The Biggest Shifts in Podcasting, According to Industry Leaders

Last week, amidst a hail storm and tornado warnings, the podcast industry descended on Chicago, IL for the fifth annual Podcast Movement Evolutions, a conference dedicated to unpacking the latest research, tools, and technology that podcasters and professionals need to stay at the top of their game. Here, some of the industry’s most veteran leaders took the stage to talk about their predictions for the year ahead and beyond. 

Let’s dive into some of the key takeaways to ensure your brand keeps pace with all the changes we’ve seen so far in podcasting—and those that are still to come.

4 Key Takeaways from Podcast Movement Evolutions

1. Brands Are Tapping Into Various Ways to Buy

Just a few years ago, host reads were all anyone could talk about when it came to podcast ads. The industry was dazzled by the authenticity of the format and hesitant to embrace new forms of adtech.

But now, more and more advertisers are rethinking their podcast spend and embracing programmatic and run-of-network buys, due in large part to the ability to tightly control messaging and target with complete precision. Per Magellan.ai’s 2024 Podcast Advertising Review, many of podcasting’s top spenders are adopting a healthy mix of buy types, tailoring their campaigns to perfectly align with KPIs.

Within certain verticals like QSR and personal banking, for example, direct buys with host reads still make up a significant portion of ad spend, giving creators the chance to editorialize around their personal finances and food preference. Meanwhile, for verticals like credit cards and big box retailers, programmatic buying has become de facto, allowing brands to hear the spots before they go live and tap into very specific audience segments.

The advantage is clear: Brands now have the ability to build a campaign that’s right for them. And the diversity of buy types seems to be paying off, since podcast ad spend is up year-over-year by 123%.

2. No Risk, No Reward

You can’t mention podcasts these days without sparking some discourse around its heavy influence on the 2025 presidential election. From Kamala Harris’ appearance on Call Her Daddy to President Trump’s three-hour interview with Joe Rogan, podcasts were a key avenue for both candidates to disseminate information to prospective voters—perhaps even more so than mainstream media. But in the end, President Trump’s podcast strategy proved to be the most impactful.

Why, you might ask? According to Tamara Zubatiy, CEO and co-founder of Barometer, and Gabriel Soto, Senior Director of Research at Edison, it was all about calculated risk. President Trump cast a wider net when it came to his podcast selections, appearing on a total of 18 shows spanning various levels of risk. And this allowed him to tap into nearly 24M weekly listeners. Meanwhile, VP Harris played it safe, appearing on eight shows which were largely apolitical and low risk—giving her access to just 6M weekly listeners

The lesson? Podcasts work if you go all in. The scale is there, but if you hone your targeting too much, you can miss out on some major impact.

3. Content Without Borders

Perhaps one of the most exciting shifts happening in the podcast space is the medium’s expansion into new territories beyond the United States, opening doors for new audiences and new voices. Most notably, our neighbors from up north are adopting podcast listening at rapid rates. In fact, per Signal Hill’s recent Canadian Podcast Listener Report, a whopping 44% of Canada’s 13M monthly podcast listeners started tuning in less than a year ago. Not to mention, those who are listening are tuning in more and more, with daily podcast listenership growing by +9%.

So what’s driving this powerful adoption? According to Signal Hill Insights, newcomers are playing a powerful role. That’s right—expats from the US and elsewhere are taking their podcast listening habits with them. So much so that, compared to the average Canadian adult, those who have lived in Canada for five years or less are 88% more likely to be a monthly podcast listener.

4. Podcasts Are Boundless—and Getting Harder to Define

It should come as no surprise that at this point, podcasts have evolved beyond their audio-only roots into a multi-channel storytelling format anchored around the creators themselves. Today, podcast fans have the ability to tune in to their favorite hosts across a range of platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, and even YouTube. But for some, this raises an important question: Can content still be considered a “podcast” if it spans beyond the RSS feed from which it was created?

To that we say, of course. Podcasts are more than just the tech they were built upon. They embody a more significant shift in media overall; one that favors deeply honest, long-form, and personal conversation.

The insights from Podcast Movement Evolutions were plentiful—and inspiring. The writing is on the wall: The future of podcasts is brighter than ever, and it remains a top contender for brands to connect with audiences at-scale, in meaningful ways. 

If you’re ready to take your media strategy to the next level with the omnichannel power of podcasts, we can help with that. Let’s chat.

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