First introduced in 2004, the humble podcast has long fallen under the radar as a storytelling medium. As an audio only format, the podcast is often overshadowed by its more visual counterparts like blogging or film. In the past few years, however, the podcast has seen an influx of devoted downloaders.
To demonstrate the growing popularity of the podcast, one only has to point to American product S-Town, a podcast which consistently finds itself in top download lists worldwide. Following a murder mystery format, the podcast has been acclaimed by critics and the public alike for its investigative journalism and conversational style. Within four days of its March release, S-Town (created as a collaborative effort by This American Life and Serial) reached an unprecedented 10 million downloads.
At a recent talk in Melbourne, S-Town producer Brian Reed broke down his reasons for the rising popularity of the medium, in Australia and more widely.
Podcast enthusiasts line up to hear S-Town’s Brian Reed in Melbourne. (Credit: Lauren Muscat)
Reed largely attributed the popularity of podcasts to a relatively small change in technology: Apple’s addition of the podcast app as inbuilt software in their iPhones. But on a less technical note, he speculated it is also likely due to audiences seeking out longer form stories, as opposed to shorter snapshots – that is, the rise of the podcast perhaps denotes a return to the tradition of long form oral storytelling.
When talking about podcasts like S-Town, this makes a lot of sense. Something that drew listeners to the podcast in the first place is the relaxed style it employs; it’s like hearing a story told by a friend. A friend with a specific interest in true crime stories.
“I liked that it never sounded too dry,” says Amy, an S-Town listener from Melbourne who attended the talk.
“There wasn’t too much jargon and it was nice that they took the time to go into as much detail as they needed to, rather than just cutting it short for time restraints sake”.
A survey conducted by the ABC in 2016 revealed some insight into Australia’s podcasting habits. More than 1,100 respondents completed the ABC Audience Insight Survey about the scope and variety of their listening habits (including ABC and non-ABC podcasts).
14 per cent more respondents reported listening to podcasts when compared with the previous years’ survey. Of these listeners, most listen to an average of 5.5 podcasts each week. 19 per cent of downloaders listen to up to 11 podcasts.
