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Variety is just catching on to the “Audio Boom,” with a major story on podcasting that features Conan O’Brien on the cover.
The magazine says that this “brave new world of audio is mostly filled with as-yet-unrealized potential.” However the magazine points out that big stars are entering the medium which will help “accelerate podcasting’s popularity.” For example Oprah, Joe Rogan, Will Ferrell, and Dr. Phil all have podcasts. And let’s not forget about former President Barack Obama who recently signed a deal with Spotify.
A lot of the article touches on the recent history, which many of you have heard about about over and over the past 12 months, including what Spotify is spending, the launch of Luminary, Entercom’s deals to dig deeper in the space, and Edison Research’s stats.
Some of the reporting that we found interesting was, without naming the podcast, Variety states that podcasting is attractive partly because of its profit margins. “The most popular podcasts can make north of $10 million annually.”
As far as O’Brien’s jumping into the space, he tells Variety he’s giving podcasting a go because it’s so different to television. “There’s a way that you can communicate on podcasts that’s much more intense. This is a big part of people’s lives. They put on their earbuds and you’re with them at the gym or on the subway. I never foresaw how much this show would mean to people.”