Over the last five years or so, the podcast market has exploded. Now, more than ever, people are tuning into their favorite podcasts on their daily commutes. After all, the average limo driver will typically make more than 105 trips a week; what else are you supposed to do on a drive with a stranger? Whether you’re listening on your drive into work or working out on the treadmill, there are podcasts for just about every subject.
And that’s not an understatement. A recent study found that there are over 30 million podcasts to browse online today. From film to comedy to dating to white water rafting to true crime, there are more podcasts out there than we can ever hope to listen to.
Some estimates claim that one in three people listen to at least one podcast each month!
Sept. 30th (the last day of the month) marks a day of celebration for podcasters and podcast fans across the globe. International Podcast Day was established as a day for fans and podcasters to connect with others in the community. By using a mixture of hashtags, social media platforms, and events, this celebration hopes to connect enthusiasts with new podcasts, new friends, and new experiences.
In honor of International Podcast Day, here are some of the top apps you can use to listen to your favorites:
Spotify
Spotify has been a popular option for music listeners across the United States. When the company unveiled that they would include top podcasts in the lineup, this form of media rose from a niche topic to an easily accessible option.
To honor the event, Spotify even rolled out a new feature: users can now add their favorite podcasts to playlists on the mobile app. While this feature is not yet available on the desktop version of the popular music app, crafting a playlist of your favorite songs and podcasts offers a unique user experience that anyone can enjoy. If you like to mix up your podcasts and music, this might be the perfect option for you.
Apple Podcasts on iTunes
If you’ve ever listened to a podcast, you will have heard to rate, review, and subscribe on iTunes. While this might not be the most user-friendly app (especially for Android users), this is a great app to get your favorite podcasts to the top of the charts. There’s also the added benefit of Apple support. Up to 25% of businesses never test their IT disaster recovery system but you know Apple will have your back in the event of an emergency.
Pocket Casts
If you’re a newer podcast fan, you’ve probably never heard of the up-and-coming Pocket Casts. This app offers a completely customizable user experience. You can choose to auto-play certain episodes, speed up the playback, and manage your library in a grid format.
“A good podcast app understands that not all content should be treated the same,” explains podcast host, Brian Lovin. “Pocket Casts […] deeply understands this point. Every show I subscribe to can have custom listening behaviors like variable playback effects, download preferences, and notifications. For example, I listen to my political talk podcasts at 1.5x playback speed, but my comedy shows are played at 1x speed so I can get the full effect of timed delivery.”
The only caveat? It turned most users off since you had to pay between $3.99 and $5.99 to access your favorite content. But now, you can join a growing community for free. This is great news given that we spend more than 12% of our salaries on food alone. Give it a shot and let us know what you think.
Stitcher
This increasingly popular option has adopted a Netflix-esque approach to delivering your favorite podcasts. With exclusive content, Stitcher (along with Spotify and Luminary) hopes to corner a portion of the podcast market. We’ll have to wait and see if that pans out like Netflix’s monopoly.
These are just some of the apps you can rely on to find your next favorite podcast. Whether you’re using the Google App Store or Apple App Store, you should be able to find what you’re looking for with one of these handy apps. And if you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon, rest assured that there is a podcast for just about everyone. Nowadays, we even have podcasts to help you fall asleep. This is vital given that almost half of all Americans have trouble drifting off to dreamland. When you’re ready to make your commute a little cooler, rely on these apps to help.
