.

Demographics

7. In 2021, men listening to podcasts has risen to 48% while women listening to podcasts has risen 49%. 

8. The most popular age group for podcast listening is 12-34. 

9. 66% of podcast listeners have a bachelor’s or higher degree.  

Listening

10. The average time spent listening to podcasts is 6 hours and 39 minutes. 

11. Weekly podcast listeners average at listening to about 6 podcasts per week. 

12. Youtube listening is down to 9% in the US, was sitting at 11% in 2018. 

13. News, comedy, and education are the most popular podcasting genres.

14. 52% of podcast listeners are listening for primary content while 48% are listening for background noise.

15. 56% of podcast listeners prefer to listen to podcasts on the same platform that they listen to music.

16. 77% of podcast listeners agree that the "host personality" is important when deciding what podcasts to listen to.

Podcast Advertising 

17. Ad revenue will increase by 14.7% in 2020 despite COVID-19. Prior to COVID-19, it was predicted that podcast ad revenue would grow by 29.6% in 2020.  

18. DTC brands (22%) and financial services (16%) make up top podcast advertisers. 

19. 87% of podcast listeners pay attention to podcast ads

20. 54% are more likely to consider the brand advertised (only 7% are less likely)

21. 72% of people who have listened to a podcast for four or more years have made a purchase

22. 60% of podcast listeners have bought something from a podcast ad.

23. 66% of podcast listeners are more likely to llisten to a podcast if it is recommended or promoted by a podcast that they already listen to.

Sources 

1. IAB
2. Edison Research
3. The Infinite Dial
4. Midroll
5. Statista
6. My Podcast Reviews
7. Billboard‍