• by Ray Schultz , October 30, 2022

Podcasters are trying hard to monetize their podcasts, particularly through premium content, according to The State of Podcasting 2022, a study by Muck Rack. 

This year, 69% of podcasters are offering premium content to paid subscribers, up from 66% in 2021. This consists mostly of exclusive bonus episodes (38%) and early release of new episodes (32%). 

And, podcasters are trying to make money through ads and premium content in general: 

• Ads—34% 
• Premium content—29%
• We don’t monetize our podcast—27%
• Paid guests—26%
• Other—8% 

At the same time, 39% prioritize guests who pay to appear on the show, and 86% receive pitches for people to be on. 

Most podcasters are responsible for sourcing original content. Here are their top sources for ideas: 

• Current events—45% 
• Part of ongoing research—35% 
• Audience requests—32% 
• Past events in news—27%
• Someone on my team identifies topics—26% 
• Random fascination—26% 
• Topics introduced by pitches—22% 
• Via personal network—21%
• Assigned by editor/publisher—19% 
• Other—7%

This year, there are more part-time podcasters: 69%, versus 64% in 2021. They describe their jobs as follows: 

I work on podcasts part time, and I’m not a journalist—33% 

I work on podcasts full time—31% 

I work on podcasts aprt time, and work full time as a journalist—21%

I work on podcasts part time, and work part-time as a journalist—15% 

The primary metrics for deciding the success of podcasts include: 

• Downloads—46% 
• Listeners, streamers—37%
• Consumption—34% 
• Total subscribers—29% 
• Social media shares—29% 
• Podcast rankings—29%
• Revenue—28% 
• Favorites—28%
• Favorites—24% 
• Website traffic—24%
• Paid subscribers—22% 
• Podcast mailing list—19% 
• Other—5%

The study also found that:

• 53% work on two or more podcasts
• 16% more podcasters are working for media companies compared to last year
• 67% record videos of their podcasts. 

Finally, 45% have 10,000 or fewer listeners, and 55% believe there are too many podcasts 

Muck Rack surveyed 591 professional podcasts from September 15 to October 5, 2022.