Is it Too Late to Start a Podcast?

By Tina Nole, Chief Creative Officer & Founder Larj Media

In 2011 Larj Media (then called just simply Larj) was in its infancy.  I had recently left New York after producing long form audio content at CBS News and Air America and I was carting equipment around Seattle in a makeshift portable studio, serving a handful of independent podcast creators. At the same time, I was pitching my services at marketing forums and trying to explain that a podcast wasn't a radio show or just a dude in his basement with a microphone. At that time people still wondered what a podcast even was, but I knew I was on the forefront of a burgeoning industry. Cut to October 2014 Serial hits the market, Saturday Night Live does a skit about it, everyone is talking about it and suddenly in my head I thought DAMN IT! I’m too late! Little did I know. 

Now, in 2022 there are 383.7 million podcast listeners globally with a projected 424 million podcast listeners worldwide by the end of 2022, that’s about 1/3 of the US population and with the fastest growing listener demographic between the ages of 12 – 24. And it’s only going to increase. 

So much has changed in the years since I believed I was too late. I’ve gone from carting equipment around in the rain to running a full production agency with a team of editors and producers. Podcasting, as an industry, has expanded massively from a handful of former radio folks experimenting with long-form, serial storytelling to a billion dollar industry with major brands like GE, Trader Joes, Slack, Microsoft, Ford and many more getting in on the action.   And so you might wonder NOW am I too late? 

Here’s some perspective. There are over 600 million blogs in the world today and 1.14 billion websites! No one is saying “should I write another blog post? Are there just too many now?”

With an emerging medium like podcasting in its ever changing world I argue - nope! Not too late, in fact the industry is barely old enough to drink (it’s about 20 years old) and now is the time to understand its strength and harness it for your brand, business or thought leadership platform.  

It’s not too late, AND it’s NEVER too early!  Jumpstart your podcast and connect with us today!