Podcasting’s Global Moment: Q1 Recap, M&A, and What’s Next

Hey there,

Welcome to another quarterly recap of the podcast industry. Q1 earnings are in (recap below) and, no surprise here, podcasting continues to be on an absolute heater (and I continue to overuse “heater”). We’re also seeing more M&A, which, of course, we’ve been predicting for quite some time. I’m hearing more noise around upcoming investments and acquisitions, too. The space continues to heat up at an unprecedented pace.

Before we dive in, I’ll be at The Podcast Show in London this week, speaking with Podspace about the future of monetization, and the tools we’re developing to help businesses scale across all revenue streams [schedule]. If you’ll be there, feel free to reach out. Always happy to talk shop or grab a pint. And if you, or one of your portfolio companies, is a network of scale (or aspires to be), we should talk about how Podspace’s neutral technology could grow your revenue and maximize profits, both via advertising and subscription.

The Podcast Space Continues to Be Undervalued

A few weeks ago, I shared my take on the latest IAB report, which showed U.S. podcast ad revenue growing 26.4% year over year to $2.4 billion. It beat expectations but still dramatically underrepresents the true scale of the podcast economy.