😶🌫️Podcasting: Boom or Bust? PodPros Explores the Actively Established (AE) Landscape
Forget unicorns, the real mythical creature of podcasting is the 😊Actively Established (AE) podcaster. These interview format loving veterans, with at least 👌100 episodes under their belt and consistent release schedules, wield 90% of the influence in the space. But reaching this podcasting nirvana😇 is a slog, filled with harsh realities and podfading perils.
Podcasting Buzz: Fizzling?🍻
Overall, “podcasts” are trending down on search engines, a 17% dip from last year. However, listenership remains healthy, projected to climb 8.6% in 2024. So, what’s the catch?
The Brutal Truth: “Starting a Podcast” Rarely Means Finishing🎤
Here’s a sobering fact: most people who “start a podcast” never release more than one episode. That’s right, only 23.5% of potential AEs even bother sticking around. Of the 2.9M podcasts out there, a mere 13.2% are truly active.
There are 37,843 Actively Established podcasters, which is 32.46% of the total active independent podcasts.
💡 Fact: More than 90% of the influence in podcasting is shared among podcasters in this ‘AE’ group, which is only 7.65% of all independent podcasts!
Only 1.28% of all podcasts, active/inactive! Podcast graveyard, anyone?
| Month | Total | %Change |
|---|---|---|
| June | 30,089 | N/A |
| July | 30,112 | + 0.08% |
| August | 36,783 | + 22.2% |
| September | 37,176 | + 1.0% |
| October | 37,574 | + 1.0% |
| November | 38,133 | + 1.48% |
| December | 38,252 | + 0.3% |
| January 2024😎 | 37,843 | – 1.06% |
The AE Oasis: A Tiny Island of Influence🏝️
But if you do weather the storm and reach the 100-episode mark, you’re in a different game. AEs, just 7.65% of all independent podcasts, control over 90% of the influence. It’s an exclusive club, and the rewards are many.
| Episode Milestone | Chances Of Success |
|---|---|
| 8 Episodes | 43.44% |
| 50 Episodes | 10.61% |
| 100 Episodes | 6.37% |
| 200 Episodes | 3.13% |
| 300 Episodes | 3.93% |
💡 Fact: If you start a business, you’re 4x more likely to succeed than if you start a podcast! (“Making it” as a podcaster typically begins just after reaching 100 episodes)
Your Podcast’s Reality Check: Downloads Don’t Define You📩
Think racking up downloads is the key to success? Think again. While the top 1% of podcasts boast a whopping 5,000+ downloads in the first week, the reality is, downloads aren’t everything. Focus on building a loyal audience and delivering consistent value, and you’ll be ahead of the game. 💡 Fact: If your episodes are downloaded 478 times in the first 7 days after release, you’re in the top 10% of all podcasts!
| Podcasters Group | Episode Downloads (First 7 Days) |
|---|---|
| Top 1% | 5,082 |
| Top 5% | 1,123 |
| Top 10% | 478 |
| Top 25% | 121 |
| Top 50% | 32 |
The AE Path: Is It Worth It?
The data’s stark: your chances of “making it” as a podcaster are slimmer than starting a successful business. But remember, this report paints the big picture. There are niche communities, passionate audiences, and the potential for creative fulfillment. So, before you hit record, ask yourself: are you in it for the long haul, the passion, the community? If the answer is yes, then chase that AE dream. Read on to know more…
Real-time stats
👉 There are 2,655,060 podcasts on Apple.
👉Of these 393,388 active podcasts.
👉 There is a 85% churn rate (podfade) in the active podcasts within 12 months.
👉 In 22 months in a row of no increase in active podcasts. The number stays the same because as a show podfades, another show takes its place. (Revolving door effect)
👉What this means: Only 59,008 podcasts remain active year after year!
👆 This is where the new podcast category comes into play, which is made up of the 59k shows referenced above.
ABOUT THIS REPORT
This report highlights interview-based independent podcasts with consistent content creation (100+ episodes) – the “Actively Established” (AE) group. They account for 32.46% of all active independent podcasts, yet hold over 90% of the influence.
Why focus on 100 episodes? PodPros data shows meaningful traction starts then. To identify AEs, we filter out celebrity shows, non-interview formats, and those with only one episode.
Data is based on +/- 15 days around specific timeframes (8, 50, 100 weeks etc.) across various hosting providers. PodPros has averaged outliers and providers not meeting minimum criteria, they have then applied 39 automated formulas to calculate scores and rankings. This way a hosting provider’s size barely influences ranking; podcast activity and episode milestones are key to this matrix.
PodPros has made two manual adjustments exist: They have assigned +50 points for podcasts for hiding email addresses and +50 points for hosting providers on podstandards.org.
For hosting provider recommendations (including which to avoid), access our Actively Established Podcast Formula Course. You can get free access to this ($1,200 value) course by completing the PodScore.io quiz!
Data sources include Rephonic.com (podcast count), publicly available market data (e.g., listenership), and Buzzsprout (industry download averages). Rephonic uses automated NLP to identify guest-accepting podcasts and link social accounts, but some inaccuracies may occur.
PodPros update their data monthly based on weekly episode releases and the “AE” standard.