There’s a Podcast for That…

You may remember the now-famous iPhone 3g commercial from a decade ago featuring the line “there’s an app for that”. At the time (before the word “app” was part of our everyday vernacular), Apple was working hard to sell people on the growing number of apps in its App Store they could use to accomplish different tasks. The updated version of that line for 2019 could easily be, “there’s a podcast for that”.

As more people embrace the podcast medium both as consumers and creators, the quantity of podcasts available has exploded. For context, back in 2009 when Apple released the ad referenced above, Wired reported that the App Store was just crossing the 100,000 app mark. According to Podcast Insights, there are currently over 600,000 different podcasts available and over 18 million podcast episodes.

Perhaps even more notable is the variety of podcasts available. There are short podcasts, lasting only a few minutes—with some asking thought-provoking questions and others helping kids brush their teeth. There are long podcasts—with some, like Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History, hitting the nearly six-hour mark. There are podcasts about mindfulness, maniacs, marathons, marketing, and Mars… and those are just a few that start with “m”! There’s a pod about surviving Y2K, a cast from Conan O’Brien, and a deep dive into the best movie villains. These days, there truly is a podcast about everything for everyone.

And here’s the craziest part: We haven’t even reached peak podcast saturation yet. According to Edison Research, 124 million Americans ages 12+ listened to podcasts in 2018. That’s up 4% from the previous year—and that number is expected to jump again this year. So look for more podcasts to emerge with a greater focus on niche topics. While it may seem like the medium has been fully explored, there’s still a lot of new ideas for individuals and brands to cast into your ears.