The news: Music and audio monthly app sessions per active user grew 10.7% YoY in North America in Q3 2026, according to our industry KPI data provided by Airship.

The average number of app sessions in a month grew from 25.2 to 27.9; other categories, including finance, health and fitness, lifestyle, and shopping experienced negative or minimal growth in comparison.

The trend coincides with growing audio and video podcast consumption, highlighting how audio platforms are becoming an increasingly important part of consumers’ digital routines.

Zooming in: Music and audio platforms are gaining momentum as audiences increasingly engage with streaming audio and podcasts. The growing popularity of video podcasts in particular is expanding how consumers engage with traditionally audio-first platforms.

• 58% of Americans over 12 had consumed podcasts in the month preceding March 2026, an all-time high, per Edison Research.
• Video-first listening on audio apps is gaining traction, with Spotify reporting that over 500 million users had streamed a video podcast on the platform at least once as of May 2026. That was a nearly 50% increase from the year prior.

Podcasts’ growing popularity opens up opportunities for advertisers to reach engaged audiences in a format proven effective and with relatively strong consumer receptivity.

• More than three-quarters of weekly podcast consumers over 13 have acted as a result of hearing a podcast ad, per Edison Research.
• Audiences show greater tolerance for podcast ads. Only 25% of US media consumers find podcast ads annoying, well below online display ads (50%), TV and video streaming ads (42%), and social media ads (36%), according to YouGov.

Recommendations for marketers: Increasing audio app sessions and with the effectiveness of podcast ads reinforce the value of audio and video podcasts as formats for reaching engaged audiences and prompting consumer action.

But marketers should prioritize formats that resonate most with listeners to maximize the potential. Forty percent of podcast users say host-read ads strongly influence their decision to try or purchase products, and 55% listen all the way through host-read ads, per Strategic Solutions Research—though these ads tend to be more expensive. By comparison, only 27% say pre-recorded spots influence their decision to try products.

That gap underscores the importance of how ads are delivered, not just how many listeners they reach. Marketers should prioritize host-read ads at moments when audience alignment makes it worthwhile to spend more.

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