This is an archived page from 2020. Find out more
From now through the end of the year The Podcast Business Journal will be interviewing industry executives to get their input on what kind of year 2020 was for the podcasting industry and what podcasters can expect in the year ahead. Up first, Rob Greenlee. Rob not only works for Libsyn he is the Chair of the Board of Governors for the Podcast Academy.
What has been the big podcasting story over the last year? Rob Greenlee: Global growth and expansion initially started many years ago by Apple iTunes Podcasts and has seen gradual and more recent faster expansion by listening services platforms like Spotify, Deezer, Gaana, and iVoox. Content production companies like BBC, CBC, ABC Australia, and many other smaller audio creation companies like SoundCartel in Australia and Kelly & Kelly in Canada who have shifted from radio audio to podcast audio.
What is the state of the podcasting industry heading into 2021? Rob Greenlee: It’s growing more diversified around gender and race, innovative in many areas around upping the game of quality content development. The listening platforms are competing for users by pushing the envelope around discovery metadata with full transcriptions and monetization.
Advertising revenue is up less than expected prior to COVID, but is up still and will continue to grow into 2021. Hitting $1 Billion in ad revenue will take longer then many have hoped and filling more podcasts with spots that are valuing podcast ad inventory whether it is baked in host reads or prerecorded dynamically inserted talent reads with higher CPM’s is key.
Privacy and changes to Internet protocol IPv6 is going to continue to have an impact on digital advertising and will hold back podcast advertising as long as we rely too much on IP targeting and selling IP’s of listeners to re-target advertising.
Global listening, content creation, monetization from all parts of the world is key to the rapid and sustained growth of the medium.
What will happen in the future in the podcasting space? Rob Greenlee: The podcasting medium will keep steadily growing in all areas in the near and long-term future. It is up to all of us to evolve podcasting in a way that preserves it roots as a trusted and level playing field for all to contribute and participate.