Will Podcasts Kill the Radio Star?
You must have heard the first song that ever appeared on MTV. It was called “Video Killed The Radio Star” by The Buggles. It premiered on August 1, 1981, and it was indeed a revolution in the mainstream media. Since then, things have changed significantly.
Today, people don’t have as much time for watching music videos as they did back in the 1980s. Many people feel like 24 hours is hardly enough for everything they need to do each day. It seems like there’s not enough time in one day to work, have fun, eat, and sleep. Luckily, in this battle for more, technology is on our side. We live in the era of smartphones, 5G connection to the internet, apps to help us with our daily activities, and many other technological advances.
Among these is the podcast industry. Podcasting is a kind of technology that has started gaining popularity only a few years ago. Thousands of professional journalists and amateurs who love to share their stories are hosting their podcasts on the net and providing us with new information every day.
What Is a Podcast, and How Is It Used?
Podcasts, by definition, are audio messages that are recorded in a series and are available for download. Since they are available on demand, the listener can go over them whenever they feel like it, and there’s no need for a constant internet connection. However, most people listen to their favorite podcasts online, since everyone is connected to the internet most of the time by default. A lot of influential people have their own podcasts, and they record new stuff regularly.
The podcasts resemble the radio in many ways. A person is behind the mic recording, and the listeners are on the other side of the medium. The more interesting the content is, the more listeners this “frequency” will have.
Podcasts are great also because they are “hands-free.” You can listen to them while driving, cooking, cleaning, and even doing some work that does not require too much concentration. Traveling to work, or anywhere, for that matter, is the perfect time to enjoy the words of your favorite podcasters.
Who Listens to Podcasts?
According to podcast statistics and data, podcasts have been the 7th most used media service in 2019. There are over 850.000 live podcasts around the world at the moment. By 2024, around 164 million listeners are expected to tune in and listen to some of the many podcasts online.
Around a third of all Americans claim that they’ve been listening to at least one podcast in the last month, and some of the most popular topics are politics, lifestyle, and news. The most popular podcasts in the States deal with these areas and they have millions of listeners.
The country in which this medium is the most popular, by far, is South Korea. Around 58% of the population there are actively listening to some of the many podcasts. Spain is second with 40%, and the US is among the top five with around 33%.
Conclusion
The radio is still popular in the US. There are over 15.000 radio stations in the country. Over 90% of the entire nation listens to radio almost daily. Hispanic and American-African communities are listening to the radio in 99% and 98% of the cases, respectively.
Still, the podcast medium is coming on strong on audio scene. The ability to hear exactly what you want without someone else managing the program for you is one of the advantages that will surely take over in the future.
