Podcast Listening Among Black Americans is Surging

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The Daily will be off next week for the Thanksgiving holiday. We'll be back Monday, November 29 with your morning headlines, resources, and tips.

PodMov Daily: Wednesday, November 17

Episode 541: Your Midweek Update

Podcast Listening Among Black Americans is Surging

Podcasts are “finally showing up” for Black listeners, according to the first-ever Edison Research Black Podcast Listener Report by SXM Media and Mindshare. Listenership among Black Americans is surging, and “these consumers are gravitating to shows with Black hosts that spotlight Black issues and voices.”

Presented yesterday, the Report is based on a survey of over 2,500 people. Findings cover the topics and genres they are most interested in, where and how they listen, and their feelings about podcast advertising. 36% of Black Americans now listen to podcasts monthly, and weekly listeners have jumped to 26%.

Growth is happening fast, says Natasha Stockton of Mindshare. Weekly listenership is up a remarkable 53% from last year, and 42% of monthly listeners say they’ve been streaming shows for one year or less. Overall, 59% said they’d even listen more if there were more shows with Black hosts. The Report is free to download.


Oprah, Clubhouse, and Mysterious Audience Numbers

Oprah Winfrey’s appearance on Clubhouse last Sunday was “a major get for any platform,” writes Ashley Carman of Hot Pod. The exclusive chat followed Winfrey’s turbo-hyped interview with Adele, pulling 10 million viewers to CBS. Turnout on Clubhouse, however, was somewhere around 40,000 — 250 times fewer.

Despite the ‘Total Attendee Count’ feature rolled out last week, the actual listener count is unclear. “One recording of the show indicates only 22.7K people tuned in at all,” though a Clubhouse spokesperson says a “glitch” failed to account for the room’s full audience. Their calculation of unique listeners is nearly double.

This was an important gauge of Clubhouse’s power to draw an audience. As Carman points out, the queen of television is an app’s greatest blessing. Numbers aside, the new replay experience is well-built: “You can skip around, view who’s talking, and essentially, relive the event as if you were in the app when it happened.”

Pod People: Better Podcasts Start with the Perfect Team 

When audio projects meet the right professionals, it’s magic. Pod People’s Matchmaking services offer white-glove staffing for contract-to-hire roles across the industry. With a global community of nearly 2,000 creators, finding ideal candidates is simple, fast, and reliable.

Pod People specializes in sourcing the best Producers, Journalists, Editors, Engineers, Sound Designers, and more across the audio industry. Each step of the process ensures a perfect fit, starting with a curated shortlist of candidates for each role.

For audio professionals, Pod People’s free community is a world of opportunity. Perks include resources, events, mentorship, networking — and the ears of companies like Spotify, Netflix, and Wondery. Ready to meet your match? Whether you’re looking to hire or be hired, better partnerships start here.


Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever achieved.

Here's what else is going on:

  • Bulletin board: This week’s PM community update covers the Black Friday sale for event tickets (Evolutions in March and PM22 in August), submission details for the 2022 Ambies, upcoming live presentations in PMU, and a free virtual happy hour for podcasters coming up December 8.
  • Treasure box: PM Daily’s RØDE Holiday Giveaway is coming up November 29-December 10. For each friend you refer to this fine newsletter, your name will be entered into a drawing for a RØDE PSA1+ Studio Boom Arm. There will be three winners! Stay tuned for more details.
  • Moving on: Criminal, one of the most popular podcasts on PRX’s Radiotopia, is leaving for Vox Media. Criminal Productions (which includes two other shows) plans to double its staff and launch new projects. This follows the departure of Radiotopia’s flagship 99% Invisible for SiriusXM in April.
  • Sonic youth: The 2022 Hot Docs Podcast Career Accelerator will accept applications until December 1. The development program offers Canadian podcasters between 18-34 the chance to grow their skills and industry knowledge at Hot Docs (January 25-28) and beyond. No application fee.

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