Podcasting’s $7b 2024, What Podcast Fans are Like, & More

The Great Podcast Divide: Understanding Fans vs. Anti-Fans by Tom Webster

In the survey for The Advertising Landscape, Sounds Profitable asked monthly podcast consumer respondents to score how much of a ‘fan’ they are of podcasts on a scale from 1 to 10. In this article, Webster talks about the Fans (people who rated 8-10 on the scale) and Anti-Fans (3 and below). A quote from Webster:

“As the podcast industry continues to mature, the successful monetization models will likely be those that recognize these nuances in listener commitment:

Tiered approach based on engagement level – Offering different monetization models for casual monthly listeners versus devoted fans, recognizing their different needs and willingness to pay.
Demographic targeting beyond age – Developing strategies that address not just generational differences but gender gaps among existing listeners, creating pathways to turn female monthly listeners into superfans.
Platform-specific strategies – Recognizing that monthly listeners from different platforms show dramatically different propensities to become fans, and tweaking our messaging and approach to match.”

While the piece goes deep into the data and several facets of both audiences, a core takeaway is the idea of upgrading existing audiences. Creators shouldn’t get stuck on just attracting new listeners, they need to pay equal attention to converting existing monthly audiences into superfans. They already exist, they’re already bought in, they just need the experiences that deepen their commitment to both that specific podcast, and podcasting as a medium.

Podcast Industry Is Twice as Large as Previously Estimated by Lucas Shaw and Ashley Carman

Owl & Co has published a new report, titled The Global Podcast Economy: A Complete Picture, which estimates the global podcast economy in 2024 reached $7.3 billion USD valuation.

A key factor is Owl & Co’s numbers include many major revenue streams that aren’t often aggregated: direct-sold ads, programmatic ads, Patreon, Apple Podcasts+, Spotify payouts, and YouTube Premium are all thrown in the mix. Podcasts were still mainly direct ad revenue supported in 2024 ($4.6 billion) but programmatic has a bigger slice of the pie than one might expect ($1.6 billion).

Owl & Co. founder Hernan Lopez also notes while the U.S. is the largest podcast market by revenue, he presumes numbers from places like China, Australia, and the U.K. under-represent the actual revenue going around as they are markets still missing foundational podcast-by-podcast, ad-by-ad data provided for U.S. podcasts by platforms like Magellan AI and Podscribe.

Patreon will update its iPhone app to sidestep Apple’s payment system by Jay Peters

Last week the judge in the long-running Epic v. Apple case made a final ruling, ruling that Apple is no longer allowed to collect fees on purchases made outside apps. More importantly, the ruling also bars Apple from preventing companies from directing app users to off-app places to make purchases.

Two facets that have deeply shaped how companies carry themselves, from Patreon actively discouraging users from pledging in the iOS app, to Spotify reworking their planned audiobook integration. Now several companies are getting their workarounds ready. Patreon is planning to submit an iOS update that will let creators accept payments outside of Apple’s payment system, avoiding the 30% fee.

Andy Yen, CEO of VPN company Proton, says they are gearing up iOS changes that will lower prices previously set in accordance with the 30% fee.

Podcasters, please stop thinking about, aiming for, or expecting a TV deal by Jerry Kolber

It’s become a popular narrative: a producer gets into producing podcasts specifically to attract a TV deal, using the podcast as a backdoor pilot, of sorts. Kolber has come from the opposite direction, having been a TV producer who then made the leap into podcasting. He recounts a sharp shift in how TV shows are approved from 2020 onward, which has regressed into more algorithmically-focused decisions that largely favor content similar to existing content (spinoffs, remakes, re-envisionings) than net-new IP. A quote from Kolber:

“Our talent on this series we were pitching – who on their own has half as many social followers as the entire Disney+ USA subscriber base – asked one of the networks: “Is there really no room in a multi-billion-dollar slate of dozens of shows for one smart, fun series from someone as well known as me and successful as these guys?”

No. Apparently, there is not.”

Kolber argues “peak TV” has firmly passed, so much so Atomic Entertainment has fully shut down all TV development and the current investor round is entirely based on the success of their podcasts. Podcasts don’t come with network notes, provide total control and ownership of an IP, scalable profit, and direct relationships with the fans making them viable in the first place.

Q1 Report Season

It’s that time of the four-times-a-year again! First up: Acast reports their net sales grew 30% in Q1 2025, with a gross margin of 37% and an adjusted EBITDA margin of -1%. Meanwhile, as Podnews reported, SiriusXM’s Q1 shows revenue for “Pandora and off-platform” income is down 2% year-over-year. That said, podcast revenue specifically grew 33% year-over-year. And finally, Apple’s Q1 earnings call dropped the tidbit that Apple Services (in which Apple Podcasts lives) reached an all-time revenue record of $26.6 billion.

Finally, it’s time for our Quick Hits. These are articles that didn’t quite make the cut for today’s episode, but are still worth including in your weekend reading. This week: