Industry Trends: Sound Wave Battlefield - Current Status and Strategies of Podcast Markets in Taiwan and Japan

The goal of this survey is to assist business decision-makers in various related fields better understand the post-pandemic consumer perspective.

Digital Divide: A Gap in Podcast Recognition

A significant disparity exists between Taiwan and Japan in terms of Podcast awareness. Nearly 59% of people in Taiwan are aware of Podcasts, far exceeding Japan's 26.9%. This suggests that Taiwan's Podcast market is more mature compared to Japan, with creators having a larger potential audience base. Meanwhile, Japan's Podcast market is still in the stage of establishing user behavior patterns, and may currently require more resources to build Podcast usage habits.

Testing the Waters: Population Proportion of Podcast Users

Further analysis reveals a stark contrast in the proportion of podcast users in each country. In Taiwan, 47.8% of the population has used podcasts, significantly higher than Japan's 14.1%. This discrepancy is likely due to Taiwan's advanced digital convergence and diverse media channels. While Taiwan and Japan share similar social atmospheres and commuting cultures, Taiwan's progress in establishing podcast usage habits might serve as a reference for Japanese podcast creators.

Shared Motives: Entertainment, Convenience, and Killing Time

Despite the aforementioned differences, the motivation for podcast consumption appears to be remarkably similar in both Taiwan and Japan. Whether for entertainment, convenience, or passing time, these are the primary motives for podcast listeners in both regions.

Variety of Flavors: Preferences in Podcast Content

Interestingly, when it comes to preferred content, Taiwanese users prefer entertainment, drama, and pop culture, followed by business and finance. This resonates with Taiwanese people's keen interest in entertainment and business. Conversely, Japanese listeners lean towards music and television programs/movies, indicating a desire for casual and lifestyle-oriented content in their podcast choices.

Business Perspective: Comparing Podcast Payment Behaviors

In terms of podcast payment behaviors, Taiwanese listeners are more willing to consider paying, although the actual payment ratio remains low. In contrast, while fewer Japanese users are willing to consider paying, the actual payment ratio is higher than in Taiwan.

Platform Power: Analyzing Podcast Listening Platforms

Taiwanese listeners prefer YouTube, followed by Spotify and Apple Podcast, reflecting YouTube's high penetration and ubiquity in Taiwan. Some Taiwanese creators produce content for both traditional podcast platforms and YouTube, potentially taking advantage of dual platforms to cultivate loyal listeners. In Japan, Spotify is the top choice, followed by Amazon Music and Apple Podcast, aligning with the previously noted preference for music content.

Based on the analysis, both Taiwan and Japan's podcast markets offer unique opportunities and challenges. However, each requires specific focus areas to optimize their potential:

• Taiwan: Enhance payment systems
  Despite a willingness to pay, the actual payment ratio remains low. Revising current pricing and payment systems might help increase the actual payment ratio, attracting more creators and motivating existing ones to produce higher quality content, thereby further propelling Taiwan's podcast market.
  
  
• Japan: Increase Podcast Awareness
  The first step is to increase public knowledge of podcasts. This can be achieved through social media promotions, radio collaborations, and other means to broaden podcast visibility among Japanese citizens. Given the challenge of cultivating new consumer habits, long-term, phased promotional strategies are necessary, along with tailored communication approaches for different demographics to achieve optimal market promotion results.

Z.com Engagement Lab will continue to track the podcast listening habits of people in Taiwan and Japan and update the survey data, monitoring market trends and changes in consumer demand. Please contact us if you have any questions or research needs in this area.