Podcasts on the rise

A survey across multiple countries shows that podcast are on the rise. People love audio, and they listen.

Overall, a third of our sample (34%) listens to a news-related podcast at least monthly but there are significant country differences. In Asian countries like South Korea (58%) and Taiwan (55%), strong smartphone penetration together with high levels of social sharing have helped podcasts grow rapidly. In the United States, which has produced much of the innovation in terms of formats (Serial, S-Town) and business models (sponsorship and targeted advertising), a third (33%) say they have accessed a news podcast in the last month. Source: Podcasts and New Audio Strategies? – Reuters Institute Digital News Report

These results have lots of implications for authors, particularly independent authors, and their audiences. More and more, audio has to be part of the marketing strategy for an independent author.