In this guest column, Sid Arora, CEO, Personal Branding Empire, explains how India’s Rs 8,700-crore podcast industry is emerging as a serious media business built on long-form trust and authority
.jpg)
India’s podcast industry is no longer a passion project ecosystem.
It’s a serious media business.
With Rs 8,700 crore in revenue in 2024, projections crossing Rs 40,000 crore by 2030, over 105 crore listeners, and 40,000+ active podcasters, India is now the third-largest podcast market globally. The scale is undeniable.
But numbers alone don’t tell the real story.
The real shift isn’t about microphones, studios, or even creators. It’s about distribution, trust, and long-form authority.
The 60-Minute Advantage
Short-form content wins attention.
Podcasts win belief.
In a 30-second reel, you can capture curiosity. In a 60-minute podcast, you can shape perception. That difference is everything.
When audiences voluntarily spend an hour listening to someone, they’re not just consuming content , they’re building a relationship. Over time, that relationship compounds into trust capital. And trust capital converts into influence, brand equity, and deal flow.
This is why creators like Raj Shamani, Ranveer Allahbadia, Nikhil Kamath, and others aren’t just growing subscribers , they’re building positioning. Business, curiosity, depth, clear audience promise ,each has a distinct value proposition beyond virality.
From Reach Economy to Belief Economy
For years, the creator economy in India has been driven by reach metrics: views, impressions, engagement spikes.
Podcasts represent a shift toward the belief economy.
Brands are beginning to recognise this. A creator who can hold attention for 45 minutes commands a different kind of credibility compared to someone who trends for 15 seconds. Long-form formats allow nuance , something algorithm-led feeds rarely reward.
As advertising becomes more performance-driven and consumers more sceptical, trust becomes the most valuable currency in media.
Podcasts mint that currency at scale.
The Business of Depth
Interestingly, the largest revenue segment in Indian podcasting today is News & Politics. That signals something important: audiences are turning to long-form audio and video for clarity, context, and interpretation , not just entertainment.
In an era of information overload, depth has become a differentiator.
For creators, this means podcasts are no longer an add-on format. They are a strategic asset, a platform to build authority within a niche. For brands, it means rethinking partnerships beyond integrations and toward association with credible voices.
For media companies, it signals the rise of IP-led long-form programming that can travel across platforms , audio, video, live events, and even community ecosystems.
The Next Five Years
Over the next five years, podcasts in India won’t just produce more creators.
They will produce category leaders.
The winners won’t necessarily be the loudest or the fastest-growing. They will be the most consistent, clearly positioned, and distribution-smart. Because podcasting isn’t just about recording conversations , it’s about owning a narrative space.
And in a fragmented digital world, narrative ownership is power.
The question for creators, brands, and investors alike is simple:If someone is willing to listen to you for 60 minutes , what does that do to your authority compared to a 30-second reel?In the coming decade, that answer may define the next generation of Indian media leaders.