What Podcasts Looked Like In 2024 — Literally

In 2024, podcasts personification gotten personification to becoming a video-first medium. Though video podcasts personification been astir a comparatively agelong time, shows from The New York Times, NPR, and galore different podcast networks that personification been audio-only for years personification precocious started adding a video constituent successful bid to summation caller listenership. In fact, Spotify, a awesome subordinate successful podcasts, is astir to statesman paying podcasters to bring videos to nan platform. 

And aft years of producers trying to get audio shows to spell viral connected societal media, podcasts are now dominating TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts aft video producers realized they tin conscionable movie nan talent talking. Meanwhile, play podcasts are looking to propulsion younger audiences who grew up connected YouTube. As a result, video producers are figuring retired really to make podcasts, and audio producers are figuring retired really to make videos.

I’ve noticed a less processing trends successful this video-first podcasting format. This isn’t surprising; erstwhile 1 shaper discovers a look that works, others are going to effort it. Let’s return a look astatine existent creation and tech trends — and past I’ll talk astir what I deliberation whitethorn create complete nan adjacent twelvemonth aliases so.

Home design

Many of today’s podcast studios look for illustration surviving rooms and basements. This isn’t a caller arena pinch talk shows, but a batch of podcasts started retired successful a surviving space, and larger media companies personification adopted that aesthetic. Lamps. Fireplaces. Fake plants. Bookshelves. This business gives a overmuch “laid back” style of long-form interviewing, which is typically nan vibe of astir chat-style podcasts.

Couches and comfy chairs show up a batch connected these video shows. The accusation array has been ditched, and leisure is cardinal — it’s a batch overmuch comfortable of an business for talking hours astatine a time. Both hosts and guests are often connected a sofa together aliases sitting successful comfy chairs separately. 

Another inclination I’ve noticed are these woody slats connected nan wall successful podcast studios — our ain Vox Media abstraction has gone pinch this creation arsenic well. These activity amended for sound absorption while still looking for illustration a surviving space. This is already looking to beryllium a signifier of mid-2020 video podcasts. 

With wide-shot camera angles showcasing nan afloat room, location is usually point successful nan mediate of nan screen, for illustration a TV aliases a elephantine logo of nan show, to create a symmetrical workplace look. Neon signs and colored lights are very trendy correct now because they adhd a colorful glow to a overmuch muted workplace space. Lots of cursive lettering.

Branding is often prioritized successful video, and astir producers deliberation that intends virtually looking astatine nan logo for 2 hours. This is too an easy measurement to fto a TikTok scroller cognize what show they are watching (though this typically doesn’t harvest bully for vertical video).

More attraction to tech

Microphones are often placed connected level stands that widen complete nan couches (these articulating roar stands personification been staples successful signaling studios for decades). As a result, nan stands often look from retired of nan camera model and instrumentality up broadly successful beforehand of guests’ faces awkwardly. Poles sticking retired astatine various incongruent angles look moreover messier erstwhile you personification aggregate guests connected abstracted chairs. 

Though caller kinds of mic stands for podcasts personification been introduced to nan market, galore shows are ditching nan long, awkward roar poles successful favour of having hosts and guests clasp their microphones instead. This feels a spot overmuch authentic and friends onscreen, and galore stand-up comedians for illustration this method. However, it tin get a spot awkward pinch inexperienced guests who talk pinch their hands aliases who don’t cognize really to clasp a microphone pinch a constrictive polar pattern. 

It tin get moreover worse. When podcasts are audio first but pinch a video component, you often spot awkward practices caught connected camera, for illustration this suit wherever each impermanent is holding their telephone up to their look to grounds their audio while looking consecutive astatine nan viewer. This is simply a communal judge for powerfulness interviews but isn’t awesome erstwhile video is involved.

The Shure SM7B microphones are still really celebrated successful this mean arsenic bully arsenic nan fund MV7 model. For nan purposes of branding, cubes pinch nan punishment of nan show are often stuck awkwardly connected nan bottommost of nan microphone. This is reminiscent of microphone flags connected newscaster instrumentality mics, and they are now being retrofitted for these classical powerfulness workplace microphones. This is apt because it’s overmuch effective branding connected vertically cropped videos than a ample logo connected nan wall successful a studio.

Big isolating headphones are communal successful powerfulness and podcasts and are still utilized successful a batch of video versions. But erstwhile guests are distant and are looking consecutive astatine their webcam, those ample receptor cups instrumentality retired very awkwardly — overmuch truthful than if you’re looking astatine someone’s level scheme view. 

So that’s what a batch of video podcasts personification looked for illustration done 2024. But really astir adjacent year?

The early looks overmuch professional

I judge that, successful 2025, podcast producers will yet extremity pursuing these tropes and effort to differentiate themselves. Some producers that were hired to thief make nan modulation to video will commencement questioning nan logic for nan ample headphones and dense microphones covering people’s faces and opt for smaller lavalier mics and in-ear monitors. 

New audiences whitethorn commencement to hide astir nan relationship “podcast” and mention to nan chat shows they watch arsenic conscionable “shows.” Media executives will effort to opt for syndication of nan programs connected linear platforms for illustration Roku, Pluto, aliases Tubi. The bladed connection betwixt podcasts and TV shows will get thinner. 

More consumer-priced devices for accumulation personification entered nan market, fundamentally turning a elemental array setup and a MacBook into a afloat stocked powerfulness room. Hosts are already moving retired of nan workplace and into barber shops, tennis courts, and connected sidewalks. AI devices for illustration Descript, Hush, and Accentize tin move less-than-optimal microphone recordings into fuller, beefier broadcast-style recordings. Podcasters whose instrumentality is small tin of handling uncontrolled signaling environments will peculiarly usage from these postproduction tools. 

And who knows? Perhaps nan pendulum will plaything backmost again erstwhile budgets for these shows spell excessively costly to support a video show moving aggregate times a week without a beardown following. Maybe they will moreover modular backmost down to an audio-only format. And perchance that is wherever they will restart a caller investigation successful nan audio medium.