Podcasting is experiencing a second boom as it proliferates online and it’s only going to get bigger and more valuable.

In case you’ve been stuck under a rock for the past few years, podcasts are the new media taking the world by storm. As music streaming continues to explode with popularity worldwide, more and more are adding podcasts to sweeten the deal and it’s making people fall in love with the platform.

With services like Spotify betting big on podcasts for the future, it’s becoming a major new industry. A new Global Ad Trends report from Warc suggests that the advertising revenues for podcasting will double as soon as 2022 as brands pick up on the thriving new medium.

Warc’s report says: “By 2022 podcasts could account for 4.5% of global audio advertising spend, a total of $1.6 billion – almost double the $885 million in expected investment this year. Advancements in audience measurement and programmatic buying required for this nascent format to unlock future growth.”

The report also shows that since Spotify began acquiring and prioritising podcasts in the past year, it has become the 3rd biggest platform for podcasts. According to the report 28.3% of podcast listeners use Spotify, and 28.8% use Apple. YouTube beat out everyone at over 50%.

Podcasting is unique in that it can be advertised in like music streaming but brands will also be able to sponsor episodes or series’. As podcasting continues to grow more and more popular we are definitely going to see more promotion as their value rises.