From our start nearly 5 years ago, Headliner has empowered podcasters all over the world to create and share their messages using audiograms. As a result, we have connected millions of listeners to their favorite podcasts while aiding in the discovery process of new favorite podcasts.
Headliner provides podcasters with a range of content formats. One of our most popular formats is full-episode audiograms. Full-episode audiograms convert your mp3 file to a postable, shareable mp4 file. This allows you to connect with and reach a wider audience, improve accessibility, and increase podcast engagement all while garnering more listens! Full-episode audiograms are also the ideal method for uploading and sharing podcasts to YouTube – which enables you to improve your search engine optimization and drive traffic back to your primary platform.
Headliner’s made over 1.7 million full-episode audiograms and is projected to break over 2 million very soon!
Headliner is a living, breathing entity. In our short time, we have seen some big changes in the world and experienced rapid periods of growth. So, without further adieu, let’s break those numbers down and dig into the data!
Year Over Year Full-Episode Audiogram Volume Explained
Year over year, we can see some shifts in audiogram production volume. Many of these jumps mirror macro trends in the podcasting world and are a sign of a healthy, dynamic environment.
The first significant shift occurred from 2019 to 2020. Can you think of anything else significant that occurred between these years?…
Like many things, podcasting was affected by COVID-19. As the world shut down, many people turned to new hobbies and tried new things – in this case, podcasting!
Trickle-Down Effects: 2021
2020 was a big year for podcasting! There was over a +280% increase in new podcasts between 2019 and 2020. Businesses joined the fray as well. Over 160 new brands per week started podcasting as a new solution to communicate and connect with customers in their homes.
2020 was also a big year for us. At Headliner, we produced +323% more full-episode audiograms year-over-year.
In 2020, Headliner had remarkable growth. Why? First, there was a significant increase in Headliner Studio’s adoption rate and app downloads. Second, the COVID pandemic caused a surge of interest in podcasting. In 2020, there was a +60% increase in podcasting volume, primarily driven by pandemic-era podcasts.
Continuing into early 2021, we can still see the trickle-down effects COVID had on podcasting. From 2020 to 2021, the podcasting industry saw an additional period of growth fueled by increased rates of listenership and engagement. By the end of 2021, there were over 2 million active podcasts with over 48 million episodes – a +187% increase in podcasts year-over-year. Podcasting had a record-breaking year!
Mirroring that trend, 2021 was our personal, full-episode peak at over 600k full episodes in one year!
Between 2021 and 2022, production volume dropped. From 2021 to 2022, 70% fewer podcasts launched, and, since the start of the pandemic, podcast volume fell 80%. However, the number of new episodes fell by only 27% year over year. We can largely attribute this to “one-show-and-done” podcasts (aka podcasts that were typically launched as short-term experiments or hobbies). Looking at the data, we can see the influx of these one-show-and-done podcasts only temporarily inflated episode volume and did not have a long-term effect on the health of the podcasting industry.
Again, our full-episode volume matches this industry trend. From 2021 to 2022, we saw a -24% decrease in full-episode volume – slightly less than the -27% industry decrease.
Audiograms on the rise!
Despite facing some headwinds, we can see, over time podcasting and audiograms have continued to grow year-over-year. While 2021 was a bit of an anomaly, we are still seeing continued growth with more and more full-episode audiograms making their way to YouTube!
And it just keeps getting better! Podcasting is forecasted to grow another 22%.
Us too! This year alone, Headliner is on track to produce 20% more full-episode audiograms when compared to 2022.
Headliner Features
Since our start, we have always looked for ways to improve and help more and more podcasts get discovered. We have invested time and resources into creating new, better ways for podcasters to create and share full-episode podcasts. We’ve even automated a few!
Headliner Features Released: Automatic Audiograms
In late 2019, Headliner released an exciting, now very popular feature – “Automatic Audiograms.”
With Automatic Audiograms, Headliner creates and posts full-episode audiograms every time a new podcast episode is released FOR the podcaster. The feature streamlines the content creation process, giving podcasters more time to focus on their message.
In mid-2021, Automatic Audiograms even became the primary driver of audiogram creation, outpacing the manual audiogram creation process!
Automatic Audiograms is a free feature anyone can use in Headliner Studio. To get started, input your RSS feed and select your template. Headliner will take it from there and deliver a complete full-episode audiogram straight to your inbox or upload it directly to your YouTube channel!
Headliner Features Released: Back Catalog
Another, more recent, feature we released is the ability to upload a podcast’s entire back catalog to YouTube using Manual Audiograms. With back catalog, you simply connect your podcast to a pre-selected video template using your RSS feed. From there, Headliner will turn every podcast into a full-episode audiogram. We will even automate the uploading process to YouTube! Once we have permission, Headliner Studio will ensure your metadata is imported from your RSS feed and then post your full-episode audiogram to YouTube.
The integration is easy to set up and very similar to that of the Automatic Audiograms. The key difference between the two types lies in the creation process. For Automatic Audiograms – you let us do the work for you! Simply input your RSS feed and we will hop to it and make full-episode audiograms for you. However, with Manual Audiograms, you will need to go through the design and creation process entirely. If you are interested in learning more about the back catalog feature, check it out here.
Headliner Studio & Audiograms!
Headliner Studio is your one-stop shop for all your podcast’s audiogram needs. With Headliner Studio, you can easily create and produce highly branded, stylized full episodes or choose from a selection of pre-made templates to further expedite your creation process.
We currently offer Headliners with several different plans at different pricing tiers. To see which one is right for you and your podcast, check us out here.
So what are you waiting for? Join the over 1.7 million full-episode audiograms and get started today. Who knows – you could even be the lucky 2 millionth full-episode audiogram. 🙌
