According to a survey held in early 2025 in the United States, ** percent of respondents aged 12 to 34 years old had listened to a podcast within the preceding month, compared to ** percent of those aged 55 or above. Adults in the latter age category have been increasing their podcast listening consistently for years, to a point where respondents aged 35-54 almost caught up on the younger age category. Podcasts are gaining popularity This increased monthly podcast consumption shows the growing prevalence of the format in the United States. A survey on podcast consumption found that in 2012 only ** percent of U.S. respondents had ever listened to an audio podcast, but this figure increased annually and reached ** percent in 2025, by then also including video podcast consumption. Although this rise in popularity is significant, it might also reflect the generational gap in podcast consumption, with younger consumers tuning in more regularly than their older counterparts. In 2021, the share of Millennial podcast consumers in Canada and the U.S. amounted to ** percent, with Boomers only making up ** percent. Video podcasts The recently rising popularity of video podcasts also led to changes in platform usage among podcast consumers. YouTube has taken over the lead from Spotify as the main platform used to access podcasts in the United States as of April 2024, when the streaming platform attracted ** percent of podcast consumers, compared to ** percent for the Swedish competitor. YouTube's newly achieved competitive position in podcasting becomes even more obvious, when considering that almost two in three weekly podcast consumers associated the platform the most with watching and listening to podcasts. Only ** percent said the same about Spotify.

According to a study from 2023, podcast consumption in Canada had been steadily increasing until spring 2023, from ** percent in spring 2016 to ** percent in 2023 among ** to 49-year-olds. However, as of fall 2023, the number fell to ** percent again. While the consumption has been showing a similar development through all generations, there is still a gap between younger and older age groups, with only ** percent of the general population consuming podcasts monthly.

According to a study on podcast consumption in the first half of 2023, podcast consumption on Spotify is growing in particular among older age groups. In Australia, the age group of 65 years and older saw an increase in listening hours by ** percent compared with the previous year. In Spain, this group even reached an increase in listening hours by ** percent. The age group of 55 to 64 year-olds also saw immense growth in podcast listening hours.

Young consumers in the United Kingdom are more likely to listen to podcasts, and this trend is growing. In 2024, ** percent of respondents aged 18 to 34 years old said they listened to podcasts on a monthly basis, while a year earlier this figure stood at ** percent.

According to a forecast from August 2023 on global podcast consumption, the number of podcast listeners worldwide has steadily increased and is predicted to rise even further. In 2023, the number of podcast listeners worldwide amounted to over *** million internet users, while this number was predicted to grow to more than *** million in 2027.

According to a study among Spotify users, respondents aged 13 to 17 years old were the fastest growing podcast audience in 2022. They indeed discovered ** percent more podcast shows in comparison to the previous year, while 25 to 34 years old discovered *** percent more shows during the same period of time.

The global audiobook market, valued at $1446.94 million in 2025, is experiencing robust growth, projected to expand at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 26.8% from 2025 to 2033. This surge is driven by several key factors. The increasing popularity of podcasts and audio entertainment has created a receptive audience for audiobooks, fostering a preference for convenient and engaging content consumption. Technological advancements, including improved smartphone accessibility and high-quality audio production, have significantly lowered barriers to entry for both listeners and publishers. Furthermore, the rise of subscription services offering extensive audiobook libraries at affordable prices has democratized access, broadening the market's reach across diverse age groups and genres. The market segmentation reveals a strong demand across both adult and children's audiobooks, with both fiction and non-fiction categories contributing significantly to overall growth. The competitive landscape is characterized by established players like Amazon, Apple, and Audible, alongside smaller but innovative companies focused on niche genres or specific listening experiences. This competitive environment fuels innovation and contributes to the overall market expansion. The European market, specifically in Germany, the UK, and France, represents a substantial portion of the global audiobook market and demonstrates strong growth potential. However, potential restraints include the ongoing competition with other forms of entertainment, such as video streaming and e-books, as well as piracy concerns. Nevertheless, the market's positive trajectory suggests continued expansion, driven by increasing digital literacy, the rising popularity of personalized learning experiences, and the evolving preferences of a generation that embraces convenient and on-demand entertainment. Strategic partnerships between publishers, audiobook platforms, and authors are expected to further fuel market growth by enhancing content discovery and accessibility. The continued development of immersive audio technologies and personalized listening experiences will also play a significant role in shaping the future of the audiobook market.

According to report carried out in the United States in the third quarters of 2018 and 2019, podcasting is growing the fastest among Millennials in minority ethnic groups. Between those two time periods, the daily reach of podcasts among Hispanic Millennials increased by *** percent, and grew by ** percent among African Americans aged 18 to 34 years.

Podcast advertising in the United States generated more than *** billion U.S. dollars in revenue as of 2023. This marked a **** percent increase from the previous year's value of *** billion. Podcast ad revenue was expected to further increase to *** billion by 2026. Brand awareness ads grow presence in podcasts Direct response ads, in which consumers are encouraged to visit a website or use a code from a sponsor, generated most of the podcast ad revenue in the U.S. in 2021. They remained the leading campaign type in podcasting. However, brand awareness ads appeared as a growing go-to option, with a ** percent share in the 2021 revenue, against ** percent in 2016. Podcast: popularity on the rise ***** out of 10 Americans aged 12 years or above are aware of podcasting in 2022. Over ** percent of U.S. consumers in this same age group listened to audio podcasts in the country, more than double from a decade ago. The series of audio files made available on the internet deal with various topics and are typically released episodically. In September 2021, iHeartRadio ranked as the most popular podcast publisher in the United States, with a unique audience of ** million listeners that month.

85 percent of Norwegian respondents answer our survey on "Most used media services" with "Digital video content (download / streaming)". The survey was conducted in 2024, among 1,029 consumers.Access millions of exclusive survey results with Statista Consumer Insights.

In 2020, the most commonly used app for listening to podcasts in the United States was Spotify, with ** percent of podcast listeners aged 18 or above saying that they used Spotify to listen to podcasts. Meanwhile, Apple Podcasts was used by ** percent of adults, down from ** percent in the previous year.

Growing market for podcasts

The term podcast, the name being a merge of the words “play on demand” and “broadcast”, refers to audio or video content in episodic formats that can be streamed or downloaded digitally. Topics cover a huge range of interests such as politics, health, or true crime; however, a study found that the most popular podcast genre in the United States was comedy. With **** million podcast listeners in the United States alone, podcasting has become a large market within the audio sector.

Podcast consumption

Despite the growing podcast audience, the consumption among listeners is relatively low with ** percent of consumers stating that they listen to podcasts less often than once a month. The relatively new audio format is preferred by younger generations, with ** percent of the age group of 18 to 34 years having paid to access podcasts.

According to data from February 2022, **** million people in the United States were said to listen to podcasts on Spotify that year, while Apple had **** million podcast listeners. Spotify's and Apple's figures were projected to add up to **** million and **** million by 2025, respectively.

By 2025, Spotify will have ***** million users, over ****** million more than the **** million recorded in 2020. However, a gradual decline in Pandora's user base is anticipated to continue over the coming years, with the company losing *** to ***** million active listeners per year. Spotify and Pandora – more information Pandora In 2018, Pandora was most popular among users aged ** to ** and users aged 55 or above, whereas adults in the ** to 24-year-old age bracket was by far the company's weakest market segment. Pandora's user base may be flatlining compared to Spotify's, but Pandora’s revenue jumped from **** million U.S. dollars to almost *** billion in a decade, showing incredible and consistent growth during that time. Pandora generates most of its revenue from advertising, although has grown increasingly reliant on revenue from subscription services. Pandora was acquired by Sirius XM in February 2019 for *** billion U.S. dollars. Spotify In 2018, Spotify reported *** billion euros in revenue, following a history of significant growth. Spotify was operating at a loss for years, but reported its first quarterly operating profit at the beginning of 2019. the company has placed a stronger focus on podcasts and will continue to do so according to industry experts and company reports, and is one of the most popular podcast providers in the United States.

In the last quarter of 2024, the number of music streaming subscribers worldwide amounted to ****million, up from ****million at the end of the third quarter of 2023. Paid music streaming subscriptions have become the norm for many music fans, and the market has seen consistently impressive increases in subscriber numbers over the last few years. Recent forecasts show however that whilst both subscriber numbers and revenue are expected to continue to rise, growth will slow down in the near future. Changes can already be seen from 2016 onwards. Year-on-year music streaming revenue growth was **** percent worldwide, but fell by more than ** percent in 2017 and was just ******percent in 2024It is expected that the U.S. and the UK will continue to be the biggest streaming markets in years to come, but reports also show that Brazil, India, China, and MENA countries will catch up over the next decade and rank among the top global markets by 2026. Other changes to the market include a growing focus on podcasts, which have more potential than many music buffs may realize. Music streaming and podcasts Several companies have reaped the benefits of consumers’ growing interest in on-the-go digital music consumption, especially market leader Spotify, which made its first profit in early 2019. Spotify has announced plans to spend hundreds of millions on podcasting, hoping to capitalize on the potential podcasts have to generate ad revenue and plotting to invest in exclusive content so podcasts fans go to Spotify first. But it is not only the companies offering digital music services who are making money from music streaming: consumers are, too (and some more than others). Whilst recording artists battle for streams to secure as many royalty payments as possible, the lesser-known beneficiaries of music streaming services are, in fact, podcast curators. A 2019 report showed that podcast curators with an average audience of ** thousand listeners per weekly podcast would need just ** thousand streams per month to generate an income of around ***** U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, major record label artists would need over ***** million streams of their content to earn the same amount.