Our second State of the Industry report builds on last year’s report by delving into key trends that emerged from the year, while also showcasing some of the impact the pandemic exerted on the medium.

This report combines insights from our listener survey, which ran during December 2020 and early January 2021. 467 valid responses were received, with the median age of the survey under the age of 25, similar to last year. While the survey was open to the general public, we looked to expand our finding towards the region this year. Seventy-one percent of respondents this year were based in the UAE, which stood at 90% last year.

Some of the key findings for the year include:

  • People listened to more podcasts this year, preferring shows relating to entertainment, followed by self-help & improvement.
  • Listeners continue to prefer shorter podcasts, a trend strengthened by the lack of being outdoors or commuting this year.
  • The industry witnessed increased consolidation and siloing of content. Podcast discovery and standardization continue to be a challenge.

We wanted to take a minute to thank our listeners, partners and the community of podcasters who continue to push the envelope in the work they publish every day. We hope this report helps provide a valuable summary and a few insights about the industry we’re in, how listener behaviour changed over the last year, and how creators and publishers adapted.

You can download a copy of the report or continue below to read the report online.

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