Irving-based Podcast Movement: The World's Largest Community of Podcasters is excited for the return of its annual conference to the city where it all began in 2014: Dallas. The event will take place August 23-26 at the Sheraton Downtown Dallas. During the four-day event, across 10+ stages, there will be over 150 workshops, breakout sessions, panels, and keynote talks from some of the most successful names, brightest minds, and biggest brands in the podcast industry.
Already announced are keynote speakers Phoebe Judge, host of Criminal, and Nishat Kurwa from Vox Media Podcast Network. In addition, Dallas Native Mark Cuban will take the stage, alongside Fireside Co-Founder Falon Fatemi, in a session presented by Fireside entitled The Power of Web3 and Metaverse: The Future of Podcasting, Media, and Entertainment.
Since 2014, Podcast Movement events have brought together and educated thousands of podcasters and podcast industry professionals to grow their shows, their community, and the podcast industry. Topics at Podcast Movement are all geared towards different experience levels and places in the industry—there is something for everyone.
"Over 10,000 attendees from 35 different countries (and growing) have joined Podcast Movement's events over the past nine years," remarked Dan Franks, Co-founder, and President of Podcast Movement. "This year, attendees are in for a real treat not only because we are able to gather together once again, but because we’ll be joined by amazing speakers like Phoebe Judge and Mark Cuban. The podcast and media world is changing rapidly, and I can’t wait to hear from representatives from across our industry about where they think things are headed, and how we can prepare!”
The first day will have several optional workshops and orientations, as well as our big opening night party. Then the three days after will feature over 150 different breakout sessions, panels, and keynotes to pick from, plus plenty of parties and networking events! In addition, Podcast Movement features the largest trade show in podcasting, where exhibitors will demonstrate the latest products and service offerings.
The core content is spread across several different topic-based tracks to help attendees find sessions most applicable to them and their goals. These tracks include Creation, Industry, Marketing, Monetization, Technical, Society, Culture & Advocacy, Audio Fiction, Brand & Content Marketing, Spanish Language, Audio Fiction, and Podcast Growth.
The popularity of podcasts continues to soar. In 2021, it was estimated that there are 850,000 active podcasts, with over 48 million total episodes. This is a 20% growth over 2020 numbers. The same study reported that 50% of all homes are podcast fans—that's over 60 million homes—and the average weekly podcast listener spends 6 hours and 39 minutes listening each week.
"The podcast market is alive and growing," Franks added. "It doesn't matter if you've been podcasting since the conference started in 2014, or want to get started today; there is something for everyone at Podcast Movement to help you move the needle forward!"
