Audio series catch on as Indians spend up to 1.5 hours per day listening to them

• Audio series listeners are expected to grow to 540 million by 2027 from 350 million in 2023.
• More than 80% of paid users of audio series subscribe to ‘micropayment packs’.
  

Indians are tuning into audio series more and more. So much so, Redseer projects that the number of listeners of audio series could grow to 540 million by 2027 from 350 million in 2023.

“Audio series, with its 24x7 entertainment, has a greater engagement potential compared to other Audio Streaming services. With its ability to address untapped use-cases, the market is expected to continue expanding,” says Redseer.

Indian users started out by spending 1.3 hours per day on the platforms and wound-up dedicating as much as 1.5 hours per day just a year into their listening experience.

“Key factors like compelling storytelling with immersive user experience on the go are seen to be the driving factors for its rapid adoption,” said Mukesh Kumar, associate partner at Redseer.

What’s the appeal?

Serialized audio fiction is appealing to users of different age groups. The younger cohorts of 16-24 hours enjoy listening to them during leisure time, before bedtime.

As per the Redseer analysis, 20-35 year olds use it mainly for entertainment during downtime between daily activities like commuting. The 40-50 year olds use it to complement their less-engaging working hours or during office breaks and downtimes.

In spite of popularity, paid users comprise only around 10% of the user base. Also more than 80% of paid users subscribed to ‘micropayment packs’. They allow them to pay for content they want to consume via ‘pay-per-content’, instead of subscribing to the entire library.

“The micropayment model also helps increase the frequency of payment by providing an affordable option. Apart from subscriptions and micropayments, Audio Series also has substantial potential for advertisement monetization,” says Redseer.