DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF) – Podcasters from around the world are converging on Dallas, Texas this week for the 2022 Podcast Movement convention.
Inside the Dallas Sheraton hotel, podcasters are using the week as an opportunity to network in a growing industry.
“When I started in 2017, 24% of the U.S. population was already listening to podcasts on a monthly basis,” said Edison Research’s Director of Research, Gabriel Soto who was a keynote speaker to open the event that runs through Friday. “Fast forward to 2021 and you see that number rise to 41%.”
Soto attributed much of the industry growth to trends brought on during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People were using their new found free time to watch things like Netflix, but also to listen to podcasts,” Soto pointed out.
According to convention organizers, the goal of the Podcast Movement is to educate active and aspiring podcasters, and industry professionals, to grow the podcast community and industry as a whole. More than 10,000 podcasters from 35 different countries, have attended the conference over the last 8 years, and thousands more are expected in Dallas this week.
The week features a slew of seminars hosted by known, and not as known, podcasters. Featured speakers include Dr. Sanjay Gupta of the ‘Chasing Life’ podcast, and tech mogul Mark Cuban.
The event takes up multiple floors of the Downtown Dallas hotel and includes over 10 stages, hundreds of workshops, and breakout sessions. Attendees said they are excited to learn the ropes of a growing industry from some of the most successful voices in the game. The goal from many attendees is to expand on ways to better extend podcasting into vehicles.
Aside from the networking and panels, podcasters have access to a trade show and expo that showcases some of the latest technology in podcasting.
Copyright 2022. WBAP/KLIF News. All Rights Reserved.
