Paying for Podcasts? An analysis of which factors predict past payment for podcasts

Publikation: Konferencebidrag uden forlag/tidsskriftPaper/skriftligt oplægForskningpeer review

Abstract

As podcast has become a mainstream medium with industrial production and large audience figures, podcasters increasingly focus on monetizing their activities. One unknown but central factor in this pursuit of financial sustainability, however, is the audiences and their willingness to pay. While previous studies analyze podcasters’ strategies for capturing value through various revenue streams (Authors, 2022, in review; Crofts et al., 2005; Quirk, 2015), they say little about how audiences approach podcast as a commodity.
Theoretically, this paper focuses on “willingness to pay”. Willingness to pay “refers to the maximum amount one is willing to pay for a product” (Chyi, 2012: 231), but as O’Brien, Wellbrock, and Kleer (2020) argue, this concept is used inconsistently by the research community to cover three related but distinct phenomena, namely past payment, paying intent, and willingness to pay. The willingness-to-pay literature has predominantly understood “pay” as outright payment for goods, but this paper argues that in connection with podcast, it should be broadened; the reason is that until recently, podcast has simply not had technical structures in place that allowed for such payment, and that had forced podcasters to pursue financial support in other ways.
Focusing analytically on past payment (which correlates strongly with actual payment, cf. O’Brien et al., 2020), this paper explores audience attitudes to supporting podcasters financially. This way, it engages with the research gap that exists around the audience perspective on the business of podcasting within both podcast studies and the media management literature. The research questions are: How do demographic variables (RQ1), general media use (RQ2), past payment (RQ3) and specific practices connected to podcast use (RQ4) predict past payment for podcast?
To answer these research questions, the paper presents the results of a national survey (n=2,535) among adult Danes. The survey is conducted online, and the responses are weighted to align the sample of respondents with the general composition of the adult Danish population. Since the dependent variable in our analysis is a binary one (“Have you supported one or more specific podcasts financially?”: 0 = no/don’t know, 1 = yes), we use binary logistic regression analysis to test if different independent variables significantly predict past payment. We run four models for this analysis, answering each of the research questions.
The analysis finds that age, use of television and AV streaming, and past payment for television and online news are the most significant predictors throughout the models; gender is found to be a significant predictor in three of the four models.
The paper contributes in various ways. First, it provides empirical evidence of willingness to pay for one specific type of media; so far, most of the willingness-to-pay literature has focused on digital news, but this study contributes to including other types of media as well. Second, the paper broadens the theoretical understanding of willingness to pay, arguing that researchers and practitioners need to look beyond ordinary payment for content and also consider, for example, payment for ancillary products, crowdfunding, and exposure to advertising as ways of paying for content. And third, the paper has industry implications since its empirical insights can help inform strategic decision-making among podcasters, who find themselves in an increasingly competitive and commercialized market.

References

Authors. (2022). Forretningsmodeller og fremtidsudsigter for det danske podcastmarked. Danmarks Medie- og Journalisthøjskole.
Authors. (in review). The Danish Podcast Market and Its Revenue Streams.
Chyi, H. I. (2012). Paying for What? How Much? And Why (Not)? Predictors of Paying Intent for Multiplatform Newspapers. International Journal on Media Management, 14(3), 227-250.
Crofts, S., Dilley, J., Fox, M., Retsema, A., & Williams, B. (2005). Podcasting: A new technology in search of viable business models. First Monday, 10(9).
O’Brien, D., Wellbrock, C.-M., & Kleer, N. (2020). Content for Free? Drivers of Past Payment, Paying Intent and Willingness to Pay for Digital Journalism - A Systematic Literature Review. Digital Journalism, 8(5), 643-672.
Quirk, V. (2015). Guide to Podcasting. Tow Center for Digital Journalism, Columbia University.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
Publikationsdato17 jun. 2022
Antal sider2
StatusUdgivet - 17 jun. 2022
BegivenhedEuropean Media Management Association conference 2022: Reorganization of Media Industries - Between Digital Transformation, Entrepreneurship, and Regulatory Activities - Macromedia University of Applied Sciences, München, Tyskland
Varighed: 15 jun. 202217 jun. 2022
https://www.media-management.eu/emma-conferences/munich-2022/

Konference

KonferenceEuropean Media Management Association conference 2022
LokationMacromedia University of Applied Sciences
Land/OmrådeTyskland
ByMünchen
Periode15/06/2217/06/22
Internetadresse

Emneord

  • digitale medier
  • podcast
  • kvantitativ metode
  • spørgeskemaundersøgelser
  • Erhvervsliv, handel og økonomi
  • betalingsvillighed

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