Image credit: Austin Distel

Spotify’s gamble with podcasts is showing signs of paying off as hey are expected to surpass Apple Podcasts dominance in the US within two months.

A new report from eMarketer suggests that Spotify will surpass Apple by the end of 2021. It predicts that Spotify will reach 28.2 million monthly podcast listeners by the end of 2021, compared to apples 28 million. 

The gap is looking like it will widen as time goes on, data suggests that by 2025 Spotify is excited to have 43.6 million monthly podcast listeners or 12.7% of the US population. 

The report also predicts that around 40% of US interest users will tune in to podcasts at least once a month. This rapid growth is currently fuelling Spotify’s rise in subscribers, however, there will be a turning point where it peters out. 

In addition to this Spotify will also be facing stiffer competition from competitors such as YouTube, Google Podcasts, and Amazon Music, who are also siphoning listeners away from the dominant Apple Podcasts. According to eMarketer by 2025, there will be 131.2 million podcast listeners in the United States who listen at least once a month. 

It’s safe to say that podcasts are growing stronger and stronger by the day and the audience for them increasing rapidly. It will be exciting to see where streaming platforms push podcasting to in the future.