By Mark Seavy

While the podcast market continues to grow, licensed merchandise has been slower to make inroads.

And though many podcasts do sell merchandise, the amount that is licensed is smaller than the products that are developed internally.

At Sirius XM’s PodSwag, for example, there are 25 podcasts listed with merch for sale, including items attached to comedian Conen O’Brien’s Conan Needs a Friend, Scott Aukerman’s Comedy Bang Bang, and comedian Marc Maron’s WTF.

But PodSwag, which was launched by Marissa Morales in 2017, struggled to make podcasters aware of merchandise opportunities. PodSwag was acquired by podcast company Stitch Media, which was sold to SiriusXM in 2020. Three years later, SiriusXM shut down Stitch and folded it (along with PodSwag) into the company, ending the media company’s 15-year run.

“Everyone thinks merch is a great idea [for podcasts] and that it could be copious amounts of revenue,” Morales told the Fulfilled podcast. “Podcasts still aren’t the Taylor Swift tour, so it is still a small world. Some people have large expectations [for merchandise], some know exactly what they want, and some have no idea. The spectrum is large and differs show to show.”

That range of expectations and strategies from podcasters hasn’t deterred companies from trying to build a licensing business around the format. Retail Monster, for example, represented Amazon’s podcast network Wondery and signed licensing deals for Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley’s true crime podcast Morbid, which averages 12 million monthly listeners. Goliath Games (The Luna Dial board game) and retailer Spencer’s (apparel) are also fielding Morbid-related products. And Thames & Kosmos has STEM toys based on Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas’ Wow in the World podcast, which has 7.25 million subscribers.

Yet just as licensing was beginning to settle in, a shift in the podcast business has occurred.

Amazon, which purchased Wondery from E.W. Scripps Co. in 2021, has since restructured it. It moved the podcast network under its audio books company Audible, laid off 110 workers, and created a new business unit. That restructuring caused several major podcasts, including Morbid, to move to SiriusXM.

In addition to those changes, there is also a growing preference from consumers for creator-led video content connected to their favorite podcasts. This has prompted audio streamers like Spotify to broaden their podcasts to attract more users with a focus on clips for TikTok and Instagram as well as full filmed podcast episodes on platforms like YouTube.

“As video podcasting has grown in popularity, we have learned that creator-led, video-integrated shows have different audience needs and require distinct discovery, growth, and monetization strategies compared to audio-first narrative series,” Steve Boom, Vice President of Audio, Twitch and Games at Amazon, wrote in the memo obtained by Reuters.

The shifting tides come in a market that was estimated at $30.7 billion in 2024 and forecast to reach $131.1 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research. Additionally, about 85% of U.S. consumers are aware of podcasts and 70% of them have listened to podcasts at least once, up from 55% in 2021.

However, while there are 4.58 million podcasts registered globally, only 450,000-470,000 of them are regularly updated, according to Grand View. Apple Podcasts command a 37% share of the U.S. market, followed by Spotify at 28%, and the market is projected to grow at 19% annually between 2025 and 2030, Grand View reported.

“At the heart of the growth is the notion of fandom and a passionate sense of connection experienced by individuals who share a common interest,” according to The Fandom Phenomenon report sponsored by Wondery.  “While the idea of 360-degree fandom or building a franchise around content-based IP isn’t new, it is for podcasting. The next big fandom may not come from authors, actors, or musicians, but instead from your favorite podcaster.”