Author丨Gu Jian
Producer丨 Yan Xi
Podcasts, a product of the classical Internet era, are ushering in another spring.
There are many reasons for the blooming of old trees, such as the expansion of scenarios brought about by smart cockpits and smart homes, the increasing insomnia and anxiety problems of young people, and the various knowledge charging needs derived from people to adapt to the fast-paced era. But the most important point is that as the "fast traffic" represented by graphic information, short video, and live broadcast e-commerce tends to be saturated on the supply side, the "slow traffic" represented by long audio has become one of the few value depressions.
In addition to the continuous investment in the audio platform, there are also content creators who failed to catch up in the last wave of UP master "Cambrian Explosion", as well as vloggers, talk show actors, and writers who are trying to develop across borders... More and more "streams" are beginning to merge into the podcast ecosystem, and we are looking forward to the inflection point of the industry.
It's just that the slow-burning nature of podcasts determines that it is difficult for the industry to have a thunderous explosion. A lot of the positive changes that are taking place can only be seen if you listen closely. Just like two days ago, NetEase Cloud Music launched a "seeding plan" for podcasts at the first podcast conference, aiming to attract creators in more fields to transform into podcasts through traffic support, cash incentives, IP building, etc.
The WeChat public account has contributed to a content entrepreneurship movement of "everyone is a self-media", which inevitably makes people look forward to it: is the "sowing plan" another industry signal gun, indicating a new starting point for the "podcast boom"?
1. In the narrative where traffic is king, how can podcasts glow with a "second spring"?
If you count from the "sugar and garlic broadcast" in 2005, Chinese podcasts are already an old guy. It began with power generation with love, experienced capital ripening, and got the full investment of the first lychee of Chinese audio. But it's a pity that it lost in that era of traffic that Vientiane was updated.
Whether it is an expressive practitioner or a scrappy online audio platform, it has not been able to solve the commercial monetization problem of Chinese podcasts. After all, podcasts lack timeliness, and in the narrative where traffic is king, we can only share some leftovers of hot search traffic through the planning form of "review" and "dialogue". And the memory of the Internet is only 3 seconds, which is too bad for the commercial monetization of podcasts.
In addition, most podcast creators have their own independent opinions, they don't want to follow the crowd and become slaves of hot searches, they just want to "focus on me" and output high-quality content with tone and connotation. In other words, if they really want to make traffic money, they don't have to do podcasts with their talent and experience, aren't short videos and graphics more mature?
At the same time, podcast defenders, represented by online audio platforms, are also finding this path difficult. They're either throwing their resources into copyright wars or focusing on content types that are more relevant to brands and ads. Going down this path, it will be difficult for the podcast industry to grow.
The peak and loop of the story starts with the user's liquidation of "fast traffic".
In order to combat the information cocoon of "fast traffic", there is an anti-algorithm movement among young people who do not log in, do not like, do not follow, and do not comment. At the same time, all kinds of hot and sensational content have also greatly overdrawn user trust, and whenever a hot search appears, people become no longer in a hurry to comment, but tend to "let the bullets fly for a while". Some heavy users who used to be "fast traffic" have also felt unprecedented anxiety, so they have begun to reduce the frequency of using similar apps and pay more attention to those voices that are deep and professional enough.
Correspondingly, the "slow traffic" represented by podcasts began to rise.
According to the "Post-00 Long Audio Consumption Trend Report (2023)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") released by NetEase Cloud Music and 36Kr Research Institute, long audio users show obvious younger characteristics, with post-00s accounting for 71.7%. The average weekly consumption time of long-form audio core users (listening to more than 5 hours per week) on the NetEase cloud music platform also continues to grow, and the gender distribution tends to be balanced.
In the questionnaire, about 6 out of 00 users listen to long audio almost every day, and 70.9% of users listen for more than half an hour each time. The report also found that nearly half of the post-00 users have paid for long audio content, and 32% of the post-00s paid users paid more than 100 yuan.
In other words, compared with "fast traffic", the content value of podcasts can stand the test of time better: knowledge and experience content can fill the fragmented time of commuting, interest and story interpretation content is conducive to emotional relief before bedtime, and new species such as talk shows, light variety shows, and immersive interactive audio dramas are completely incremental space. Such a rich content ecology makes young people want to listen more and more they listen, and the more they listen, the more they heal, and drive the industry to achieve a double improvement in user scale and stickiness.
The industry plate is getting bigger and bigger, and the development space for podcast creators has been further broadened. The podcast on NetEase Cloud Music @ Across the World, mainly sharing books and personal thoughts. Her single episode is more than 300 minutes long, but it hasn't stopped her from reaching 2 million views in less than half a year after she was launched.
It can be seen that as long as high-value content can be stably output, even podcasts with high duration, niche content direction, and no hot search traffic can still lock in a considerable number of playbacks, laying the foundation for subsequent monetization. As similar creators continue to emerge on the platform, the "second spring" of podcasts will be more durable and interesting.
2. Directly hitting the pain points of podcast entrepreneurship, what changes can NetEase Cloud Music give?
The grand narrative is beautiful, but there are many unavoidable pain points in the initial stage of podcast entrepreneurship.
Because without the blessing of hot search traffic, it is difficult for creators to get up quickly. As a result, the accumulation period from 0 to 1 is very boring, and this slow linear accumulation has a great challenge to people's patience and confidence. Trial and error and monetization in the process of operation are equally cumbersome, whether to adjust the direction of content, and how to balance user growth and advertising monetization, are all major events that determine the fate of a podcast account. If the wasteland period is successfully passed, creators must also find ways to promote the content out of the circle and further enhance the influence of IP.
In fact, the piles and piles all point to the same key word - creative soil.
Only by choosing an excellent platform can we gain more goodwill and support in the initial stage, get richer resource allocation and income incentives, and jump again and again on the springboard provided by the platform. Conversely, the difficulties at each stage are magnified exponentially, leaving podcast entrepreneurs in the same situation as their predecessors.
Perhaps in order to respond to this series of industry pain points in the air, the first NetEase Cloud Music Podcast Conference set the theme as "amplify the volume". Through this event, the platform released the idea that every user of NetEase Cloud Music can grow into an anchor. The platform's support aims to support the growth and development of podcast creators in an all-round way, making sound creation a sustainable career choice.
Regarding the podcast business, NetEase Cloud Music has laid the groundwork for a long time.
At the beginning of the launch of the platform, NetEase Cloud Music invited a number of high-quality music radio stations to settle in, which began to cultivate users' listening habits early and also set up an outpost for subsequent podcast expansion. As the podcast ecology becomes more and more mature, the platform has also replaced the original music video entrance with a podcast, which can be regarded as an endorsement of the podcast's internal weight. At present, the platform has 206 million monthly active users, ranking first in the industry in terms of growth rate and user retention rate, and is a rare first choice for podcast entrepreneurs.
In order to help podcasts amplify their voice, last year, NetEase Cloud Music also selected the "Podcast of the Year" in the 2023 annual audio list based on data indicators such as broadcast duration, number of players, subscriptions, and content dimensions such as program topic selection, production level, innovative form, and genre, providing podcast entrepreneurs with more display space and opportunities to get out of the circle.
What's more valuable is that NetEase Cloud Music has accumulated good popularity and a good atmosphere through refined operation and event marketing for a long time, making the platform a rare "music + social" community-based product in the industry, and it is also one of the platforms with the closest psychological distance to users. For users, NetEase Cloud Music is not only a tool for listening to songs, but also a "cloud village" to release the desire to express and share, and make friends to expand their interests.
A set of research data in the report is very revealing: among the post-00 long audio users on the platform, I people are 2.5 times that of E people, and both I people and E people have taken the initiative to recommend long audio content to people around them (73.3% and 82.3%). In addition, in terms of monetization, the 2023 financial report shows that NetEase Cloud Music's online music payment rate reaches 21.4%, which is almost the highest level in the industry. For podcast entrepreneurs, it is equivalent to faster user accumulation and fission acceleration, and the success rate of paid columns in the future is also higher.
Most podcast entrepreneurs will have a good impression of NetEase Cloud Music. After all, the broadcaster doesn't want his content to be displayed in the same frame as "messy stew" with uneven content, but wants to create a tasteful "window". In the Chinese Internet rivers and lakes, "Cloud Village" is a rare platform in the industry that takes into account feelings, tone and business, and excellent podcast content is bound to be like a fish in water here.
The newly released "sowing plan" has built a bridge for this two-way rush.
The program provides a customized support mechanism for newcomer anchors, mid-waist anchors, and head anchors. Ensure that podcast entrepreneurs at different stages can enjoy a steady increase in traffic, professional ability, and income.
Taking the newcomer stage as an example, the platform provides additional traffic to help broadcasters increase exposure and accumulate initial fans, provides guidance on content production and marketing through the Creator Academy, and opens up the appreciation function and paid content function to facilitate the broadcaster to try diversified monetization.
After the volume of podcasts increases, the "Seeding Plan" will also assist anchors to connect with commercial advertising resources, and continue to enhance IP influence through in-station support such as talent certification. If the anchor successfully breaks through this stage, the platform will further provide 1V1 operation services, accelerate the podcast's out-of-the-circle through resource integration, IP co-construction, etc., and gain stronger market competitiveness and IP influence.
From the perspective of the overall environment, the current podcast entrepreneurship is an ideal window for young people to compete in dislocation and start a side business.
Podcasts do not need to be filmed, and compared with short videos and live broadcasts, they are more friendly in terms of staffing and cost. All you need is some basic equipment and you're ready to start testing the waters. Whether it's a transformational anchor in other industries or a vegan person with a dream, they all have the power to fight. It coincides with the launch of an innovative model that is beneficial to the industry and allows creators to accelerate growth and monetize, which is an excellent time for anchors to take the first step to cross-border transformation and embrace new careers.
3. The new future of podcasts: love, persistence and platform support are indispensable
As a content medium that takes slowness as beauty, encourages diversity, and focuses on long-term companionship, podcasts are an indispensable piece of the cultural puzzle. Especially in this era of "fast traffic" that pursues efficiency and timeliness, the importance of podcasts as an "active brake" will become more and more prominent.
Cai Xin, general manager of CITIC Publishing Dafang, pointed out in the sharing of the podcast conference that the consumption of closed-screen content such as podcasts will become more and more important in the future, and there have been many phenomenal cases of this kind of long-term and emotionally accompanied podcast programs.
Podcasts are not simply the opposite of short videos and live broadcasts, but the complementarity and continuation of all "fast traffic". After being swiped by ambiguous events, hearing some unfamiliar new memes and hot words, or being at a major turning point in life or a period of confusion, podcasters need to be responsible for slowly unfolding them.
"Story FM" anchor Aizhe gave his own observations and thoughts on the question of "why young people prefer to listen to podcasts". The natural "rebellion" and "rebellion" of young people are to resist the short-term and fragmented content of the past.
He believes that the connection between podcasts and the audience is very strong, and most anchors will sincerely share their experiences and confusions with listeners in their own programs, so that listeners and anchors form a very strong tacit understanding and binding relationship, which is actually a new companionship relationship.
"Podcasts are a great way to live, to let people know that real people and people have intimate, in-depth content, and there will always be an audience. ”
The love for podcasts is actually the biggest driving force for many anchors to insist on updating and even innovating. Mao Dong, the anchor of "Basically Harmless", said that he has made a lot of podcast content innovations, and 99% of the motivation comes from love.
"Stick to what you like to talk about, do, and share, which is a more permanent form for individual creators. ”
Of course, we can't expect podcasts to be self-generating spiritual beacons. Only the power of business can make anchors and users win-win, so that more talented people have the courage to redo every category and link in the existing content ecology with podcasts.
For NetEase Cloud Music, which has achieved profitability, there is no need to question the sustainability of the "seeding plan". But the Chinese podcast ecosystem needs to provide opportunities for more seeds in order to incubate a more prosperous podcast ecosystem. This road will be long, but NetEase Cloud Music is not destined to be a lone traveler. With the platform at the helm, there will be more market participants rushing to the sea and endlessly.