Shelley Seale is a journalist, content creator, award-winning writer, author, publication designer, editor and communications professional. She can be reached at www.shelleyseale.com. and Twitter
What’s Happening:
Innovations in podcasting are happening at a rapid pace — new technologies such as smart speakers, AirPods and connected cars have made it easier than ever before for consumers to stream audio. There are currently more than 700,000 free podcasts available on the market, with thousands more being launched each week.
Why it Matters:
The continuing popularity and development of the podcast market is creating more revenue and opportunities for creators, and encouraging more high-quality audio content to emerge. As new tech platforms hit scale, the consumer team at AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (a16z) has been closely watching the podcast ecosystem for startup investment. In doing such, they’ve developed a kind of “market map” that provides a good outlook into the opportunities for podcasting throughout the rest of 2019.
