Gen Z Americans discover podcasts through social media with 24 million regular monthly listeners according to a recent report from Edison Research in partnership with SXM Media. The Gen Z Podcast Listener Report is based on a survey of 1003 US individuals aged between 13 and 24 during April 2023 plus a number of in-depth interviews.
Key findings from the report
- 47% of the Gen Z (age 13-24) online population in the US are monthly podcast listeners, an estimated 24 million Americans.
- Podcast listening has grown among those age 13-24 – In 2018, 30% of those age 13-24 had listened to a podcast in the last month. Today, 47% of those age 13-24 have listened to a podcast in the last month – a 57% increase.
- 16% of Gen Z monthly podcast listeners started listening as a child, 57% started listening as a teenager and 25% started listening as an adult. This means 73% of Gen Z monthly podcast listeners began listening before the age of 18.
- Gen Z monthly podcast listeners who started listening as a child consume 10.6 hours of podcasts per week; those who started as a teenager consume 7.5 hours per week, and those who started as an adult consume 6.6 hours of podcasts per week. The average for all Gen Z monthly podcast listeners is 7.7 hours per week.
- Gen Z discovers podcasts through social media – 25% of Gen Z monthly podcast listeners say they first discovered podcasts on social media, and another 19% say they first heard about podcasts from a social media influencer or personality that they follow. 76% say they discover podcasts through clips on social media.
- 82% of Gen Z monthly podcast listeners have taken any action as a result of hearing a podcast advertisement; 70% have either purchased or wanted to purchase the product or service they heard advertised, 61% have visited a company or product website, 44% have used a promo code or discount code mentioned in the podcast, and 42% have recommended a product to a friend or family member.
- 75% of Gen Z monthly podcast listeners have listened to a podcast in the last week; 28% of Gen Z Monthly podcast listeners listen to podcasts nearly every day.
- 78% of Gen Z monthly podcast listeners often binge podcasts.
- Gen Z podcast listeners are demographically diverse – 20% of Gen Z monthly podcast listeners identify as Hispanic or Latino,15% as Black or African American, and 4% identify as Asian. In 2018, 13-24-year-old monthly podcast listeners were composed of 58% male and 42% female listeners. Today, 13-24-year-old monthly podcast listeners are composed of 53% male, 46% female, and 1% non-binary listeners. 17% of Gen Z monthly podcast listeners identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
- 84% of Gen Z monthly podcast listeners have ever consumed a podcast with a video component. 71% ever consume podcasts with video that they actively watch while listening. Among those who actively watch while listening, 49% say that the video element gives better understanding of context and tone through things like facial expressions and gestures, and 45% say they feel more connected to the podcaster(s) through video podcasts.
- 44% of Gen Z monthly podcast listeners consider themselves content creators
- Gen Z Monthly podcast listeners listen to an average of 6.8 different podcast topics
- Comedy, entertainment/celebrity, and true crime are top three podcast genres listened to by the most Gen Z monthly podcast listeners
The Gen Z Podcast Listener Report from Edison Research in partnership with SXM Media and Mindshare is free to download here.
