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Podcasting Is Approaching 1 Billion Listeners. There’s Still Room for Yours.
Podcasting’s global audience continues to grow and that is a good reminder that your show doesn’t have to reach everyone to find the people it was made for.
Sometimes podcasting can feel crowded.
After all there are millions of shows. New episodes are published every day. Big-name creators, celebrities and media companies continue to enter the space. And if you're an independent podcaster trying to find your audience in the middle of all of that, it's easy to wonder: Is there still room for my show?
Some new global research offers a pretty encouraging answer. According to new research from MIDiA Research, podcasting is approaching one billion listeners worldwide.
That's a lot of ears! And maybe more importantly, it's a reminder that podcasting isn't a fixed pie where every new show means there's a little less audience available for yours. The listening audience itself is still enormous and evolving. Here are three additional reminders:
1. A Billion Listeners Aren't Looking for the Same Podcast
When we talk about the size of podcasting, it's easy to imagine one giant audience. But that's not really how podcast listening works.
Someone wants a podcast about running their first marathon.
Someone else wants deep dives into horror movies.
Someone wants conversations about parenting.
Entrepreneurship. Faith. True crime. Books. History. Mental health. Sports. Pop culture.
Or an incredibly specific topic that might only appeal to a few thousand people.
That's the beauty of podcasting. You don't have to make the show everyone wants. You can make the show your people want.
2. Bigger Doesn't Have to Be the Goal
Seeing a number like one billion can immediately send us toward another number: How many of those listeners can I get? But perhaps that's the wrong question. For an independent creator, success doesn't necessarily mean capturing the largest possible slice of the podcast audience. It could mean finding 10,000 people who genuinely look forward to every episode. Or 1,000. Or 500.
Because an audience isn't meaningful simply because it's large. A smaller group of people who regularly listen, share your show, send you messages, recommend episodes and feel connected to what you're creating can be incredibly valuable. So instead of asking: How do I reach more podcast listeners? It may be more useful to ask: How do I make it easier for the right listeners to recognize that this show is for them?
3. Podcasting Is Bigger Than the Shows We Hear About
There's another reason this milestone matters.
Much of the podcast industry conversation tends to revolve around the same shows, platforms, charts and personalities. That can make the podcasting world feel much smaller than it actually is.
But a global audience approaching one billion listeners represents an enormous range of interests, communities, languages, cultures and listening habits. And that creates space for shows that don't look, or sound like the podcasts sitting at the top of the charts.
That's especially good news for independent creators. You don't necessarily have to compete with the biggest podcast in your category. You have to become valuable to the audience you're trying to serve.
What This Means for Indie Podcasters
If you've ever wondered whether podcasting is already too crowded, consider this your reminder: There's still room.
Not because there aren't a lot of podcasts (there are.) But because there are also a lot of listeners and they aren't all looking for the same thing. Your opportunity isn't necessarily to convince everyone to listen. It's to make something specific enough, interesting enough and you enough that the right person finds it and thinks: “Oh. This is for me.”
Nearly one billion people may be listening to podcasts around the world. You don't need all of them. You just need yours.
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January 14, 2027, Orlando, Florida. A joint Summit with PODFEST EXPO on January 14-17, 2027
Podtour Stop: Atlanta, Georgia
Date: October 22, 2026 from 6:00pm - 9:00pm EST
Join us for a fun time of networking, learning, and sharing podcasting tips. Whether you're a seasoned podcaster or just starting out, this event is for you. Presented by Morgan James Publishing and Podmatch, and brought to you in partnership with Podfest and Podcast Atlanta
Podtour Stop: New York City
Date: November 5, 2026 from 6:00pm - 8:00pm EST
Connect with local podcasters and creators to grow your podcast. Presented by Morgan James Publishing and Podmatch, and brought to you in partnership with Podfest and Bang Olufsen
Indianapolis Podcaster Meetup by PodIndy
Date: November 7, 2026 from 12:00pm - 4:00pm CT
Presented by Morgan James Publishing and Podmatch, and brought to you in partnership with Podfest and PodIndy. Pizza and light refreshments provided. The Podtour/Podfest presentation and networking will be 12- 1 pm. All who come to Podour will be welcome to stay when Podindy resumes at 1pm - at no charge. Podindy presenters are Podfest vets Cliff Ravenscraft, Dave Jackson and John Lee Dumas.
How Responsible Are You for What Your Listeners Believe?
Podcast listeners can develop an incredible amount of trust in the hosts they regularly hear. But when people trust what you say, how much responsibility comes with the microphone?
There's something uniquely intimate about podcasting.
A listener might spend an hour with you while driving to work. You might be in their headphones while they're walking the dog, cooking dinner or getting through a workout. Week after week, they hear your stories. Your opinions. Your recommendations. Your jokes. Eventually, they may start to feel like they know you. And new research suggests that relationship can come with a significant amount of trust.
Research from SmithGeiger commissioned by Wondery found that podcast fans report high levels of trust in their favorite creators, with 71% saying they trust their favorite creator more than social media influencers.
That's powerful.
But it also raises a question we don't talk about nearly as often: What responsibility comes with being trusted?
What's Behind It?
Podcasters talk about everything.
Money. Health. Business. Relationships. Parenting. Culture. News. Products. Personal experiences. Sometimes we're interviewing experts. Sometimes we're sharing what worked for us. Sometimes we're thinking out loud. And sometimes we're confidently talking about something we learned approximately 17 minutes before hitting record.
That's part of what makes podcasting great.
It isn't always polished or perfectly scripted. It can feel like listening to people work through ideas in real time. But the person listening may give those words more weight than the host realizes. And that's where things get complicated.
Underlying Questions
Does having an audience mean you have a responsibility to fact-check everything you say?
What if your podcast isn't educational or journalistic?
If a guest makes a questionable claim, is it your responsibility to challenge them?
Is saying “I'm not an expert” enough when you're about to give advice?
What about recommendations based entirely on personal experience?
And perhaps the biggest question: Does your responsibility change as your audience grows?
Is someone talking to 200 listeners held to a different standard than someone talking to 2 million or does trust carry the same responsibility regardless of how many people are listening?
What Are Your Thoughts?
There are good arguments on both sides.
Team The Listener Is Responsible: Podcasters aren't automatically journalists, doctors, financial advisers or subject-matter experts because they own a microphone. Listeners are responsible for evaluating what they hear, seeking additional information and deciding what they believe. Expecting creators to anticipate every possible interpretation could make honest, exploratory conversations much harder to have.
Team The Mic Comes with Responsibility: If you've built an audience that trusts you, that influence is real even if you never set out to become an “influencer.” Creators should think carefully about what they present as fact, who they position as an expert, when a claim needs to be challenged and when the most responsible answer might simply be, “I don't know.”
And maybe there's room between the two.
You aren't responsible for every decision your listeners make. But you may be responsible for how carefully you use the trust they've given you.
Final Thoughts
One of the most powerful things about podcasting is that it can feel less like broadcasting and more like conversation. That's part of why listeners come back. But trust can build quietly and you may never know that someone tried something because you recommended it. Changed their mind because of a conversation you had. Looked up a guest because you introduced them as an expert. Or repeated something because they heard it on your show.
That doesn't mean every sentence behind a microphone needs a disclaimer. And it doesn't mean podcasters should be afraid to share opinions, ask messy questions or explore ideas they're still figuring out. But perhaps there's value in remembering that someone listening may take our words more seriously than we intended them to.
The microphone gives us a voice and trust gives that voice weight.
What we do with that weight may be one of the responsibilities that comes with building an audience.
We Want to Hear From You
How responsible do you think podcasters are for what their listeners believe?
Does having influence automatically create responsibility or is it ultimately up to the listener to decide what they trust?
Hit reply and tell us. We would love to feature your responses in our weekly Messenger!
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