Latest / Abbey the Podcast Lady / The Future of Audio: Is Podcasting Still Growing in 2025?

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The Future of Audio: Is Podcasting Still Growing in 2025? · Abbey the Podcast Lady

• 0:04
  Remember the big podcast boom of like the pandemic
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  2020, 2021 -ish? Well, it's September 2025 and
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  a lot has changed in the world of audio. Is podcasting
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  still the unstoppable force we thought it was
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  or are new sounds emerging that are changing
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  the game entirely? Today, we're going to dive
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  deep into the surprising truth about the future
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  of what you're listening to. Welcome to Abby
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  the Podcast Lady. This is the show where we break
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  down the world of podcasting and talk about where
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  it's been and where it's headed and how you can
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  make it work for you. I'm Abby. I'm a podcast
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  producer, a consultant, and a guide through this
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  ever -evolving podcasting landscape. Today we're
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  digging into the big question, is podcasting
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  still growing in 2025? If you've been in the
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  podcasting world for a while, you've probably
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  heard people predicting the podcast bubble is
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  gonna burst, there's too many podcasts, it's
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  oversaturated. And if you're newer, you might
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  wonder if you're maybe too late to the party.
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  Are listeners still showing up? Are advertisers
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  still paying to advertise on these podcasts?
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  Or has the market gotten so saturated that there's
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  really no room for you in this industry? The
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  truth is... There's really no clear answer to
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  any of those questions. It's all kind of what
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  you make of it. Podcasting in 2025 is not the
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  same industry it was in 2020 or heck, even last
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  year in 2024. Growth looks different, but there
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  is still growth and we're going to get into it.
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  You just need to be smarter and more strategic
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  about it. So we're going to break this down into
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  three different parts today. We're going to get
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  into the current pulse of podcast growth. We're
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  going to talk about how content is evolving past
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  those boom years. And we're going to talk about
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  the new ecosystems shaping the future of audio.
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  So let's get into segment one. What's the current
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  pulse of podcast growth? So let's start with
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  that big question people ask. Are people still
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  listening to podcasts? If you're just going based
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  on like what you're hearing and what I'm hearing
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  in the industry, yes, people are listening to
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  podcasts. They're more popular than ever. And
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  there's numbers to back that up. According to
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  Q1 and Q2 reports from Nielsen and Edison Research,
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  listenership is still growing, but it's at more
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  of a moderate pace. Instead of those wild pandemic
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  era spikes when we were all stuck at home and
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  had nothing else to do, we're just seeing more
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  like steady and sustainable increases. It isn't
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  this big explosion. So let's put this into an
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  analogy, something we can all understand a little
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  bit better. Think about a podcast as a marathon
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  runner. In the early 2020s, the industry was
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  sprinting. It was full steam ahead. You're right
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  out the gate. You're going, you're going, you're
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  going. It's almost like a downhill sprint too,
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  where you're just speeding up and speeding up
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  and speeding up. And it was all fueled by lockdowns
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  and lifestyle changes and big platform investments.
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  People were looking at different ways to get
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  online and share their message with people that
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  were stuck at home. But now in 2025, life is
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  pretty much back to normal and we're seeing the
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  pace settle into something more of like your
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  marathon mode. You're hitting your steady stride
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  that you can sustain for a long time. The runner
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  isn't slowing down because they're tired. It's
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  just because they found the rhythm that they
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  can sustain long -term. And that's something
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  I try to tell all of my clients is it doesn't
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  matter how often you release your episodes. It
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  just matters that you can sustain it long -term.
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  That's the most important part. So where is the
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  growth coming from then? If we're at that sustained
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  slow growth, both who's listening, where are
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  these people coming from? The Gen Zers have discovered
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  podcasts. Yes. It's huge in that generation.
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  They're growing up with podcasts in the way that
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  we grew up with our favorite radio shows, our
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  morning talk shows, that sort of thing. It's
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  like how we grew up with YouTube as well as millennials.
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  Like these are the people that we're going to
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  for our content, for our daily consumption, for
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  our news, for all that stuff. And Gen Z is just
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  so enmeshed with it. They see it as something
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  that's just always been there. It wasn't a new
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  thing for them. it's just what they've always
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  had gen z is really tuning into those short form
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  shows between classes and catching video podcasts
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  on youtube instead of traditional tv i can't
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  think of a single gen z -er i know that has actual
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  tv anymore they just watch youtube and whatever
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  streaming services that has their favorite shows
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  some other areas that are really exploding in
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  podcast growth right now are non -english speaking
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  markets latin america southeast asia parts of
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  africa they're seeing really big growth as mobile
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  data gets cheaper and Platforms make big pushes
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  for localized content. If you think of podcasting
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  as just an English language thing, you are way
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  too far inside the box. You're behind. Honestly,
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  you're totally behind. I live in a small area
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  in central Minnesota, and we actually have three
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  languages that are spoken in the area, English,
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  and then there's a big Spanish population, and
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  there's a big Somali population. So there's languages
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  posted everywhere of different instructions in
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  different languages. if there's languages being
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  spoken, podcasts are being spoken in those languages.
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  So there's been a huge spike in listenership
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  globally in different languages. So that has
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  caused a huge boom in podcasting as well. On
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  the flip side, there is some churn happening
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  where people are kind of over podcasts and moving
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  on to something else. And that big churn is coming
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  from that 30 to 45 age range. This group signed
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  up for every podcast under the sun when the pandemic
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  hit. They're like, oh my gosh, podcast. Yes,
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  I'm listening. Yes, give me everything. And now
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  they're kind of overwhelmed by it. They're back
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  to their normal routines. They're heading back
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  into the office and they don't have time for
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  them anymore, quite frankly, because that's also
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  the age group that tends to be raising children
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  that are at a very busy age. where they're going
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  to sports and all that sort of stuff. And they're
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  kind of consuming whatever their kids are consuming
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  because the kids are watching it in proximity
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  to them. So the churn is kind of happening from
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  that 30 to 45 age range, dropping off of listening,
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  but those Gen Zs picking up podcast listening.
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  So with that churn happening, it doesn't mean
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  that it's like dropping off or stopping completely.
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  It just means that it's changing and maturing.
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  And that's actually a really good thing. Think
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  about television. I mean, most of us don't subscribe
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  to 50. streaming services we pick the couple
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  that have our favorite shows and that's what
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  we stick to podcasts are kind of heading the
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  same way there is opportunity here for people
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  to really make some very niche content that find
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  their exact industry and their exact audience
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  and I think that's a very beautiful thing I love
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  to see this industry kind of going from a boom
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  era to more of like a stable mature era think
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  about like when you were a teenager like Ew,
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  gross. No one wants to go back to that, right?
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  Everything felt chaotic and crazy. Now we're
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  kind of hitting that like mid -20s where you
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  got your job, everything's kind of leveling out.
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  It feels good. Feels right. So let's get into
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  the content evolution here. What are people actually
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  listening to and how are creators adapting to
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  make content people want to listen to? Podcasting
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  isn't just one thing anymore. It's so much more
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  than just sitting down with a microphone, hitting
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  record and uploading some audio on some platform
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  somewhere. It used to be that. That was quite
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  the era to be in. But now it's more like storytelling
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  and it's turning into interviews and video versions
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  and podcasts are being put on traditional streaming
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  platforms and cable networks. It's really turning
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  into something a heck of a lot bigger than what
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  it just initially set out to be. Think about
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  opening your own social media platforms. You're
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  probably seeing one, two, I mean, if you're really
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  into it, maybe five to 10 videos of short form
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  podcast clips, whether that's a small segment
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  of an interview or someone's doing some storytelling
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  or a news recap of some sort. It's kind of like
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  a little snackable bite -sized version of the
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  podcast that people can share. And then hopefully
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  it triggers that person who sees the short form
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  to go consume the long form. But if it doesn't,
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  it still serves its purpose and gets the word
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  out about whatever. brand or story it's trying
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  to share, but in a different format. Podcasting
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  is now on Reels and Shorts and TikTok. It's everywhere.
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  It's not just audio anymore. Now, that doesn't
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  mean that long form is totally dead and you should
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  stop making the full video version. You should
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  only make short little minute long clips of it.
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  No, no, no, no, no. Still make it. Just repurpose
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  it. Use it smarter. Get more out of your podcast.
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  In all reality, long form podcasts still dominate
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  when it comes to engagement and loyalty. Shows
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  like Armchair X, who we've actually done a case
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  study on, go back and listen to that episode,
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  prove that people will listen to 45 plus minutes
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  of content and still be engaged all the way till
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  the end of the show. But the challenge for new
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  content creators, possibly like you or I, is
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  that we don't have that baked in audience and
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  access to the biggest celebrities in the world
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  to pick their brains. So what do we do to stand
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  out in a sea of people creating long form content?
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  And that's something we might have to get into
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  in a different episode. because I could probably
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  go for a while on that. And then there's the
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  ecosystem shift from independent creators switching
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  over to networks or vice versa. You've probably
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  heard of things like Wondery or Mythical or...
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  When we talked about free with ads in their case
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  study, they are under the maximum fun umbrella.
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  Creators are working with partners to scale up
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  their businesses and their podcasts. And that's
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  a great thing, but it's not going to work for
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  everyone. Not every person is going to be invited
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  to be part of some larger network, but it does
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  appeal to some major brands. And if it works
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  for you, it works for you. That's fantastic.
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  I personally am not part of a network. I don't
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  have any clients that are part of a network.
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  It's working well for everybody. But if someone
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  came and approached one of my clients and said,
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  hey, we want you on our network, I'm sure they'd
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  be open to talking about it. There's a lot of
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  different changes in how podcasts are being made
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  and produced, whether that's working with an
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  individual producer like myself, doing it yourself,
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  or finding a network to be part of. The ecosystem
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  of podcasting has definitely changed in the past
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  handful of years. Another thing that's kind of
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  changed with podcasting is how you're making
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  money off of it. That's a question I get all
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  the time. How do I make money with podcasting?
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  And it always makes me nervous when that's someone's
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  first question, but different story. Money making
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  with podcasting has definitely evolved just from
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  selling me undies ads or home chef meals. Like
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  that's not it anymore. That's not making. I mean,
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  if you're one of the big creators, it might be
• 10:08
  making you enough money to survive. But creators
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  are really diversifying. You can do subscriptions
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  now on Apple and you can do buy me a coffees
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  and Patreons to get people early access to shows
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  that they're paying for bonus content behind
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  the scenes. One of my favorite ways that my clients
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  are monetizing their podcasts is one, using the
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  show as marketing for a brick and mortar business
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  that already exists or using it as marketing
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  for an online business that exists. And I think
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  it's really cool when people use their podcast
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  to turn it into a online course that they can
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  then deep dive and share their expertise. They're
• 10:46
  sharing it very surface level on the show, but
• 10:48
  then if people want the real guts and meat and
• 10:50
  here's how I'm doing what I'm doing and here's
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  how you can do it too. They turn their knowledge
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  into an online course and then they're selling
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  that and that's how they're monetizing their
• 10:59
  podcast is through. some sort of other channel.
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  It's not just ads anymore. Now, we've been talking
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  a lot about how podcasting has changed over the
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  past handful of years, but I want to take a look
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  ahead to the future as well, because the next
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  few years of podcasting are going to be shaped
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  by innovation from people like you and me trying
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  different things and seeing what works. I think
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  a big change we're going to see is a lot more
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  live audio experiences. Remember Periscope? That
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  app that was tied to Twitter, it used to like
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  let you go live and just like it had its moment.
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  It was a flash in the pan and then it fizzled.
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  But that idea didn't die. It kind of turned into
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  the live streaming concept on Twitch. And you
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  can go live on YouTube now. There's so many places
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  where you can pick up a phone, set up a camera
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  and go live and hang out with your audience in
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  real time. And I think that's a really cool thing
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  that's really going to be evolving as it's changing
• 11:49
  every single day. I swear I can't open up the
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  TikTok live section. without having to totally
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  relearn it every single time. But I think we're
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  going to see that kind of evolve into podcasting,
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  whether that's recording the show live and letting
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  people be part of a live audience or they just
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  take it after the fact and share it somewhere
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  as long form content to be consumed. I think
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  the live audio landscape is going to be changing
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  the podcasting landscape as well. Another thing
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  that I want to touch on when it comes to looking
• 12:17
  ahead in the world of podcasting is the world
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  of AI and generative AI. production this is where
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  things just get so wild ai is now handling all
• 12:26
  the tedious parts of podcast production it can
• 12:29
  write you transcripts and it can cut the best
• 12:32
  parts out and make reels and it can change how
• 12:35
  you're saying a certain word if you stumble over
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  something it can help you maintain eye contact
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  and look directly at the camera there is so much
• 12:42
  going on with ai and creating videos and audio
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  and I, for one, welcome our robot overlords.
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  I think that this is great. It makes my life
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  easier as a podcast producer. Now, you can't
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  totally rely on it. Like the one -click podcast
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  editing software, it's not going to be perfect.
• 13:00
  It's going to sound really bad, actually. It's
• 13:02
  going to sound super choppy and weird, and you
• 13:05
  might be missing some key elements, but it is
• 13:08
  a great place to start. It's a time saver on
• 13:11
  that, and you do have to go in and fix things
• 13:13
  and make it sound exactly how you want it to.
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  But in the grand scheme of things, it is a great
• 13:19
  assistant to have. It is not a replacement. It
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  is a tool. It is an assistant to make your life
• 13:24
  easier when it comes to making your podcast.
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  And it seems like they just keep updating things
• 13:28
  every day. I subscribe to Riverside and Descript,
• 13:32
  both of them. And I feel like... At least once
• 13:35
  a week, I'm getting an email from one of them
• 13:36
  about new AI features that they're unlocking
• 13:39
  for people to use when it comes to making podcasts.
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  I am really excited for where the world is going
• 13:44
  with AI as a podcasting tool. And the last thing
• 13:47
  I want to touch on when it comes to the future
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  of podcasting is I just think it's important
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  to point out that your podcast is more than just
• 13:54
  a podcast. It has changed so much. Your podcast
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  can now be the base of everything that you do
• 14:00
  from generating email newsletter content, to
• 14:02
  creating clips online, to static images, to Pinterest
• 14:05
  content, to blogs. One podcast can be turned
• 14:08
  into a multitude of different things. And I'm
• 14:11
  really excited to see what else a podcast can
• 14:13
  evolve into for people. And I think that it's
• 14:16
  just going to keep expanding and expanding and
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  expanding. I don't think that there's going to
• 14:19
  be any limit to that. So let's wrap it up here.
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  Is podcasting still growing in 2025? Absolutely
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  it is. But it's not like the skyrocketing numbers
• 14:29
  boom that we saw in the pandemic. The growth
• 14:32
  is steady. growth is global and it's more intentional.
• 14:35
  And I think that is what's going to sustain this
• 14:38
  industry for a very long time. The industry has
• 14:40
  matured and that is a beautiful thing to be a
• 14:44
  part of and to witness. And I can't wait to see
• 14:46
  what the next step in this maturity journey is,
• 14:49
  because I think that we're all going to see a
• 14:51
  lot of success the longer we can stick it out
• 14:53
  and the more we can adapt. Like we can't just
• 14:55
  keep doing the same thing over and over because
• 14:57
  that's what worked a couple of years ago. We
• 15:00
  have to be willing to change and adapt and mature.
• 15:02
  the industry when it comes to making our own
• 15:04
  shows. So do what you got to do. Experiment with
• 15:07
  your format, long form, short form, video, written
• 15:10
  version, blogs, Pinterest. Take your show and
• 15:13
  chunk it up and make it into everything that
• 15:15
  it possibly can be because that's where you're
• 15:17
  going to see success in the podcasting industry.
• 15:19
  The future of audio isn't about whether or not
• 15:21
  podcasting is over or people are done with it.
• 15:24
  It's about how we as creators adapt to this changing
• 15:27
  landscape. Thank you so much for hanging out
• 15:29
  with me today on this episode. I really appreciate
• 15:31
  it. If you've enjoyed this conversation, share
• 15:34
  it with a friend. Please leave a five -star rating
• 15:36
  and review. It helps a ton. Give it a thumbs
• 15:39
  up if you're watching the YouTube version of
• 15:41
  it. And if you're looking for help with creating
• 15:43
  your podcast, whether that's in the form of a
• 15:46
  producer or you're looking for someone to help
• 15:48
  you and guide you along the way, I am here. You
• 15:51
  can check me out at abbygravesproductions .com.
• 15:54
  I got links in the show notes as well. Until
• 15:56
  next time, keep creating. Don't be afraid to
• 15:59
  try new things. And yes, Podcasting is growing.