Popularity of Podcasts Marks Revival of Voice-Based Content Industry in Indonesia

Voice-based content actually existed before the internet era, namely through radio. As technology advances, voice-based content is now evolving into content on-demand accessible via the platform.

One of which is podcast or web broadcasts that have become popular in recent years. Podcast is a sound-based serialized content that can be downloaded on the device. Term podcast or a combination of the words "iPod" and "broadcasting" was born along with the birth of this device made by Apple in 2001. Referring to data Podcast Hosting, there are 1,75 million broadcasts podcast with 43 million episodes as of February 2021 in the world.

Now voice-based content is transformed into content on-demand and can be enjoyed on various platforms, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play Music, to Anchor. not only on-demand, Clubhouse's audio-based platform is also gaining popularity among users in Indonesia.

Clubhouse is actually an audio-chat based social media application that allows users to discuss various topics with other users. Exclusive in nature, this application seems to present a format podcast, but live. So, how is the Indonesian market's acceptance of sound-based content?

Podcast start to dominate the media landscape

Based on information we have quoted from a number of sources, there are several reasons why podcast began to dominate the media landscape in a number of countries, including Indonesia. First, Podcast comes with a format that allows listeners to carry out other activities or multitasking. This situation is different when enjoying content in video, e-book or image format,

Of course, for consumers, this format is considered suitable to fill their busy lives. Content diversity podcast is also considered to have the ability to build a community that has the same preferences.

These factors are considered relevant for the Indonesian market. Referring to research Podcast User Research in Indonesia in 2018, content variety and flexibility are two big reasons why consumers listen to digital-based audio content.

Apart from that, the presence of smartphones is one of the things driven factors why podcast paving the way from niche media to mainstream media. What we know initially is content podcast indeed it can only be accessed on certain media, such as the iPod, media player, and desktop/laptop.

According to research Grand View Research, limited media to access podcast At that time, internet connections and low storage space hampered the growth of this industry. Now there are smartphones with internet connections bandwidth high level actually started to push back this industry.

Platform trends podcast local

Market value podcast global estimates reached $9,28 billion in 2019 and are predicted to reach $11,7 billion in 2020 according to data Grand View Research. In Indonesia, content and the number of listeners are still controlled by foreign platforms, such as Spotify and Google Podcasts.

At least that's what the data refers to Podcast User Research in Indonesia in 2018, where Spotify (52,02%) was recorded as the most popular platform for listening to content podcast However, it seems that Inspigo is included as the only local player in the top 10.

This indicates awareness against the platform podcast The local community has started to wake up. Growth trend podcast in Indonesia also encourages a number of business players to develop similar platforms, for example Noice and PodMe.

Inspigo was launched in October 2017, but the platform was only released to the public in April 2018. Meanwhile, Inspigo offers audio content that is packaged in a variety of ways, starting from content on-demand, talk shows and interactive sessions.

Meanwhile, Noice was launched in 2018 under the auspices of PT Mahaka Radio Digital, a company j formed by PT Mahaka Radio Integra Tbk (MARI) and PT Quatro Kreasi Indonesia. Quatro is a consortium of four recording companies in Indonesia, namely Musica, Aquarius, My Music and Trinity.

Final, PodMe developed by a media conglomeration, namely Media Group. The PodMe platform was released in October 2019 and offers a number of audio content on-demand, such as comedy, business, and the Kick Andy program.

Mahaka Radio President Director Adrian Syarkawie revealed that Noice was initially developed as a radio platform streaming considered insufficient to meet the needs of the growing market. However, content on-demand is considered to be growing rapidly in a number of countries, including Indonesia.

"If only from the radio streaming course, it seems [less] for digital applications. Moreover, people can still hear radio from other media. So, we looked ahead to what would be interesting to consumers through this application, and so we went into content podcast," he said to DailySocial.

Not only that, audio content on-demand Investors are also starting to pay attention to it as one of the interesting digital business trends going forward. For example, the CEO and Co-founder of Kopi Kenangan Edward Tirtanata who only last year doubled as angel investors Lewat fund His company, namely Kenangan Kapital, is rumored to be investing in one of the platforms podcast local.

Although he has not confirmed this news, Edward mentioned it in an interview with DailySocial, that Indonesia still needs more disruption in the segment consumer tech. According to his observations, the product/service segment in Indonesia is still relatively low underrated from a technology standpoint.

Pebbles on monetization

Apart from that, whatever the format, content on-demand will always boil down to one big challenge, namely how to monetize the business model. Generally, content on-demand relies on two schemes, namely through advertising (ads) and subscription system (subscription).

The second option is indeed attractive for platform providers to generate revenue. As long as customers can see/enjoy value given, they will continue to pay. Unfortunately, this option is still considered difficult for the Indonesian market willingness to pay The low one.

Even Spotify which is already go public You even have to bet by creating content podcastst as a way to profitability. If we refer to Spotify data in Indonesia, this strategy seems to make sense.

Spotify notes that Indonesia dominates consumption podcast Most in Southeast Asia in 2020. As many as 20% of the total Spotify users in Indonesia listen podcast every month, and that number is higher than the global average percentage.

Spotify Head of Studios for Southeast Asia Carl Zuzarte said that listeners podcast Indonesia has its own characteristics, namely that the majority likes content that can be listened to at night before going to bed. Consumption has increased in the last few months, especially during the PSBB.

Meanwhile from the side podcasts, Co-founder of Box2Box ID Tio Prasetyo Utomo also acknowledged the challenges of monetization. According to him, currently podcasts still relies on revenue from content sponsored by brand. Here, clients generally request entire episodes be broadcast for their own promotion, similar to radio.

"The difference is, compared to radio, we can provide more accurate data, such as the number of real-time listeners and reach to clients," said Tio as quoted by crAsia.

According to Tio, podcasts You can gain additional income using other models, for example by being a speaker at offline events or distributing material broadcast on podcast platforms for paid campaigns.