Edison Research, NPR Release 2020 Spoken Word Audio Report, And Listening Is Quickly Growing

This Year's Model

EDISON RESEARCH VP MEGAN LAZOVICK and NPR Chief Marketing Officer MICHAEL SMITH unveiled the 2020 edition of EDISON and NPR's Spoken Word Audio Report in a webinar TUESDAY (10/13), showing spoken word's share of audio listening up 30% in the last six years and up 8% in the last year, increasing from 24% to 26% of audio listening since 2019 and up from 20% in 2014. 43% said they listen to spoken word audio daily and average two hours per day. Podcast listening, the study said, has reached an all-time high in 2020, but so has listening to audiobooks.

The study, combining data from the Share of Ear study, listener interviews, and an online audio survey, showed growth being driven by large increases among women, younger listeners, and Black and Latinx listeners. Asked to compare listening to spoken word to five years ago, 45% of respondents said they are listening more and 42% said their listening is the same.

A notable statistic is that the share of spoken word listening held by AM/FM stations and their streams has shrunk from 79% in 2014 to 55% in 2020, with podcasts growing from 8% to 19%. Likewise, the AM/FM receiver's share of spoken word listening dropped from 73% in 2014 to 47% in 2020, with mobile exploding from 9% to 31% and smart speakers coming onto the scene.

As for attitudes, 65% called listening to spoken word audio a "productive use of your time," more than felt the same about music or video. 62% said that spoken word "engages your mind in a more positive way than other media." On discovery, 54% said that they find out about spoken word choices by searching the internet and 50% rely on recommendations from friends and family. Top spoken word categories include News/Information, Music, Comedy, Movies/TV, Sports, Health, Food, Wellness, and History.

A list of reasons people say they are listening to more spoken word audio was topped by the ability to multitask while listening, followed by the ability to listen wherever you want.

And the pandemic has not affected spoken word listening amounts much, but has changed where people are listening, with listening at home jumping from 54% to 73% as commuting and office work took a hiatus.

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