A look at Apple Podcasts' fading dominance, as an April 2024 study of 603 podcast consumers found 31% use YouTube, 21% use Spotify, and 12% use Apple's app
Hello! Welcome back to Soundbite. Today we're looking at the fading dominance of Apple Podcasts.
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple's position in podcasting had already been complicated by a change to automatic episode downloads that cut reported downloads for some major shows, making platform metrics more consequential for publishers and advertisers.
The survey adds a consumer-use signal to competition that Spotify had been pursuing through podcast advertising and video investments. It also sits against Apple's earlier report of strong subscription growth, suggesting subscriptions and primary listening habits need not move in lockstep.
First-order effects
- The study places Apple Podcasts well behind YouTube and Spotify in reported use among its 603 respondents, weakening Apple’s claim to be the default podcast destination.
- YouTube and Spotify gain a clearer audience-distribution argument when pitching podcast publishers, creators, and advertisers.
Second-order effects
- Publishers are likely to treat Apple distribution as one channel in a broader release strategy rather than as the presumptive primary endpoint, increasing the importance of platform-specific audience data.
- Apple faces greater pressure to improve discovery, creator economics, and measurement, while rivals can use their larger reported usage to compete for exclusive shows and advertising demand.
Third-order effects
- If listeners continue to fragment across platforms, podcast success will be measured less by Apple-centric download totals and more by comparable cross-platform reach and engagement measures.
- The market could shift from an audio-app hierarchy toward competition among broader media platforms, where video, advertising tools, subscriptions, and discovery systems are bundled together.
The trend: Podcast distribution is moving from Apple’s download-led model toward a multi-platform contest shaped by audience reach, discovery, and monetization capabilities.