Spoken word audio share in the US up 30% since 2014 and 8% in the last year, with the highest levels of growth coming from women, African-Americans, Latinos and 13-34-year-olds. These findings are part of the second annual Spoken Word Audio Report from NPR and Edison Research based on 1000 online interviews of a representative sample of 18+ US spoken word consumers and 4318 Share of Ear respondents aged 13+. Additionally, in-person interviews were conducted with individuals who listened to spoken word audio at least monthly.
The Report examines spoken word audio, which includes podcasts, news, sports, talk radio and audiobooks, and finds that 43% of the US population 13+ listen daily to spoken word audio. Additional findings include:
- Those who listen to spoken word audio daily average two hours per day listening to spoken word – nearly half (48%) of their daily listening time.
- Spoken word listening accounts for 26% of all listening by those aged 13+ in the US – up from 24% in 2019.
- Podcast and audiobook listening both attained an all-time high reach with 55% of the US population having ever listened to a podcast and 54% having ever listened to an audiobook
- Mobile technology is driving spoken word listening – 30% of all listening on a smartphone is to spoken word audio
- In addition to the convenience and multitasking benefits long recognized for spoken word listening, other strong motivators for increased listening are personal growth, better content, and spoken word’s ability to improve mental health.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on listening with 40% of spoken word audio listeners age 13+ saying they are listening more since quarantine restrictions
The Spoken Word Audio Report also includes six years of tracking data from Edison Research’s Share of Ear from 2014-2020, which finds the largest increases in the share of time spent listening to spoken word audio among the following groups:
- African-Americans, 12% to 27% (125% increase)
- Age 13-34, 12% to 22% (83% increase)
- Women, 14% to 22% (57% increase)
- Hispanic/Latinos, 15% to 22% (47% increase)
The full report (46pp) is available free to download here.
