Is “Be Everywhere” The WORST Podcasting Advice Now That YouTube ‘Dominates’?
episodePreviously titled “Is "Be Everywhere" The WORST Podcasting Advice Now That YouTube 'Dominates'?” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 18, 2026
Podmastery: podcasting insights and advice for indie creators
14 min
2 speakers
2 chapters
transcribed 1 month ago
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
I always remember my dad's car when I was growing up. An ancient Austin Allegro that smelled permanently of rust and tree ball mints. And there was a radio dial. AM radio, no FM yet. No presets. An actual dial with a little red line that you nudged with your thumb, hunting around for a signal like you were turning a submarine. And the radio diet was very simple. Radio 1 for me. Radio 2 for him and my mum. Radio 4, the second any adult in the car wanted to feel superior about what they listened to. Nobody ever suggested that we all just listen to one station. That would have been completely mad. And yet, that's the strategy that half of us podcasters have been running with. I'll explain more in a moment.
Podcasting in Hi, this is Podmastery Podcasting Insights.
How does the Edison Research UK data change the podcast platform conversation?
I'm Neil Velio. I started in radio before I started podcasting. My radio career was around 25 years, and one thing that that world drums into you really early on is that a radio station is never for everyone, as much as they want it to be. What they say and play is intended for someone quite specific. Now, new data out of the UK recently accidentally proves that podcasting is heading in exactly the same direction. Edison Research just published their latest stats for the UK market. And the headline finding is that YouTube... It's overtaken Spotify as the most used platform for podcast listening in the UK. 29% versus 28%. So one percentage point in it. That's the entire thing. Enough to make every podcasting newsletter and podcasting podcast on the planet, including, let's be honest, this one, include it as a talking point.
Now, the other publications have acted like tectonic plates have shifted. Not quite enough that you'd notice if you were just, you know, living your life, but massive news if you're active in the podcasting space as a coach or a consultant. But for me, it's not really about that one point. It's about the four years it took to get there. See, in 2023, YouTube was only on 19%. Spotify was miles ahead on 33%. Apple Podcasts was trailing way ahead as well. But since then, YouTube's crept up. 20, 25, now 29. While Spotify has slid the other way. 33, 34, 30, 28. Slow bleed. And then we probably have to talk about BBC Sounds. 13% in 2023, 15% every year since. just sat there, steady as she goes. It didn't chase any trends, it didn't panic, it didn't launch a Patreon to cover its costs.
It just held on to its 15% like it had absolutely nothing else to do right then. Here's the bit that actually matters though, and it's the bit that most of the coverage that I've seen has skipped past to get to that shiny crossover between Spotify and YouTube headline. These aren't the same 15% of people switching platforms every year. They're different people, on different platforms, doing different things for different reasons. Look at who's actually listening and where. Shows tied to the BBC, so that's the Archers, Newscast, that whole legacy broadcast audience, has massively over-indexed with listeners over 55. Meanwhile, the biggest shows on the platforms growing fastest, so like your Rogans, your driver CEOs, they skew heavily younger and heavily male.
And this is the one that I genuinely laughed at. People who use YouTube for podcast listening report trusting what they hear less than average. BBC Sounds listeners trust it more. 51% versus 45%. So the platform that's growing the fastest is also the one people trust the least for content while they're growing fastest on it. Amazing. We're off to a wonderful start here. But do you see what's actually happening here? This isn't platforms competing for one identical audience. This is Radio 1 and Radio 4 all over again. So different stations, different moods, different times of the day, different people entirely, just dressed with an app icon instead of a frequency. And this is where I need to have a slightly uncomfortable go at some people in the space, because I know what a chunk of people doing podcasts are doing right now.
And it's the audio equivalent of broadcasting on every frequency in the country simultaneously and hoping somebody somewhere wants to tune in at exactly the right moment.
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Chapters
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