I run a small podcast startup. I've been doing it ten years.
Podcasting is drying up because the money left. Everyone went all in on podcasts on 2020. Spotify bet the farm on podcasts. Money poured in. Marketing bros realized there's only so many mattresses and underwear you can sell through the format and left.
You really can't serve personalized ads through podcasts. The relevance of what you advertise can be about the topic of the show (that is, marketing to the type of people who would listen) or the location of the listener. Pretty much every other signal gives you nothing interesting you'd be about to decide "yeah they're a potential good customer". Spray and pray.
The money left. People realized they couldn't justify the time and money they pour into podcasting. It turns out, even if you weren't expecting to make money, you really hoped people would listen. Not enough, because podcasts faded and people discovered TikTok. No more waiting for your favorite show to drop: everything is your favorite show. If you get bored just scroll up.
Lots of folks are still making it work. But a lot more people are going into podcasting with a more deliberate approach. People are doing it because they think it's important, not because they think people will listen or because they want to get rich. I'd argue that some of the best podcasts ever made have come out in the past 2-3 years, but if you're not giving the median listener the thrill of the first season of Serial, they don't listen past the first episode or two.
I remember looking into podcast advertising for my previous company back in ~2018. I listen to a podcast that I believe claimed ~50k regular listeners at the time, and a 2 minute sponsor read (1 of 3 per show) was priced at something like $4000.
I never understood how that sort of pricing would work. The unit economics were never even close for us. I can see how they might be closer for SaaS businesses like Squarespace, but for retailers? Feels very unlikely. I'm not surprised the money dried up, or rather, figured out that funnelling VC cash into podcast ads doesn't turn into profitable growth.
Interestingly, now in 2026 that same podcast (which according to the hosts hasn't grown), no longer lists their pricing for ad reads, and frequently only has 2 filled spots, and has had periods of only 1 or even no ad reads per show over the last few years as times have been tough. They've now diversified into overpriced memberships.
I would love to see some deep economic analysis of what the fuck is going on with Bombas. Why is everyone on the internet trying to sell a helix mattress? How does a marketing department even negotiate that many different contracts with that many small scale influencers?
Bombas documentary pls.
Square space are the real pioneers here
I'm pretty sure I'm getting personalized ads when I listen to podcasts through the iOS podcast app. Well, maybe they're only localized - I get ads in German when I listen to u.s.-based podcasts.
A lot of podcasts server ads via their provider (e.g. megaphone). They do tracking and analytics.
Funny thing is that lots of the provider are now owned by Spotify. So right now you basically have the choice: a) listen to it on Spotify with good embedded ads b) listen to it on your podcast feed with bad embedded ads.
Anyway you listen to it on Spotify (Often).
They'll use IP geolocation. That's one of the two signals that I mentioned.
Do you mind providing a list of the best podcasts that came out in the past 2-3 years?
My choices:
Search Engine
Heavyweight
The Retrievals
Thirteenth Step
Keep in mind, these are from the sample that I've listened to. They're not trying to be too dramatic, they're principled in what they're creating, and the production is high quality.
Ironically I get ads in my (English language) podcasts in Dutch because I'm downloading them in the Netherlands. But ads for helping me learn Dutch might be a better choice.
Some podcasts use listener donations but even reasonably popular ones can struggle this way - https://www.europeanspodcast.com/ comes to mind.
I’ve got a novel idea of how podcasters can make money - give people a product they are willing to pay for.
I pay for the Strategery bundle (as do enough other people to make him over $5 million a year), a Slate subscription with all of their related podcasts and a couple of others - Downstream and ATP.
On the ad supported side, Gruber’s podcast has been going strong for decades and Manager Tools/Career Tools only has ads for its own conferences and it’s been podcasting weekly since 2005.
The Acquired podcast negotiates long term sponsorship deals.
Relay.FM podcasts seem to be going strong between ads and paid members
The trend you see is that it’s better to be a niche podcaster and have “1000 true fans” and an audience either willing to pay or one that advertisers want to reach - like Apple customers who are more willing to pay for stuff.
> I'd argue that some of the best podcasts ever made have come out in the past 2-3 years, but if you're not giving the median listener the thrill of the first season of Serial, they don't listen past the first episode or two.
Is there a good discovery mechanism for people looking to go past the first 3 episodes? Is there anyone trying to do curation of any sort? I wonder if AI that knows you super well could be used to find the right podcast for you.
I'd love to explore more political, science and other types of podcasts but it is too easy to set one up nowadays which results in so much garbage and I have wasted enough time with Rogan, Friedman and their ilk to realize that I'm forced to do curation. For one bit of gold there is so much trash and time is the most valuable thing you have.
> best podcasts ever made have come out in the past 2-3 years
Please share!
> Podcasting is drying up because the money left
I'd guess there's still a bit of money left. On one of the few podcasts I listen to (made by two professional podcasters since 2008), the ads (long and annoying - but luckily easily skippable) are entirely for other podcasts.
What is your startup?
It's called Pinecast