WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:01.760 It finally happened. 00:00:01.760 --> 00:00:05.279 Podcasts are consumed more than AMFM talk radio. 00:00:05.279 --> 00:00:06.400 Let's get excited. 00:00:12.639 --> 00:00:15.279 Thank you for joining me for The Audacity to Podcast. 00:00:15.375 --> 00:00:19.535 I'm Daniel J. Lewis. And it does take audacity to podcast. 00:00:19.695 --> 00:00:22.894 It takes that courage, the guts, the power to believe that you 00:00:22.894 --> 00:00:26.494 can share a message to impact people anywhere in the world, 00:00:26.734 --> 00:00:29.535 sometimes literally from your closet or your basement because 00:00:29.535 --> 00:00:31.940 after all, that's where the sound is often the best for us 00:00:31.940 --> 00:00:32.739 recording. 00:00:32.899 --> 00:00:37.859 And I named my show The Audacity to Podcast because that's really 00:00:37.859 --> 00:00:42.659 what it is and what it takes to podcast, believing that you can 00:00:42.659 --> 00:00:46.315 impact people even though you don't have a massive budget. 00:00:46.315 --> 00:00:47.995 You don't have a huge radio tower. 00:00:47.995 --> 00:00:50.554 You don't have a huge production team behind you. 00:00:50.715 --> 00:00:55.274 Us independent podcasters are podcasting from our homes and, yes, 00:00:55.274 --> 00:00:58.635 literally our closets or our basements because that's what we can 00:00:58.635 --> 00:00:58.795 do. 00:00:59.240 --> 00:01:04.359 And yet, some of us are impacting the world more than the radio 00:01:04.359 --> 00:01:08.439 broadcasters are because of the audacity that you have. 00:01:08.599 --> 00:01:12.359 And so this news is, I think, far more exciting than world's best 00:01:12.359 --> 00:01:13.000 cup of coffee. 00:01:13.064 --> 00:01:17.224 Edison Research revealed that as of the fourth quarter 20 25, 00:01:17.465 --> 00:01:22.265 Americans spent more time listening to podcasts than spoken 00:01:22.265 --> 00:01:24.185 content on AMFM radio. 00:01:24.185 --> 00:01:27.979 Now this isn't the number of Americans or the number of shows 00:01:27.979 --> 00:01:31.739 that they're listening to. This is the more important metric. 00:01:31.979 --> 00:01:37.499 The most important currency that we have as humans, time. 00:01:37.899 --> 00:01:39.579 All of us have 24 hours a day. 00:01:39.895 --> 00:01:44.135 How we invest that time can make a huge difference to our 00:01:44.135 --> 00:01:46.855 futures. And for many people, it does. 00:01:46.935 --> 00:01:49.895 You look at people who achieve a lot. Yes. 00:01:49.895 --> 00:01:53.329 There are certain personality factors, but the biggest factor is 00:01:53.329 --> 00:01:56.689 how they choose to invest their time. 00:01:57.009 --> 00:02:00.769 And it's exciting to see that more Americans are now choosing to 00:02:00.769 --> 00:02:05.009 invest their time listening to podcasts than spoken content on 00:02:05.009 --> 00:02:07.715 AMFM radio. I have the link to this study. 00:02:07.715 --> 00:02:10.354 It's part of the Share of Ear study from Edison Research, and 00:02:10.354 --> 00:02:11.235 it's a great study. 00:02:11.235 --> 00:02:13.634 I really love Share of Ear, not just the name, which is 00:02:13.634 --> 00:02:15.715 brilliant, but also what they share in it. 00:02:15.715 --> 00:02:18.354 So many great insights that can apply, and we can learn things 00:02:18.354 --> 00:02:22.460 from as podcasters, seeing how people spend their time with their 00:02:22.460 --> 00:02:23.180 ears. 00:02:23.419 --> 00:02:27.500 But lest you think this is only because of the whole thing about 00:02:27.500 --> 00:02:30.860 YouTube and podcasts, and let's just clear this up right now. 00:02:30.939 --> 00:02:32.939 YouTube is not a podcasting platform. 00:02:32.939 --> 00:02:37.044 Nothing on YouTube is I know that's a strong opinion, but I'm 00:02:37.044 --> 00:02:38.724 planting my flag on that. 00:02:38.724 --> 00:02:42.164 But that aside, I don't think that's factored into this because 00:02:42.164 --> 00:02:47.365 they were specifically asking about what people are listening to. 00:02:47.764 --> 00:02:50.860 Not what they're watching, but listening. 00:02:51.340 --> 00:02:55.819 And they're either listening to podcasts or listening to AMFM 00:02:55.819 --> 00:02:56.620 radio. 00:02:56.699 --> 00:03:02.300 And in this study, it's shown a steady decline of AMFM radio talk 00:03:02.300 --> 00:03:10.935 content from 2015 to 2025, dropping from 75% in 2015 to now 39% 00:03:10.935 --> 00:03:12.134 in 2025. 00:03:12.134 --> 00:03:17.600 Whereas podcasts on the other hand were at a mere 10% in 2015. 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:21.599 That's 10 years after Apple launched support for podcasts in 00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:23.120 iTunes 4.9. 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:26.240 And podcasts had been around then for more than a decade, and 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:29.360 they were only at 10% of the time people were listening. 00:03:29.525 --> 00:03:33.205 Now for me, by that time, my time spent listening to spoken word 00:03:33.205 --> 00:03:37.765 content, podcasts were 95%, a 100% probably. 00:03:37.765 --> 00:03:40.004 Every now and then, would listen to an audiobook. 00:03:40.004 --> 00:03:43.919 But for me, I stopped listening to the radio in 20 o 5, and I 00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:48.159 have not intentionally listened to the radio ever since then 00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:49.520 because of podcasts. 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:53.680 So I know I'm on the the extreme side of that, and maybe you are 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:56.719 too. So podcasts were 10% in 2015. 00:03:57.294 --> 00:04:03.055 Now as of fourth quarter 20 25, there are 40% of the time spent 00:04:03.055 --> 00:04:07.775 listening, whereas AMFM talk radio is at 39%. 00:04:07.935 --> 00:04:10.414 And what I also find interesting is while the decline of radio 00:04:10.414 --> 00:04:16.569 has been rather steady from 75%, now 39% over these 10 years, the 00:04:16.569 --> 00:04:20.250 growth of podcasting has not been a steady growth. 00:04:20.490 --> 00:04:24.569 At times, it looked kind of stagnant, like from 2018 to 2019, 00:04:24.995 --> 00:04:29.475 same 16%. But then there was a spike from 2019 to 2020. 00:04:29.475 --> 00:04:32.754 Then you might think there was a spike from 2020 to 2021 because 00:04:32.754 --> 00:04:34.675 of COVID lockdowns and all of that stuff. 00:04:34.675 --> 00:04:37.795 But, no, there was actually a decrease in time spent listening to 00:04:37.795 --> 00:04:39.875 podcasts from 2020 to 2021. 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:46.639 But then from 2021 to 2023, it went from 20% to 37%, almost a 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:48.720 straight line across all 3 of those years. 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:53.600 And now here at 2025, as of the latest from the study, it's at 00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:55.279 40% of time. 00:04:55.774 --> 00:05:00.415 So this is interesting that it's had its ups and downs while 00:05:00.415 --> 00:05:03.295 radio has been on a steady decline. It's interesting to me. 00:05:03.295 --> 00:05:06.814 I'm just not too interesting to the AMFM radio people, but it's 00:05:06.814 --> 00:05:10.175 exciting now that people are choosing to spend more time 00:05:10.175 --> 00:05:11.214 listening to podcast. 00:05:11.399 --> 00:05:15.399 And especially since podcast consumption is time shifted and you 00:05:15.399 --> 00:05:18.519 have other abilities over how you consume a podcast, like being 00:05:18.519 --> 00:05:21.479 able to listen faster called pod speeding. 00:05:21.479 --> 00:05:24.120 So you can listen at 1.5 x or faster than that. 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:26.439 I often listen at please don't think I'm crazy for this. 00:05:26.725 --> 00:05:31.605 2.5 x with the silence reduction feature in it, so that sometimes 00:05:31.605 --> 00:05:33.605 makes it seem even faster. 00:05:33.764 --> 00:05:37.524 But it's possible to consume a lot more content listening to 00:05:37.524 --> 00:05:40.725 podcasts than listening to AMFM radio, especially when you factor 00:05:40.725 --> 00:05:44.480 in things like how much advertising there is on AMFM radio versus 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:45.519 in podcast. 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:50.160 The percentage in an hour for AMFM radio advertising is higher 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:52.399 than average percentage for podcast. 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:55.845 And many of the podcasts I listen to have a very low percentage 00:05:55.845 --> 00:05:58.645 of advertising or even no ads at all. 00:05:58.725 --> 00:06:02.245 Or if they do have ads, I don't really mind them that much 00:06:02.324 --> 00:06:06.004 because they're much more relevant because they're more related 00:06:06.004 --> 00:06:08.645 to the podcast or the audience of the podcast. 00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:12.879 And so it's exciting to see more time spent with podcast. 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:17.840 Just a 1 for 1, an actual minute of time, not minutes of content. 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:21.120 I guess that the minutes of content is much higher than this 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:22.879 because of the pod speeders like me. 00:06:23.164 --> 00:06:26.604 But I do have some structured thoughts to share with you on this. 00:06:26.604 --> 00:06:29.725 And definitely look at the chapters, get the notes for this 00:06:29.725 --> 00:06:33.564 episode, and get that link to the study so you can read the 00:06:33.564 --> 00:06:33.964 article. 00:06:33.964 --> 00:06:36.670 It's a very short article from Edison Research, but they also 00:06:36.670 --> 00:06:39.870 have much more detail from the Share of Ear in their studies and 00:06:39.870 --> 00:06:40.910 things that they share. 00:06:40.990 --> 00:06:43.310 It's always exciting when they come out with this information. 00:06:43.470 --> 00:06:46.430 So get those links in the notes or the chapters, a simple tap or 00:06:46.430 --> 00:06:49.654 swipe away, and you can probably see this chart in the chapter 00:06:49.654 --> 00:06:50.774 images as well. 00:06:50.774 --> 00:06:52.774 But here are some thoughts I wanna share with you. 00:06:52.774 --> 00:06:55.894 First, this is the sad thing for the AMFM radio people. 00:06:55.974 --> 00:06:58.774 AMFM radio is dying. 00:06:59.014 --> 00:07:01.574 I recently attended and spoke at the National Religious 00:07:01.574 --> 00:07:03.654 Broadcasters Convention or NRB. 00:07:04.019 --> 00:07:07.699 Every year, they have an advocate who comes and speaks on their 00:07:07.699 --> 00:07:13.300 efforts to keep FM and especially AM radio in cars and accessible 00:07:13.300 --> 00:07:15.540 to all Americans. But think about this. 00:07:16.035 --> 00:07:21.074 When is the last time you actually wanted the AMFM radio in your 00:07:21.074 --> 00:07:24.275 car? Well, we'll dig into that a little more in detail. 00:07:24.275 --> 00:07:27.715 But I might have made some enemies when in a much smaller 00:07:27.715 --> 00:07:30.790 setting, it was the digital media committee meeting, and they 00:07:30.790 --> 00:07:34.550 invited some people to participate and watch the meeting even 00:07:34.550 --> 00:07:36.710 though they weren't members of the committee itself. 00:07:36.710 --> 00:07:39.910 But they opened it up for anyone to share some thoughts on more 00:07:39.910 --> 00:07:43.355 content that should be covered in future NRB conventions, And 00:07:43.355 --> 00:07:47.595 someone had just spoken on their efforts and advocacy for saving 00:07:47.595 --> 00:07:50.154 FM and AM radio in cars. 00:07:50.394 --> 00:07:54.555 And I had this internal dialogue or debate really that I was 00:07:54.555 --> 00:07:56.729 thinking, should I say this? No. Maybe I shouldn't. 00:07:56.729 --> 00:07:58.009 Maybe I should. No. Maybe I shouldn't. 00:07:58.009 --> 00:08:00.569 Ultimately, I decided I have to say this. 00:08:00.649 --> 00:08:03.289 And maybe I made some enemies, and I even joked about that. 00:08:03.289 --> 00:08:04.810 I said, you might hate me for this. 00:08:04.810 --> 00:08:07.689 You might even say that I should be kicked out for saying this, 00:08:07.925 --> 00:08:12.084 but I think it's great that you're fighting to keep AMFM radio. 00:08:12.084 --> 00:08:13.285 Keep that fight up. 00:08:13.285 --> 00:08:17.925 But ultimately, it's a losing battle because ultimately, it will 00:08:18.084 --> 00:08:18.805 die. 00:08:19.045 --> 00:08:23.730 And so we need to not just think about that transition to 00:08:23.730 --> 00:08:27.970 digital, but make that transition and make it a full time kind of 00:08:27.970 --> 00:08:31.569 transition where digital becomes the primary focus. 00:08:31.889 --> 00:08:36.289 And I see that AMFM radio is dying in 4 specific ways, 00:08:36.595 --> 00:08:40.434 availability, content, desire, and audience. 00:08:40.595 --> 00:08:41.955 First, the availability of it. 00:08:41.955 --> 00:08:43.955 Well, yeah, it's being removed from cars. 00:08:44.034 --> 00:08:48.274 Did you know that AM radio actually causes some interference in 00:08:48.274 --> 00:08:49.634 many electric vehicles? 00:08:50.079 --> 00:08:53.440 And there might be a day where FM radio causes interference too 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:58.240 or maybe causes interference with 6 g phones or any kind of data 00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:01.440 connection that's built into the car. That might be coming too. 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:05.945 The availability is also diminishing in the kinds of devices we 00:09:05.945 --> 00:09:06.345 buy. 00:09:06.345 --> 00:09:09.784 When is the last time that you bought a device that could get an 00:09:09.784 --> 00:09:14.745 AM or FM radio signal? I haven't bought 1 in more than 25 years. 00:09:15.149 --> 00:09:18.990 Gosh. That makes me feel so old. I am not old, by the way. 00:09:18.990 --> 00:09:21.950 I am still young, still have lots of energy in me. 00:09:21.950 --> 00:09:26.750 But the only reason I even have a device in my home with AMFM 00:09:26.750 --> 00:09:31.184 radio on it is because it's my original stereo I got as a 00:09:31.184 --> 00:09:34.544 teenager for listening to my music collection back then on CDs, 00:09:34.544 --> 00:09:36.625 and it had an AMFM radio on it. 00:09:36.625 --> 00:09:39.825 That wasn't exactly an appeal to me except for back then I 00:09:39.825 --> 00:09:42.865 listened to Adventures in Odyssey, which came over the radio. 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:47.080 But the only reason I have that radio still today is because the 00:09:47.080 --> 00:09:51.879 speakers that were attached to it are better than my TV speakers 00:09:51.960 --> 00:09:55.240 and better than a soundbar that I can afford for my TV. 00:09:55.240 --> 00:10:00.284 So I use that old radio, that old stereo system as the speakers 00:10:00.605 --> 00:10:01.884 for my TV. 00:10:02.044 --> 00:10:05.644 That's the only reason I still have a working radio in my home is 00:10:05.644 --> 00:10:08.605 because of that. Do you even have any radios? 00:10:08.605 --> 00:10:10.924 When is the last time you turned on a radio? 00:10:11.350 --> 00:10:14.710 The availability of AMFM radio is dying. 00:10:14.870 --> 00:10:17.269 Also, the content is dying. 00:10:17.350 --> 00:10:20.629 You look at what's broadcast on terrestrial radio stations and 00:10:20.629 --> 00:10:22.309 even some of the satellite stations. 00:10:22.470 --> 00:10:26.404 It's pretty much the same handful of topics across all of the 00:10:26.404 --> 00:10:27.524 radio stations. 00:10:27.845 --> 00:10:34.485 Sports, politics, news, finances, relationships, religion. 00:10:34.804 --> 00:10:37.684 Maybe if you're lucky, you might get some tech somewhere in 00:10:37.684 --> 00:10:41.204 there. And late night, you sometimes get the wildcard topics. 00:10:41.540 --> 00:10:45.460 But you're not going to really find niche content. 00:10:45.700 --> 00:10:48.820 And the content on the radio is kind of dying itself. 00:10:48.820 --> 00:10:53.540 It's increasingly being pushed out by advertising because they 00:10:53.540 --> 00:10:56.934 have to cover their bills for broadcasting this content, 00:10:56.934 --> 00:10:58.855 especially with fewer people listening. 00:10:58.855 --> 00:11:02.134 That means they have to cover their expenses in other ways, and 00:11:02.134 --> 00:11:03.975 other stuff is just pushing it out. 00:11:03.975 --> 00:11:07.814 So you can't really find niche content on the radio. 00:11:08.289 --> 00:11:13.250 The desire then for AMFM radio content is dying, and that's why 00:11:13.250 --> 00:11:19.970 you're seeing that decrease from 75% in 2015 to 39% in 2025. 00:11:20.434 --> 00:11:23.794 There's just not the desire for AMFM radio. 00:11:23.875 --> 00:11:27.394 I encountered this many years ago as well, where I just thought, 00:11:27.475 --> 00:11:31.634 why do I want to listen to what someone else decides they want me 00:11:31.634 --> 00:11:34.929 to listen to? Wanna listen to that. I want to listen to my music. 00:11:34.929 --> 00:11:36.850 I want to listen to my subjects. 00:11:37.009 --> 00:11:40.929 I want to listen what I want to listen to and when I want to 00:11:40.929 --> 00:11:41.570 listen to it. 00:11:41.570 --> 00:11:45.490 Not waiting until the ideal broadcast time where I have to be 00:11:45.490 --> 00:11:48.574 there to catch the station at just this particular time and then, 00:11:48.574 --> 00:11:51.375 oh, there are all of the ads and the traffic report and the 00:11:51.375 --> 00:11:54.975 weather and the news on the tens and fives and however they work 00:11:54.975 --> 00:11:58.254 that out. No. Not that kind of thing. But I desired more. 00:11:58.639 --> 00:12:02.000 I think other people are also desiring more than they can get 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:03.519 from AMFM radio. 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:08.320 And that desire then for AMFM radio is dying too. 00:12:08.320 --> 00:12:12.125 And that's what the data is just showing. People desire it less. 00:12:12.125 --> 00:12:15.804 They don't want to spend as much time with AMFM radio. 00:12:15.884 --> 00:12:20.524 They are now, on average, spending more time by intentional 00:12:20.524 --> 00:12:24.524 choice listening to podcasts. That's the other interesting thing. 00:12:24.524 --> 00:12:26.445 The intentional choice aspect of this. 00:12:26.660 --> 00:12:30.980 A lot of people will kind of accidentally listen to radio or 00:12:30.980 --> 00:12:34.660 kinda default to certain radio stuff, and it might just be they 00:12:34.660 --> 00:12:37.700 turn on the radio, see what's on, and this kinda seems 00:12:37.700 --> 00:12:39.860 interesting. What is the show? Is this about? 00:12:39.860 --> 00:12:43.625 Whereas on a podcast, you are picking what you want to listen to, 00:12:43.625 --> 00:12:46.985 either by the podcast that you're following or even the specific 00:12:46.985 --> 00:12:49.705 episodes that you're choosing to listen to at certain times. 00:12:49.785 --> 00:12:52.585 Like, there are many times that I want to listen to podcasts 00:12:52.585 --> 00:12:56.419 about podcasting right now, or I want to listen to news podcast 00:12:56.419 --> 00:13:01.059 or comedy podcast or religious podcast, and I'm choosing what I 00:13:01.059 --> 00:13:02.179 want to listen to. 00:13:02.259 --> 00:13:04.899 You don't get that kind of choice with AMFM radio. 00:13:05.059 --> 00:13:08.485 In fact, they remove the choice from you a lot of times, where 00:13:08.485 --> 00:13:11.365 sometimes it seems like at a particular time on the radio, no 00:13:11.365 --> 00:13:14.565 matter what station you turn to, you're hearing pretty much the 00:13:14.565 --> 00:13:16.725 same content. The desire is dying. 00:13:16.884 --> 00:13:21.445 And fourth thing is, unfortunately, the audience is literally 00:13:21.445 --> 00:13:21.764 dying. 00:13:22.160 --> 00:13:26.240 The average age of a podcast consumer is lower than the average 00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:31.200 age of a radio consumer. AMFM radio consumers are old. 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:33.440 There's no delicate way to put it. 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:37.024 They are old, and they are dying. That's unfortunate. 00:13:37.024 --> 00:13:41.585 Every life is precious and worth celebrating, but the audience is 00:13:41.585 --> 00:13:42.865 literally dying. 00:13:42.945 --> 00:13:45.904 And the new audiences coming along are choosing to consume their 00:13:45.904 --> 00:13:49.039 content in different ways because they have a desire to consume 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:49.759 it differently. 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:53.440 They have a desire for different content, and the availability is 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:54.399 different for them. 00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:58.240 So I know that the AMFM radio people are not happy about this. 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:02.545 But the exciting thing though is that there's so much more 00:14:02.545 --> 00:14:07.504 opportunity for them in podcasting because the AMFM radio side is 00:14:07.504 --> 00:14:11.665 expensive, and it has all of these restraints on it that 00:14:11.665 --> 00:14:13.585 podcasting does not have. 00:14:13.825 --> 00:14:16.465 You can talk about whatever you want in podcasting. 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:20.519 Your episodes can be as long or as short as you want, as frequent 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:21.480 as you want. 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:25.080 And there are certain rules that you don't have to follow in 00:14:25.080 --> 00:14:28.600 podcasts that you do have to follow on broadcast radio and 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:29.480 broadcast television. 00:14:29.904 --> 00:14:34.625 And there are all kinds of other things that you don't have those 00:14:34.625 --> 00:14:38.544 limitations in podcasting, but you do have so much more freedom 00:14:38.544 --> 00:14:43.985 and so much more ability and all of that at much lower costs. 00:14:44.330 --> 00:14:48.090 Think about how many successful podcasts are out there, probably 00:14:48.090 --> 00:14:51.850 podcasting, recording their episodes literally from their closet 00:14:51.850 --> 00:14:53.850 with a $50 microphone. 00:14:53.850 --> 00:14:56.889 Maybe you're 1 of those podcasters, and you're able to get great 00:14:56.889 --> 00:15:01.325 sound quality that often rivals what they have on AMFM radio. 00:15:01.404 --> 00:15:05.964 But you are in your closet, huddled between clothes, holding a 00:15:05.964 --> 00:15:09.725 $50 microphone in your hand, sweating because it's getting hot in 00:15:09.725 --> 00:15:11.725 there, but you're getting great audio. 00:15:11.725 --> 00:15:14.605 And what's even more important, you're making a bigger impact. 00:15:14.929 --> 00:15:17.730 You're building deeper relationships with people. 00:15:17.809 --> 00:15:22.209 And it's because of that that my next point here, podcasts are 00:15:22.209 --> 00:15:23.169 thriving. 00:15:23.329 --> 00:15:26.769 I find it interesting that this shift, and it's not a completely 00:15:26.769 --> 00:15:31.575 inverse or mirrored direction when you see the steady decline of 00:15:31.575 --> 00:15:37.495 radio, AMFM talk radio specifically, but the increase of podcast 00:15:37.495 --> 00:15:41.910 consumption has not been as steady as the decrease of radio. 00:15:41.990 --> 00:15:45.190 In fact, it's not been even the same inverse amount. 00:15:45.269 --> 00:15:48.470 But it's interesting that people didn't just leave radio for 00:15:48.470 --> 00:15:52.230 streaming radio, where that's just the same kind of experience 00:15:52.230 --> 00:15:55.350 but consumed in a different way and maybe with more choices. 00:15:55.664 --> 00:15:59.904 Like, I remember the early days before Podcast came out back in 00:15:59.985 --> 00:16:05.264 2001, listening to Live 3 65, and someone had a streaming radio 00:16:05.264 --> 00:16:08.225 station, so to speak, of just soundtrack music. 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:10.559 And it was someone who picked soundtrack music. 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:14.160 Now I really liked their taste, and they picked a lot of songs 00:16:14.160 --> 00:16:17.120 that I really liked and led me to all kinds of other music that I 00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:17.600 liked. 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:21.040 But that was streaming radio, and that never really picked up. 00:16:21.485 --> 00:16:24.925 And it certainly hasn't picked up as much as podcasts have picked 00:16:24.925 --> 00:16:25.404 up. 00:16:25.485 --> 00:16:30.205 So it's not like people just chose a different way of getting the 00:16:30.205 --> 00:16:31.165 same experience. 00:16:31.404 --> 00:16:34.365 They're choosing to spend their time with a completely different 00:16:34.365 --> 00:16:35.085 experience. 00:16:35.165 --> 00:16:38.860 And I think because of those same 4 reasons, availability, 00:16:38.860 --> 00:16:40.460 content, desire, and audience. 00:16:40.620 --> 00:16:43.419 Like, you look at the availability of podcasts. 00:16:43.740 --> 00:16:47.500 More and more apps and platforms are adding a podcast section or 00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:51.725 a podcast feature inside of the app, inside of the experience to 00:16:51.725 --> 00:16:55.725 the point now that many of these newer cars with digital dash 00:16:55.725 --> 00:16:59.325 systems and all of this stuff have a podcast feature built right 00:16:59.325 --> 00:17:02.205 into the car. You don't even have to pair your phone with it. 00:17:02.205 --> 00:17:05.164 Sometimes they even just get their own Internet connection for 00:17:05.164 --> 00:17:09.269 the car, and you can consume a podcast directly in the car, 00:17:09.269 --> 00:17:12.070 directly from the Internet without having to connect it to 00:17:12.070 --> 00:17:16.630 anything else. It's right there. TVs have podcast apps on them. 00:17:16.869 --> 00:17:20.549 It seems like there isn't a device anymore that doesn't have a 00:17:20.549 --> 00:17:22.070 podcast feature on it. 00:17:22.444 --> 00:17:26.765 The availability of podcasts and I know that there is some debate 00:17:26.765 --> 00:17:29.164 in some of these places, like, is it actually a podcast that 00:17:29.164 --> 00:17:29.724 they're offering? 00:17:29.724 --> 00:17:32.525 Like, you look at YouTube and how they now have this podcast 00:17:32.525 --> 00:17:35.325 section, which YouTube is not a podcasting platform. 00:17:35.325 --> 00:17:36.605 Nothing on YouTube is a podcast. 00:17:36.605 --> 00:17:40.059 But that aside, still, they are calling it podcasts, and they're 00:17:40.059 --> 00:17:43.259 labeling this as this is available on our platform. 00:17:43.259 --> 00:17:49.420 So the availability of podcasts is thriving, and the content is 00:17:49.420 --> 00:17:52.859 thriving too. It's been thriving since the beginning of podcast. 00:17:53.105 --> 00:17:56.464 This is what attracted me to podcasts in the beginning when 00:17:56.464 --> 00:17:59.505 iTunes 4.9 released in 20 o 5. 00:17:59.744 --> 00:18:03.984 I was driving 90 minutes each way to my full time job at that 00:18:03.984 --> 00:18:07.664 time, and I was burning out on other audio content. 00:18:07.664 --> 00:18:11.250 I'd listened to all of my music over and over and over again, and 00:18:11.250 --> 00:18:12.289 I burned out on that. 00:18:12.289 --> 00:18:15.250 And I didn't really have the money to add to my music collection. 00:18:15.250 --> 00:18:18.289 I had listened to every audiobook I could find that was 00:18:18.289 --> 00:18:20.049 interesting from the public library. 00:18:20.130 --> 00:18:27.085 And talk radio was just burning out my brain cells and frying 00:18:27.085 --> 00:18:30.125 every last brain cell I had, it felt like, because of the 00:18:30.125 --> 00:18:34.845 advertising, the sports talk, the weather, the traffic, the news, 00:18:34.845 --> 00:18:38.549 all of this stuff I did not want to hear, plus all of the heavy 00:18:38.549 --> 00:18:39.190 advertising. 00:18:39.190 --> 00:18:42.710 And that was back in o 5 in the few years before then. 00:18:42.710 --> 00:18:44.869 Now the advertising is so much more. 00:18:44.950 --> 00:18:49.190 And the content was that same handful of content, but I wanted 00:18:49.190 --> 00:18:52.345 more. I wanted content that I wanted. 00:18:52.345 --> 00:18:54.904 I wanted to listen to what I wanted to listen to when I wanted to 00:18:54.904 --> 00:18:57.625 listen to it, but that wasn't available on radio. 00:18:57.705 --> 00:19:01.384 But it was available in podcast, and that's what made me fall in 00:19:01.384 --> 00:19:02.505 love with podcast. 00:19:02.505 --> 00:19:05.970 And I said this to the National Religious Broadcasters Digital 00:19:05.970 --> 00:19:08.769 Media Committee meeting. I admitted that here I am. 00:19:08.769 --> 00:19:13.009 I still consider myself young, but I have not turned on a radio 00:19:13.089 --> 00:19:16.130 since o 5. Why? Because of podcasts. 00:19:16.615 --> 00:19:20.615 I fell in love instantly with the content of podcast where I 00:19:20.615 --> 00:19:24.934 could find a podcast about any topic, and this was in o 5. 00:19:25.335 --> 00:19:28.134 And now there are so many more podcasts about so many more 00:19:28.134 --> 00:19:31.255 different topics too, hosted by so many more different 00:19:31.255 --> 00:19:31.894 personalities. 00:19:32.179 --> 00:19:36.099 But I love that even back then and so much more today, the 00:19:36.099 --> 00:19:41.059 content is thriving. You can find a podcast about anything. 00:19:41.059 --> 00:19:43.940 Or if there isn't a podcast about the subject that you are most 00:19:43.940 --> 00:19:48.054 passionate about, you can be the 1 to start the podcast about 00:19:48.054 --> 00:19:52.295 that, and you can connect with an audience who has been dying for 00:19:52.295 --> 00:19:57.174 that content. The content is thriving in podcasting. 00:19:57.335 --> 00:20:01.494 And because of that, the desire for podcasts are increasing too. 00:20:01.789 --> 00:20:05.630 I made this joke at the hall of fame ceremony when I was inducted 00:20:05.630 --> 00:20:06.509 a couple of years ago. 00:20:06.509 --> 00:20:08.750 And and I know I still need to share that speech with you because 00:20:08.750 --> 00:20:11.069 I'd love to share that experience with you. 00:20:11.069 --> 00:20:14.589 But I had my parents there, and they got to see me inducted into 00:20:14.589 --> 00:20:15.470 the Podcast Hall of Fame. 00:20:15.664 --> 00:20:18.384 And I made this joke, and this is a true story. 00:20:18.625 --> 00:20:21.505 I admitted in front of them, in front of the whole audience, I 00:20:21.505 --> 00:20:25.105 admitted that I was using my parents as a social experiment to 00:20:25.105 --> 00:20:29.670 see when they would have an interest in podcasts and when they 00:20:29.670 --> 00:20:32.390 would listen to podcasts unprovoked by me. 00:20:32.390 --> 00:20:36.069 So I never tried to educate them on what a podcast is or why they 00:20:36.069 --> 00:20:38.470 should listen or how to listen or anything like that. 00:20:38.549 --> 00:20:43.174 As my little social experiment, I just sat back and waited to see 00:20:43.174 --> 00:20:45.654 when would they discover podcasts. 00:20:45.654 --> 00:20:49.575 When would they, more importantly, desire podcasts? 00:20:49.734 --> 00:20:53.654 And when I saw them actually desiring podcasts, telling me about 00:20:53.654 --> 00:20:56.694 podcasts that they were listening to, that's when I knew that 00:20:56.694 --> 00:20:57.974 podcasting was mainstream. 00:20:58.349 --> 00:21:00.910 I'll share more details about why that was so funny in my speech 00:21:00.910 --> 00:21:02.509 when I share that speech later. 00:21:02.509 --> 00:21:06.589 But this is what people are finding is also as they discover, 00:21:06.589 --> 00:21:10.589 wow, there's content about this subject that I am so passionate 00:21:10.589 --> 00:21:13.950 about. What other passions might there be podcasts about? 00:21:14.134 --> 00:21:16.295 People get hooked with it. 00:21:16.295 --> 00:21:19.335 I think this is a big reason why people love pod speeding too, 00:21:19.335 --> 00:21:22.535 listening to the content faster because they discover so much 00:21:22.535 --> 00:21:25.095 more content they want to listen to as well. 00:21:25.174 --> 00:21:28.295 And I recently had to do some culling with my podcast app because 00:21:28.295 --> 00:21:32.909 I was just following too many shows, so much good content out 00:21:32.909 --> 00:21:34.829 there that I want to listen to. 00:21:35.069 --> 00:21:38.109 And sometimes I feel guilty for not listening to certain content 00:21:38.109 --> 00:21:41.325 that people tell me is so good, and I know it's so good, but I 00:21:41.325 --> 00:21:42.924 just don't have enough time. 00:21:42.924 --> 00:21:47.244 Even as fast as I listen to content up to 3 times speed, 00:21:47.244 --> 00:21:50.605 depending on how the silence reduction works. Yeah. 00:21:50.605 --> 00:21:53.164 You can call me insane if you want, but I can consume audio 00:21:53.164 --> 00:21:54.444 content fairly quickly. 00:21:54.524 --> 00:21:58.309 And I just have so much I want to consume, such a desire to 00:21:58.309 --> 00:21:59.589 consume all this good content. 00:21:59.589 --> 00:22:01.029 And other people are like that too. 00:22:01.029 --> 00:22:04.309 They get excited about their what they're listening to and about 00:22:04.309 --> 00:22:07.509 the topics that are out there because of the content and because 00:22:07.509 --> 00:22:08.309 of the availability. 00:22:08.654 --> 00:22:14.654 So the desire is thriving, and the audience then is thriving too. 00:22:15.055 --> 00:22:19.855 Because today, I think podcasting has enabled more entrepreneurs 00:22:19.934 --> 00:22:21.855 than any other media in the past. 00:22:21.855 --> 00:22:25.329 In the eighties, nineties, early 2 thousands, maybe even before 00:22:25.329 --> 00:22:29.009 the eighties, there was this thing called programs I've heard 00:22:29.009 --> 00:22:32.049 about. I think I've read about them in history books and museums. 00:22:32.049 --> 00:22:35.169 But it would be where someone would sell some kind of training 00:22:35.169 --> 00:22:39.474 program on cassette tapes or a VHS or maybe even CDs. 00:22:39.555 --> 00:22:43.075 And these were experts teaching certain lessons that then they 00:22:43.075 --> 00:22:46.355 would sell on these distribution methods, that people would 00:22:46.355 --> 00:22:49.795 listen to these and study these and learn from these things. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:53.039 And they would sometimes sell these things for hundreds or even 00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:56.480 thousands of dollars for audio programs. 00:22:56.720 --> 00:23:02.480 Now you can get that same level of expertise and information, 00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:06.684 maybe even more for free from a podcast. 00:23:07.164 --> 00:23:10.204 And because of that, audiences are thriving. 00:23:10.204 --> 00:23:13.404 Look at the story of John Lee Dumas with Entrepreneurs on Fire. 00:23:13.565 --> 00:23:18.044 And even just his origin story that he wanted content that would 00:23:18.044 --> 00:23:20.970 inspire him, and he would get to learn from other entrepreneurs. 00:23:20.970 --> 00:23:24.009 And he felt like that content wasn't out there, and he decided he 00:23:24.009 --> 00:23:27.609 wanted to present that content. So that helped him to thrive. 00:23:27.769 --> 00:23:30.650 And then the kind of content that he's been sharing has been able 00:23:30.650 --> 00:23:34.410 to pull out from his audience has helped many other entrepreneurs 00:23:34.410 --> 00:23:39.234 to thrive and encourage them to launch their own endeavors too. 00:23:39.394 --> 00:23:44.434 And all of the great knowledge that's out there about business, 00:23:44.674 --> 00:23:50.515 finances, relationships, faith, and so much more is helping 00:23:50.515 --> 00:23:54.169 people thrive in all of these different areas. 00:23:54.409 --> 00:23:59.049 So podcasts are thriving in availability, content desire, and 00:23:59.049 --> 00:24:01.769 audience. So here's the takeaway for you. 00:24:01.769 --> 00:24:03.690 Can you tell I'm excited about all of this? 00:24:03.690 --> 00:24:06.454 And I hope you're excited too because this is the takeaway. 00:24:06.455 --> 00:24:08.535 Embrace a niche. Yes. 00:24:08.615 --> 00:24:11.174 There are hundreds of thousands of podcasts out there. 00:24:11.174 --> 00:24:13.255 Actually, there are millions of podcasts, but they're not all 00:24:13.255 --> 00:24:14.375 publishing anymore. 00:24:14.375 --> 00:24:17.735 The numbers, you can go over to podcastindustryinsights.com to 00:24:17.735 --> 00:24:20.140 see the numbers that I collect over there of how many podcasts 00:24:20.140 --> 00:24:22.779 have actually published an episode in the last week. 00:24:22.940 --> 00:24:26.220 And it's a much smaller number than you might think. 00:24:26.539 --> 00:24:30.859 So the competition is not all that big, but don't let that bog 00:24:30.859 --> 00:24:33.820 your mind down. Instead, embrace a niche. 00:24:34.224 --> 00:24:37.345 And this is the magic word in podcasting, your niche or for the 00:24:37.345 --> 00:24:38.784 British people, niche. 00:24:38.784 --> 00:24:41.424 But I'm an American, so I pronounce it niche. 00:24:41.504 --> 00:24:44.944 The niche that you can have in podcasting is, yes, it could be 00:24:44.944 --> 00:24:45.744 your content. 00:24:45.744 --> 00:24:48.470 A lot of people tend to think about that, that I need to have a 00:24:48.470 --> 00:24:49.269 niche content. 00:24:49.269 --> 00:24:53.910 My podcast needs to be a podcast for busy moms that are thinking 00:24:53.910 --> 00:24:56.549 about what to cook for dinner tonight, and that is what my 00:24:56.549 --> 00:24:57.589 podcast is about. 00:24:57.670 --> 00:25:01.670 The what's for dinner tonight podcast for busy moms with toddlers 00:25:01.670 --> 00:25:03.004 who are boys. 00:25:03.005 --> 00:25:07.325 And, yeah, you can really narrow your niche down like that. Yes. 00:25:07.325 --> 00:25:11.085 You could, but that doesn't have to be the only kind of niche. 00:25:11.244 --> 00:25:14.924 You might be really passionate about movies or about certain 00:25:14.924 --> 00:25:16.284 books or something like that. 00:25:16.690 --> 00:25:22.049 And that's not completely a niche, but the niche could be you, 00:25:22.210 --> 00:25:26.369 your perspective, your experience, your approach to the subject. 00:25:26.609 --> 00:25:29.355 I remember back when I was podcasting about the TV show Once Upon 00:25:29.355 --> 00:25:32.474 a Time, there were several other podcasts about the TV show as 00:25:32.474 --> 00:25:32.954 well. 00:25:33.035 --> 00:25:37.275 I think ours was the only 1 to survive all of the seasons of the 00:25:37.275 --> 00:25:41.275 show and podcast from the beginning to the very end, and ours was 00:25:41.275 --> 00:25:43.835 the most popular unofficial podcast about the show. 00:25:44.089 --> 00:25:48.649 And our niche was we went really in-depth with the theorization 00:25:48.970 --> 00:25:51.690 and the Easter eggs that we discovered and all of this other 00:25:51.690 --> 00:25:52.250 stuff. 00:25:52.250 --> 00:25:55.210 Another podcast that I thought of, I remember talking to the 00:25:55.210 --> 00:25:57.785 podcaster, and was a little bit discouraged about there are all 00:25:57.785 --> 00:26:00.505 of these other podcasts about once upon a time, and I'm not sure 00:26:00.505 --> 00:26:03.144 quite where we fit. But I pointed it out to him. 00:26:03.305 --> 00:26:07.065 You have a niche here in your approach to this niche topic. 00:26:07.144 --> 00:26:10.759 Your approach is kind of making fun of the show. 00:26:10.839 --> 00:26:14.119 You love laughing about the show, laughing along with things. 00:26:14.119 --> 00:26:16.279 You and your cohost have a lot of fun. 00:26:16.440 --> 00:26:19.960 So I suggested some taglines to him, and I think he used 1 of 00:26:19.960 --> 00:26:23.400 them with something like, laughing our way to happy ever after or 00:26:23.400 --> 00:26:25.965 something like that. But that was their niche. 00:26:25.965 --> 00:26:28.845 Even though they were talking about a niche subject, a specific 00:26:28.845 --> 00:26:32.684 TV show, they further niched down from their perspective, their 00:26:32.684 --> 00:26:33.325 approach. 00:26:33.404 --> 00:26:37.005 So if you're doing a podcast about food, about travel, about 00:26:37.005 --> 00:26:41.429 movies, those might not be niche subjects in and of themselves, 00:26:41.669 --> 00:26:44.149 but your approach can be the niche. 00:26:44.309 --> 00:26:47.990 And that approach, that niche, whether it's the subject that's 00:26:47.990 --> 00:26:51.234 the niche or your approach that's the niche, that is what 00:26:51.234 --> 00:26:55.394 attracts an audience and connects with some people deeper than 00:26:55.394 --> 00:26:56.194 other things. 00:26:56.275 --> 00:26:59.875 That's why some people will listen to 1 movie review podcast over 00:26:59.875 --> 00:27:02.434 another 1. It's not because of the movies they choose. 00:27:02.700 --> 00:27:03.980 And it might not be a niche. 00:27:03.980 --> 00:27:07.019 They might all be talking about the same Marvel movies, but their 00:27:07.019 --> 00:27:10.139 approach to how they're talking about those movies is what 00:27:10.139 --> 00:27:13.339 separates them from others. And that is the same for you. 00:27:13.339 --> 00:27:18.144 So embrace a niche, whether that is your subject or your approach 00:27:18.144 --> 00:27:22.944 to the subject. Figure out what makes your show unique. 00:27:23.345 --> 00:27:27.105 That's what you should try to amplify then because that's why 00:27:27.105 --> 00:27:28.304 your audience is coming to you. 00:27:28.599 --> 00:27:32.119 And that's why people will eventually say about your podcast, oh, 00:27:32.119 --> 00:27:36.119 you gotta listen to this podcast because and fill in that blank. 00:27:36.119 --> 00:27:38.919 And that blank is your niche. 00:27:39.079 --> 00:27:41.639 Oh, you gotta listen to this podcast because it's the only 00:27:41.639 --> 00:27:44.119 podcast I've heard that gives me this. 00:27:44.654 --> 00:27:47.695 You gotta listen to this because it's the only podcast I found 00:27:47.695 --> 00:27:51.695 where they really get me, and I feel like they are asking the 00:27:51.695 --> 00:27:55.535 exact same questions I would ask of these entrepreneurs, these 00:27:55.535 --> 00:27:58.990 celebrities, these whatever it is that they're talking about or 00:27:58.990 --> 00:28:02.750 how they're presenting the information. You can be the niche. 00:28:02.910 --> 00:28:08.750 So embrace a niche, and so that then you and your podcast can 00:28:08.750 --> 00:28:12.365 thrive too. So please check out the Share of Ears study. 00:28:12.365 --> 00:28:15.085 I've got the link in the notes for this episode and in the 00:28:15.085 --> 00:28:15.724 chapters. 00:28:15.724 --> 00:28:18.765 And if you value The Audacity to Podcast, would you consider 00:28:18.765 --> 00:28:20.924 giving some value back? Put a number on it. 00:28:20.924 --> 00:28:24.220 Whatever you feel The Audacity to Podcast is worth to you and the 00:28:24.220 --> 00:28:26.859 information and inspiration you get from this. 00:28:26.940 --> 00:28:31.500 Go to the audacitytopodcast.com/giveback to figure out what it's 00:28:31.500 --> 00:28:34.220 worth to you and give back whatever value you feel it's worth. 00:28:34.220 --> 00:28:38.024 That's at the audacitytopodcast.com/giveback. 00:28:38.184 --> 00:28:40.345 And now that I've given you some of the no. No. 00:28:40.345 --> 00:28:43.065 Now that I've given you a lot of the guts, I hope, and taught you 00:28:43.065 --> 00:28:46.744 some of the tools, it's time for you to go start and grow your 00:28:46.744 --> 00:28:51.470 own podcast for passion and profit so that you can get a little 00:28:51.470 --> 00:28:56.909 bit more of that Share of Ear time from others and help others 00:28:56.909 --> 00:29:00.269 invest their time into your podcast. I'm Daniel J. 00:29:00.269 --> 00:29:04.109 Lewis from theaudacitytopodcast.com and creator of Podgagement 00:29:04.109 --> 00:29:06.535 and PodChapters. Thanks for listening.