Black Podcast Listening Continues To Grow

SXM MEDIA, EDISON RESEARCH, and MINDSHARE’s second annual Black Podcast Listener Report shows increasing Black podcast listenership and strong brand loyalty towards podcast advertisers.

The study notes, among many other highlights, that 43% of Black Americans listened to a podcast in the last month, up from 36% in 2021 (and 55% are women, although men are 52% of weekly listeners, indicating that they may listen more often); 78% said they would purchase a product advertised on a podcast; and 43% listened to Self-Care podcasts while 41% listened to podcasts about social/racial injustice cases, with podcasts on Personal Development and Religion/Spirituality demonstrating the biggest increases.

Also, 51% said a celebrity, host, music artist, or influencer they like were what drew them to listening to their first podcasts, and 36% of Black listeners say they discovered podcasts on social media when they first started listening.

“Podcasting has long had a perception of being primarily a white space, and research like this shows that that’s not the case, especially as Black listenership outpaces total US consumption of podcasts,” said MINDSHARE Dir./Invention+ JARED GREENE. “Black consumers are an attentive audience and there are a variety of possibilities for advertisers as we see the diversity of Black listeners from gender to age to trending interests. Brands that build intentional, long-term relationships with Black podcasts have an opportunity to gain a wealth of goodwill with the community because the act of sustained investment signals care and value.”

“Black podcast listeners are changing the podcast landscape as we know it,” said SXM MEDIA VP/Sales Marketing NIDIA SERRANO. “They continue to value representation and trust voices that reflect their own. And this year, self-care and personal development were a top priority for Black podcast listeners. This is a real opportunity for brands to not only invest in Black creators and podcasts, but to consider providing listeners with more positive, inspirational content in their advertising.”

All Access 2/1/2023

Perry Michael Simon