With millions of shows across multiple platforms, podcasting is a multibillion dollar industry.
Podcasts have had a significant increase in growth over the past decade. According to explodingtopics.com, there are over 3.2 million podcasts. The biggest increase was in 2020, when the market increased a little over 200%. And the growth in listeners is expected to continue with Statista predicting there will be more than 110 million listeners by 2029.
Patrick Corrigan, a business administration major at the University of North Georgia, found podcasts engaging just because they fit into his daily life. He says he tends to multitask while listening to podcasts.
Podcast listeners use podcasts for entertainment and as a way to consume news and information. Corrigan said, “I don’t necessarily think [podcasts are] more reliable or superior than traditional media, but what they do offer [are] alternative options and voices. People can choose who they want to listen to get get different perspectives that they might not find on mainstream platforms.”
Some critics say the podcast market is becoming oversaturated.
“Everywhere you look nowadays you see a new podcast about the most random things. This has made it increasingly challenging for creators to stand out. The abundance of content has become very overwhelming in the market.” – Micah Bennet, a marketing major at UNG.
Matt O’Leary, a podcaster and owner of the podcast Just Jets said, “Quality always stands out. The likelihood podcasts are consistent enough and stick with it long enough to be successful is slim.” With that being said, he also acknowledged the fact the podcast market may be oversaturated.
Maddox Drake, a freshman biology major and member of the golf team at UNG, has a podcast called Fore the Win. He and his cohost Hunter Smith, a junior at UNG, give tips to collegiate golfers. Like O’Leary, Drake says consistency is key, “Hitting the milestone of 50 episodes gives you the consistency of being a legit channel.”
The influence social media has had on some podcaster’s viewership is vital. Max Garnett, a junior kinesiology major at UNG, hosts the weekly Holy Conversations podcast with Gabe Prokes about Christianity. Garnett says he gains more views on Instagram than the podcast in general.
O’Leary says he also saw social media as somewhere he can build an audience that hopefully follows him to his podcasts.
Prokes, a senior business management major, says all the work is worth it, “It does add another thing on my plate but it is a blessing being able to get on multiple social media platforms and talk about the word of God.”
