The Explosion of Spoken Word Audio Content

Although podcasting has been around 20 years, spoken word content is now taking off with new players in the podcast industry and with the rise of social audio.

It’s an exciting time for spoken word audio.

Over the past few years, audio platforms have undergone changes as demand has grown, listeners' behaviour changed and how audio content is consumed. Once dominated by music, the rise in popularity of spoken word audio content such as podcasts, voice enabled devices and social audio are shaping how audio streaming, hosting, and distribution platforms work. 

Apple

Apple had dominated the podcast market since it got into the industry in 2004. I remember having to rely on Apple Podcast to publish my own podcast, Indonesia In-depth, back in 2017. It took more than three weeks just to get approved so my podcast would appear on their app. The app served those who had Apple devices and left out those on other platforms. There was little innovation, if any, with their podcast app since its launch 16 years prior. 

Spotify

Spotify got into the podcast business in late 2018. First by offering podcasts on its streaming music app and then acquiring podcasting studios such as Gimlet and The Ringer to produce original podcast content. They have also begun buying the exclusive rights to podcast shows as we saw with talk show host Joe Rogan, filmmaker Ava , among others. It later bought the podcast creation platform Anchor in 2019, the platform powers the majority of Spotify’s podcasts today. The company recently announced Spotify Audience Network which will create a podcast advertising marketplace which will connect advertisers and podcast creators allowing for dynamically-placed ads, sort of like how Facebook connects advertisers to users, serving ads based on location, demographic and profile. This will obviously bring in a new era of monetization opportunities for creators but also allow brands to reach very specific audiences as a sponsor. Spotify became the biggest podcasting platform in 2020 and dominates the podcast market in Indonesia, which is one of Spotify’s fastest growing user base. 

Amazon 

Amazon, already a major player in the streaming media, has recently doubled down with podcasting in mid 2020 by offering more podcast shows, original podcast content along with audiobook-first deals through Amazon Music, Audible and Alexa-enabled devices. It also acquired podcast company Wondery late last year to expand its original content. It remains far behind Spotify in the podcast space but is aiming to make more acquisitions and original content to compete in the spoken word audio market.

Clubhouse

Recently we’ve seen new players enter into spoken word audio content, most notably Clubhouse which launched in mid 2020, which offers drop-in style audio conversations via a social media app, or “social audio”. Clubhouse is not exactly a new idea but it seems to be the easiest to use among other apps. I was slow to get on the app but found the concept interesting and believe it has a tremendous potential. You can follow other members and listen to live group discussions based on your selected interests. What’s interesting about this app is how frictionless it is to join, create, participate, or leave discussions and the serendipity of finding new speakers to enjoy. Right now, most of the clubs/rooms I find on the app tend to revolve around tech, start-ups, sales and investing, but I’m sure the topics will become more diverse as more people join. 

What’s interesting is that discussions on the app are live and not recorded like podcasts, so if you missed it, you missed it. Reportedly Clubhouse is working on an option to allow creators to record their content along with subscriptions and even a way for speakers to sell “seats” to discussions. It looks like the app has a lot of potential, from group discussions among friends to events with high profile thought leaders or celebrities.

Fireside

Entrepreneur Mark Cuban also hopes to enter into the social audio industry and has recently co-founded an app called Fireside which touts to be the “next generation of podcasting” but has yet to be launched. Rumors say it highly resembles Clubhouse with some additional options and services. It will reportedly allow creators to chat live with fans but also record, distribute and monetize their podcasts, possibly with dynamic inserted ads or perhaps paid subscriptions.

Twitter

Twitter launched its social audio “Spaces” feature recently which allows users to create live audio rooms and tweet talk invitations within the app. With Twitter’s 300 million user base, some observers believe that the Spaces may be the strongest competitor for Clubhouse. Spaces may be easier for podcasters to invite their listeners than Clubhouse since many people already have a Twitter account and don't have to bring the audience into a different app. 

Other Social Audio Apps

Angle is another social audio app but doesn't use followers, you just listen to what you like. Then you have Locker Room for sports discussions, Sonar for Gen. Z and others.

Facebook & LinkedIn

Rumors are that both Facebook and LinkedIn are rushing to develop social audio features to their apps and I’m sure that we will hear about them soon. 

As a creator, many are thinking how to use social audio more creatively than basic chit-chat. 

I believe that social audio is a great complement to podcasting. The team and I at In-depth Creative are very excited to see how podcasting platforms and social audio develop and how best we can use them creatively in 2021. We are entering into a golden age of audio.