P.odcasts and audiobooks continue to be a growing genre. Research reveals that 2021 was a golden year for audio entertainment NielsenIQ for Audible. According to the study conducted in April 2021 for the audio entertainment company Amazon, the consumption of podcasts and audiobooks recorded respectively + 4% and + 11% compared to 2020. Furthermore, according to the Audible Compass 2021 research, looking at Europe it turns out that only in Spain is more content heard than in Italy, demonstrating that stories in audio format have now fully entered people’s daily lives. But which authors have the Italians listened to the most and which genre has them most passionate about?
Podcasts and writers: the voices and authors of 2021
More and more Italians appreciate immersing themselves in listening to one history. According to NielsenIQ research, the 77% of respondents think it’s good for authors to write content specifically designed for listening. In particular, there are two of the most listened to voices on Audible: that of Ninni Bruschetta, known for the role of Duccio Patané in Boris, and that of the voice actress Valentina Mari, who lends her voice to famous actresses, among others, Natalie Portman.
On Audible Ninni Bruschetta is the unmistakable voice of the Florio Saga, while Mari is the voice of the audio books starring the famous coroner Alice Allevi, born from the pen of Alessia Gazzola. Among the most downloaded authors, Agatha Christie confirms itself as the queen of the thriller also in audio format. “Murder on the Nile”, “Miss Marple’s Investigations” and other of her best-known titles are confirmed as a must for those who prefer to “listen to a book” rather than read it. For podcasts, on the other hand, the irreverent scientific popularization of Darkbeard X. The listeners let themselves be conquered by the unpublished and unconventional story of the greatest scientists in history: among the most appreciated are “Genius does not exist” and “Ugly Stories on Science”.
The most listened to genres and titles
Among the most listened to genres are the biographies which settle in third position, directly after audiobooks for children, a true evergreen for every generation. In the first position there are literature and fiction. This explains why among the most listened to audio books there is “The winter of the Lions”, taken from the Florio saga by Stefania Auci, and read by the aforementioned Ninni Bruschetta. In the ranking immediately after “The last ferry” by Domingo Villar, read by Federico Zanandrea and “La casa sull’argine” by Daniela Raimondi told by Ada Maria Serra Zanetti.
For podcasts they are crime and science to be the master: the most listened to is in fact “Nero come il Sangue” by Carlo Lucarelli and Massimo Picozzi on the most famous crimes and the most heinous killers. This is followed by “Ugly Stories on Science” by Barbascura X and “Il Mostro” by Giuseppe Paternò Raddusa, Maria Triberti, Lorenzo Pedrazzi read by Massimo Picozzi and Massimo Alì.
Podcast: the identikit of the typical listener
She loves putting on headphones and enjoying podcasts and audiobooks at home, in total relaxation. It is the portrait ofItalian listener, who prefers to immerse themselves completely in listening from the comfortable sofa at home. In fact, few Italians pay attention while they are engaged in other activities: only 22% listen to audio content while doing housework, for example while cooking (only 16% of Italians do it).
Compared to the European average, the inhabitants of the beautiful country do not even like listening too much to stories while driving (18% of the interviewees against 24% of the European average) or while walking (17% against 20% of the European average). Following a story without video support becomes for the Italian listener a fundamental habit that responds more and more to the need to break away from the screens of the devices that occupy their days. In fact, 64% of the interviewees declared that they spend too much time in front of smartphones and PCs.
Not just Audible: successful podcasts across all platforms
According to the research they are 14.5 million Italians who in 2021 listened to a podcast at least once, compared to 13.9 the previous year. In addition to Audible to accelerate the success of entertainment in audio format in our country there is also Storytel. As the site reports, among the most popular distributions of 2021 there were “The water of the lake is never sweet”, a book with which Giulia Caminito won the Campiello prize; then again the audio version of the literary case “Changing the water to flowers” by Valérie Perrin, which has climbed the top of the charts of the best-selling novels, and, to testify that there is a desire to inform and deepen topics of interest and current affairs, among the most listened to is “An American story” by the journalist Francesco Costa on key steps in the careers and lives of US President Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris.
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