The economics of podcasting

Since the early 2000s, podcast has become an increasingly popular type of medium. However, little is known about the management and economics of podcasting, and the scholarly effort into generating such knowledge is most limited. Filling out some of the blanks, this chapter unpacks the economics of podcasting. It outlines the basic revenue models of podcasting and the three most important types of market actors (independent podcasters, media organizations, and platform companies). After discussing the relationship between the market actors, the chapter argues that platformization and datafication are both important processes in the management and economics of podcasting, but more research into the fundamental dynamics of this area is also necessary to fully understand this type of medium.