Author | Echo edits | Fan Zhihui
"The existence of podcasts is like a kind of social supplement, finding people who understand you in the vast ocean of the Internet, and after doing a show, I seem to open up a lot of folding spaces in the city." 」 "Lol Tronstein" anchor Beta once described the podcast creation in an interview.
In 2020, the number of Chinese podcasts increased by 10,000. In other words, Chinese podcasts have increased by 9.7 times in less than a year and a half, becoming a new trend in life that young people love.
Unlike the emotional release brought about by music, podcasts are more of an introverted exploration, satisfying young people's concern for the inner world. In this era of greater openness and autonomy but too much efficiency, young people who are eager to regain serenity in conversations, to feel the truth and the warmth, are changing with podcasts.
Thanks to the out-of-the-loop of the small universe, many people have begun to understand podcasts, and QQ Music's concentrated efforts in the field of podcasts have given podcasts a broader output channel. As the largest music streaming platform in China, more and more young people have begun to gather on QQ music, listening to podcasts, recording podcasts, and chatting about podcasts, and "podcast youth" has also become a trendy identity of this group.
They are alive, have attitudes, can think, desire and dare to express. In the world of sound, they are constantly searching for themselves, connecting with others, and finding a way to talk to interesting souls.
Recently, QQ Music released a set of interesting data "Podcast Youth Picture Book", which took stock of the data on the relevant platform podcast listening time, user gender and preference content since 2021, and presented user portraits through the fun map book, and the vivid image of "podcast youth" also jumped on the paper.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="17" > interesting soul of "podcast youth"</h1>
In an online world overwhelmed by polarized views, podcasts provide a valuable space for dialogue and a buffer of opinions.
According to the "Podcast Youth Atlas", the listening preferences of men and women are in line with the general characteristics of their gender groups, such as boys love to listen to pragmatic podcasts such as "Beer Affairs Bureau", and girls are more likely to explore intimacy in programs such as "Shen Yifei's Podcast".
Although the sexual preferences are obviously differentiated, they are concerned with gender issues together, from the discussion of feminism in "Random Fluctuations" to the attention of modern masculinity in "Man Li".
"Ten generations, different preferences", young people in different generations have different listening preferences for podcasts. For example, the post-00s yearn for poetry and distant places, and love to listen to "Wang Xi| City"; after the 90s, they want to come to listen to some passages in their spare time and use "Harmonic Star Chat" to dispel fatigue; post-80s sit idly in front of the court, listen to "Cup Bow Tongue Addiction", and taste the timeless knowledge precipitation.
By observing the preferences of "podcast youth" of different genders and different ages, we can almost glimpse their living conditions and personality characteristics. And whether lighthearted, heavy, humorous or serious, the souls of every "podcast youth" are vivid and interesting because of their free conversation and thinking.
More importantly, in this era of greater openness and autonomy but also too much pursuit of efficiency, young people who are eager to regain their tranquility, feel the truth and temperature in the dialogue are changing because of podcasts, and niche podcasts are gradually entering the public eye.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="32" > when more and more young people become "podcast youth"</h1>
Why are more and more people falling in love with podcasts?
Judging from the time when the number of Chinese podcasts skyrocketed, the epidemic may be a turning point, the world is on hold, and young people are paying more attention to their inner feelings. But more importantly, it is because in the world of podcasts, people can be temporarily freed from the fatigue and helplessness of real life. Everyone is a unique individual with a sparkling soul, and podcasts can appropriately soothe the restlessness and loneliness of young people.
When users enter the world of podcasts, how to hear high-quality podcast content, and even through the form of sound, into the wider world becomes particularly important. The prime time of podcast listening, often in the morning, evening peak and late night before falling asleep, in addition to the introduction and self-production, QQ Music has also launched a variety of special topics such as emotion, film and television, music, etc., constantly enriching and deepening the vertical content of podcasts.
In the subway in the morning rush hour, there is no more relaxed frequency than "Limited Time Superficiality" and "A Car of Bad Words"; on the way to work at night, "All Coming" and "Harmonic Star Chat Meeting" are all good medicines that can make social animals "return blood"; and before going to bed, "Pessimistic Life Guide" is also the unique self-deprecation and healing of "podcast youth".
Even many listeners were eager to move after listening to the anchor's program, they found that "the original sound is so infectious", and after being encouraged, they also began to become anchors.
Just like Wanying, the anchor of "Naturalist", was once a fan of Li Ruyi, the founder of the podcast network IPN, and later wrote a letter to Teacher Li Ruyi to discuss the development of the museum, Li Ruyi then read the full text of the email in the 151st issue of "IT Public Discussion" about augmented reality (AR). After the two went from being listeners to friends, Li Ruyi encouraged Wanying to do a podcast program with the background of museology, and two weeks later, the first episode of "Naturalist" appeared on the IPN website.
As a result, the original batch of podcast anchors not only attracted a lot of people with similar interests to listen to podcasts, but also attracted more listeners to try to make their own podcasts and express themselves.
Contemporary philosopher Charles Taylor argues that our "existential dilemma" stems from "the fear of meaninglessness" and that "we discover the meaning of life through expression." When the podcast builds such a space with sound, we feel the existence of another "me", and also discover a broader and interesting new world and living soul.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="51" > "Podcast Youth" is another self-existence</h1>
Unlike the traditional radio station, the podcasts that grow up on the Internet are more flexible and free. Through the construction of product functions and community culture, QQ Music just undertakes the expression needs of young people, making it easier for them to pick up the microphone. We see people from all walks of life trying to say a few words outside of work and become their protagonists in podcasts.
The director of "The Great Inner Secret Talk" Xiang Zheng once mentioned that the podcast has erased the existence of class to a certain extent, and once again gave everyone the right to express. In fact, the equal rights attribute of podcasts has given more and more ordinary people a voice.
At the "0th" offline salon of the QQ Music Podcast, in addition to the head anchors such as Xiang Zheng and Li Ting, more of them are ordinary people around us, some of them are programmers, some are game studio employees, some are Internet technology researchers... The variety of identities outside of podcasts does not prevent them from enjoying the joy of podcast creation.
The anchor of "Game Matrix" is also a game practitioner, and for him, the podcast is "a bit like a handover between work and outside work, a supplement to his industry understanding and professional cognition", usually caught in the busyness of part-time work, it is often difficult to free up time for deep thinking, and when recording programs, he can often chat with friends about a lot of inspiration.
And the anchor of "Maple Talk Maple Language", if you don't listen to his program, you probably think that he may be a silent ordinary technical man, but he is unusual in the show, various topics are gushing, you can stage a talk show at any time, from his voice can clearly feel his happiness, he himself said: "For him, he is not squeezing out time to record podcasts, but enjoying the happiness brought by podcasts during the recording process."
For them, podcasts are a moment's respite from the dull work of "996", a moment when the tired soul of the tired and busy is rejuvenated by free expression.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="66" > as more and more "podcast youth" get together</h1>
Through the medium form of podcasting, the interesting souls of the "podcast youth" can be discovered, and gradually heard, seen and discussed. Behind this, in addition to the personality of the new generation of people who insist on themselves and have the courage to speak out, the package of tools, guides and services provided by QQ Music also allows more and more podcast youth to "buy a house and settle down" here.
QQ Music launched the first "mobile podcast creation tool" in China, released the "0th podcast creation plan", and launched the "0th podcast plan ・ biweekly list" and other podcast incentive lists, reducing the technical threshold for "recording" podcasts. It is reported that QQ Music will soon launch a podcast hosting function, so that more high-quality content will be heard and creators will benefit from it.
With the continuous growth of the "podcast youth" group, the need for online and offline interaction has gradually been raised. Online, QQ Music has created an interactive communication space for instant and positive feedback by means of the "Podcast Planet" topic interaction of the fluttering group and the "listening together" podcast in the fluttering room; offline, the "Podcast Youth" city tour and other activities have also promoted podcasts to young people in a more realistic and atmospheric way.
When anchors and listeners from various fields can communicate equally in a relatively free space, "podcast youth" have also begun to emerge on QQ music. The immersive podcast experience of "listening, recording, and chatting" also makes them willing to gather together and "settle down" at QQ Music.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="78" > conclusion</h1>
The construction of the podcast ecosystem is not just as simple as expanding the content of the platform, but around the creators, podcast listeners, podcast content, etc. to build an infrastructure and value cycle that is conducive to the continuous output of podcasts.
When the capital market throws an olive branch to podcasts, many podcast practitioners are mixed, happy to see the business prospects of the podcast industry moving towards scale, specialization and popularization, and worried that the original intention of podcasts to "help everyone speak out" is lost in the battle of interests.
QQ Music continues to use streamlined creative tools to upgrade, rich and diverse podcast content, immersive close-range offline interactive experience, etc., to solidly cultivate this newly reclaimed land, so that more young people can join the trend of podcasting, so that "podcast youth" can grow freely and grow.
"Everyone is a local in their own life", and we also believe that more and more souls that sparkle because of podcasts will meet in QQ music, colliding, blending and growing in the voice of true expression.
Typography | Anlin
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