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Social Chain's Steven Bartlett: Here's what makes podcasting so 'sticky and addictive'

Steven Bartlett, the CEO of integrated social media company Social Chain, thinks the podcast industry has streaming and faster web speeds to thank for its booming growth.

The market is in the midst of big growth and lucrative deals — like streaming giant Spotify (SPOT) which swallowed up The Ringer earlier this month in a bid to boost its sports content.

It’s action that Bartlett called “fascinating” in an interview with Yahoo Finance, and likely to continue.

“The way that our lives have changed and become more voice-activated – with smart cars, and Alexa, and Siri, and all these things” have made the medium more attractive, Bartlett explained to “The Final Round” this wee.

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“But also, the proliferation of 4G (fourth generation) internet, which has meant that streaming as we know it – in the sense of music and YouTube and Netflix – has become so easy, for so many,” the social entrepreneur added.

Citing data that shows half of Americans listening to some sort of podcast, he asked: “...it kind of begs the question: what was the change that caused podcasting to suddenly become interesting?”

‘Sticky and addictive’

(Photo by Mahmut Serdar Alakus/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mahmut Serdar Alakus/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

The concept of podcasting is nothing new: one of the most popular podcasts on the market, The Joe Rogan Experience, was launched eleven years ago in 2009.

Yet according to Bartlett, it is not so much podcasting that has evolved, but the way that content is consumed that impacts the business so significantly.

Bartlett describes podcasts as “sticky and addictive” — sort of like competing platforms Netflix (NFLX) and YouTube (GOOGL) — in part because they are accessible.

Higher speed internet “was really enough for all of us to be able to stream high-quality content in the palm of our hands, at all times,” Bartlett said. “This led rise to not just more people willing to listen, but more incentive for creators to create quality shows...and it’s perfectly suited for this on-demand generation.”

Perhaps the most attractive element of podcasts is that it offers listener’s the opportunity to multitask, while still plugged in to their favorite content. This, according to Bartlett, is what makes the business “completely unique” from video.

Young man using smartphone in metro
Young man using smartphone in metro

“When you look at the stats of where people listen to podcasts, it’s while in transit,” Bartlett told Yahoo Finance.

“It’s traveling. It’s in the gym. It’s walking to work,” he explained — unlike movies and TV shows, which can’t be watched “while you’re walking down the street.”

For Bartlett, the growth of the podcasting industry is only just beginning. Cast Chain – a branch of Bartlett’s company, which focuses on exclusively branded podcasts – only launched two years ago, but Bartlett said it’s outperforming every other service with its business.

“I think that in the next twelve to twenty-four months, 50% of the world’s major brands will either be buying ad space in podcasts, or have their own,” he predicted. “And that’s the role we’re playing.”

Olivia Balsamo is a producer for Yahoo Finance.

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