Spotify reports double-, triple- quadruple-digit podcast listening growth

A day after Spotify’s (botched, but we made enough noise about that yesterday) end-of-year Wrapped product, the company releases Wrapped for Publishers. It offers podcast listening metrics in 2021.

It is all about growth, and big percentages are featured, including a 2,736% lift of in-car podcast listening. (That’s not a typo.) Some numbers are unexpected and offer a fresh view of how consumers listen to podcasts — notably, +193% on smart TVs.

There is an international scope to these numbers, as you’d expect. Podcast hosting, data, and monetization subsidiary Megaphone contributed insights, adding to Spotify’s first-party global data, particularly regarindg individual country metrics. So, for example, listening to podcasts grew 110% in Italy, and rose in double digits in each of France, Spain, and Australia.

Below are key points sent to us by Spotify. An infographic is freely available HERE.

  • Growth in Listening

    • 79% of global audiences turned to digital audio to combat screen fatigue (Spotify x IPG, Digital Audio Expansiveness Report, 2021)

    • Spotify saw a 78% YOY growth in time spent listening to podcasts on Spotify (Spotify First Party Global Data, Jan-Oct’21 vs. Jan-Oct’20)

  • A Podcast for Everyone  (Spotify First Party Global Data, Jan-Oct’21 vs. Jan-Oct’20)

    • Listenership of Megaphone podcasts grew 110% in Italy, 30% in France, 26% in Spain and 25% in Australia

    • Spotify saw a 57% increase in listeners ages 55-64 and a 53% increase for listeners older than 64. 18-24-year-olds listened to podcasts 27% more in 2021 than 2020

  • Listening Together (Spotify First Party Global Data, Jan-Oct’21 vs. Jan-Oct’20)

    • Podcast listenership on home-based devices like smart TVs (+193%) and smart speakers (+98%) increased across Spotify in 2021

    • Podcast listening in the car (+2736%), on gaming consoles (+45%), and on wearable devices (+31%) increased drastically from 2020

  • Earning More from Podcast Content (Spotify First Party Global Data, Jan-Oct’21 vs. Jan-Oct’20)

    • Unique advertisers on the Spotify Audience Network grew 110%

    • Publishers saw fill rates grow by 21% and total ad impressions increase by 37%

 

Brad Hill