A Study On The Motivation And Listening Behavior Of Chinese Podcasts

Under the wave of podcasting renaissance,podcasting has renewed its vitality in the global audio media market."Podcast listening" has gradually become a way of life for the majority of listeners.This study takes Chinese podcast listeners,podcast media and podcast platform as the research objects.Starting from the listening psychology,needs and behaviors of Chinese podcast listeners and the development status of podcast media,this study analyzes the motivation and usage of Chinese podcast listeners,explores the voice characteristic of podcast media,and discusses the unique value and potential of podcasting as an emerging media.This research mainly adopts the in-depth interview method with questionnaire method and case study.Through the analysis,it is found that the Chinese podcast audience is mainly a group of young people with a higher education level who mainly live in first-tier and new-tier cities.Long commute time,long work/study time,and strong demand for high-quality information are their common characteristics.Podcast listeners have different motivation of podcast using.The media use of podcast by listeners can be divided into: instrumental use and ritual use.Podcast provides diverse and high-quality content which meets the various needs of listeners.The core of the podcasting media is the human voice,which could create a sense of dialogue and build a atmosphere of realism,immersion and imagination.There is a quasi-social relationship between the podcast listeners and the anchor,which is based on the listener's sense of identity with the anchor.As a companion media,podcasting has an advantage in the convenience of media acquisition.Podcasting can provide emotional value,and therefore listeners could get a sense of companionship by listening to podcasts.As an emerging media,podcasting has adapted to the needs of listeners in the new media era in terms of communication technology,content and methods.The relationship between transmission and reception has become more open.All of those advantages and potential of podcasting media show that podcasting is gradually adapting to the development of the times.