The “renaissance” of auditory medium in China: a study on the motives of Chinese podcasting users and corresponding development strategies of Chinese podcasting

Abstract

In 2020, China witnessed its own “Year of the Podcast.” Podcast, an auditory medium that dominates the Western market, is once again enjoying a “renaissance” in China after years of silence. This article begins by tracing the development trajectory of Chinese podcasting and examining the reasons behind its “renaissance.” Then, based on Grounded Theory Methodology, this article utilizes user reviews from Little Universe, the first Chinese RSS podcast application on the App Store, as research samples. Assisted by qualitative research software Nvivo12, it analyzes the motives of Chinese podcasting users and the corresponding development strategies of Chinese podcasting. The research reveals that emotional needs, platform needs, and cognitive needs are the three prominent categories of needs, accounting for 45%, 34%, and 22%, respectively. Chinese podcasting users are particularly concerned about the adaptability of podcasting platforms to various devices in changing usage scenarios, the future direction of commercialization, and the usefulness and diversity of podcast programs. Unlike Western podcasting, social needs play a crucial role in Chinese podcasting, but there are divergent opinions among Chinese users regarding them. Therefore, the development of social functions needs to be carefully controlled within certain limits.

Keywords

audio media Chinese podcasting development strategies grounded theory privacy protection users’ motives

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