Podcasts are becoming mainstream.
Just this year, the number of listeners shot up with more than 50% of Americans ages twelve and older having listened to at least one podcast, according to an annual survey by Edison Research and Triton Digital. The same report also found that one-third of people in the United States said they had listened to a podcast in the last month, totalling 90 million monthly listeners.
With the growth of listenership, streaming services like Spotify have started jumping on the bandwagon. Now, a podcast start-up by the name of Luminary is mobilizing on the podcast business, hoping to become the “Netflix of podcasts.” The company announced a lineup boasting some of the biggest names in podcasts, including Guy Raz, Leon Neyfakh, and Adam Davidson. And for $8 a month, listeners can access exclusive content.
Will podcast listeners pay for a monthly subscription? If you’re a fan of podcasts, is this something you might consider? Is this the new direction for podcasts?
With guest host Libby Denkmann
Guests:
Tom Webster, senior vice president at Edison Research; he tweets
Melissa Locker, contributing writer at Fast Company; her recent piece is “Why podcast fans will always reject a “Netflix for podcasts;” she tweets