New report examines global podcast listening, platform usage and audio engagement trends

MIDiA Research has released its latest report 2025 audio consumer profile: Habits, platforms and personas, providing a view of global audio consumption based on consumer survey data across multiple markets.

The report finds that 32% of MIDiA’s international consumer sample listen to podcasts on a monthly basis, while 22% listen weekly. The analysis draws on Q3 2024, Q4 2024, Q3 2025 and Q4 2025 consumer surveys and outlines who today’s audio consumer is and how their habits are shifting.

In terms of platform access, 62% of monthly active podcast users engage via YouTube, compared to 47% on Spotify, giving YouTube a 15-percentage-point lead. Spotify saw a 4-point increase from 2024 figures. Yet, our data goes further looking at specific market differences to highlight how for platform reach, it is still a two horse race.

The report also shows that 36% of global consumers are not interested in podcasts, a figure that has only reduced slightly since 2024. Highlighting that although there is a lot of necessary talk around platforms and formats, a key issue for podcasting will be to convince the unconverted.

Audiobook listening increased slightly, with average weekly listening rising from 3.1 hours to 3.2 hours. The share of audiobook non-listeners declined by 2 percentage points since Q4 2024.

The report also highlights differences in podcast genre engagement. News remains the top genre globally, narrowly ahead of comedy. Chat shows, True crime, and Politics saw increases in listenership, while News, Factual, and Games declined. In the United States, News dropped out of the top three most-listened-to podcast genres.

 "What we’ve tried to do in this report is go beyond the global average, and look at market nuances to get a better understanding of the international audio listener.”  – Laura Fisher, Audio and Entertainment Analyst, MIDiA Research

About the research

This report draws on a series of 2025 MIDiA Research consumer surveys to provide insight into today’s audio consumer. Where relevant, it also references 2024 data for year-on-year comparison.

The report includes data from Q3, 2024, Q4 2024, Q3 2025 and Q4 2025 MIDiA consumer surveys. Unless otherwise stated, all data reflects the weighted average across all surveyed countries, representative of their respective populations.

About MIDiA Research

MIDiA Research is the global leading authority in music, the creator economy, audio, and cross-entertainment. Our subscriptions, data tools, and strategy consulting bring clarity to complex industries by providing support and expertise. Our trusted data and powerful insights help make confident and impactful decisions. By leveraging multi-country consumer data, forecasts, market shares, and the insights from our creator panel, we empower clients to think differently, revealing unique solutions they did not even know existed.

With our deep understanding of both the business and culture of entertainment, we work with entertainment companies to navigate tough industry challenges. Driven by a passion for discovering new knowledge, insights, and solutions, our team nurtures creativity and innovation to consistently deliver dependable results.