Spoken-word audio, once dominated almost entirely by AM/FM radio, has grown and diversified. Over the past decade, once upstart podcasts and audiobooks have now fully developed within and beyond their own industries. Now, the Variety Intelligence Platform special report “Talking Audio” examines the wider scope of those opportunities for media owners and creators.
In this report, you’ll find detailed analysis of consumer listening behavior and content interests in podcasts and audiobooks, audience and advertising growth and how the industry has created new value through crossover possibilities in TV, film, music and more.
Industry investment around spoken-word audio may be tightening compared with past years of unbridled optimism and influxes of cash, but listening isn’t likely to dwindle — and the industry-spanning value these formats bring to IP remain emerging trends.
Since 2014, spoken-word audio has grown from 20% to 29% of the time Americans spend listening to audio content, including music. Usage gains from podcasts and audiobooks have accounted for much of that added share. With the rise of podcasts, audiences have become bigger, younger and more digitally connected, and the advertising dollars have followed.
Tech and media companies took notice. Led by Spotify’s example in 2019, tech companies invested aggressively by buying up major podcast studios, paying massive sums on exclusive talent deals for shows and adding podcasts and audiobooks to streaming services.
Podcasting now faces a more challenging environment, which some have called the industry’s second wave. If the first wave was characterized by high-flying M&A and development deals, podcasting is now hunkering down.
Ad spending retreated in the first half of 2023 amid recession fears. Meanwhile, tech companies — most notably Spotify, whose status has become a bellwether for the state of the industry — are paring back investment in search of profitability for investors.
But that doesn’t mean the listening stops or production grinds to a halt, as many of the monetization avenues that have emerged still exist. Original scripted podcasts have taken on greater orders of influence as sources of or development vehicles for IP. As those continue to play out, “Talking Audio” takes a deep data dive into the state — and future — of the category.
