Podcasting’s Chart Champions: The Consistency of Spoken Word

Spotify might have started as a music streaming platform, but these days, it’s much more than that. Podcasts are claiming a bigger slice of listeners' time, showing up prominently in recommendations and the app’s interface. And with the late 2024 launch of audiobooks in the Netherlands, spoken-word content is making an even stronger push. Ultimately, it all competes for attention with Spotify’s original star—music.

Spotify’s daily podcast chart ranks the top 100 most-listened-to shows in the Netherlands, but there’s no way to look back at past rankings—only the current day is available. About a year ago, I wrote a script to scrape the charting data daily (let’s keep that between us, though let’s be honest they should open this up 😉).

Interestingly, while Spotify only shows the top 100, the HTML sneakily hides rankings to 200. A little Easter egg for data nerds like me.

Now, after a full year of tracking Dutch podcast charts, I figured—why keep this to myself? Let’s dig into the numbers and see what’s going on.

I dove into every podcast that cracked Spotify’s top 50 charts in 2024 to see which shows held their ground the best. The big hitters—those spending the most days on the charts and racking up the best (i.e., lowest) average rankings—include: Aaf en Lies lossen het wel weer op, Maarten van Rossem, BROERS, Moordzaken, Geuze & Gorgels, Napleiten, and NRC Vandaag.

Ideally, a top-performing podcast hangs out on the chart for a long time while keeping its ranking as close to #1 as possible.

I was also curious to see which shows hold a steady high ranking in the top 50 versus those that move around more in the charts. Some podcasts manage to stick near the top without much fluctuation, while others have a bit more movement but still perform well overall.

The most consistent high-rankers? Maarten van Rossem, Aaf en Lies, BROERS, Geuze & Gorgels, and Moordzaken. These shows maintain a strong position with little variation, proving they’ve built a rock-solid listener base.

Others see more ups and downs, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing—some shows might spike due to viral moments, guest appearances, or trending topics before settling back into their usual range.

Division in genres

Every time I dive into this data, I’m blown away by how many shows have no genre tagged on Spotify. Seriously, it’s such a simple way to optimize metadata for SEO, yet so many skip it.

Even major players like NRC Vandaag don’t have category tags, which is wild. If your podcast ranks without metadata optimization, imagine what it could do with it.

Regarding podcast charts, Culture dominates as the top genre, with the most shows appearing, followed by Personal Stories and True Crime. The rankings shift slightly depending on whether we’re looking at the top 50, top 100, or beyond—but that makes sense. Niche shows often perform well but don’t always break into the highest tiers, while the biggest ones hold down the top spots.

To get a better look at how different genres perform, I’ve mapped them on a scatter plot, comparing their average ranking with the number of days spent on the chart. Some genres consistently rank high, while others stick around longer despite fluctuating placements.

Release frequency

Success in podcasting isn’t one-size-fits-all. Maybe your goal is to build a tight-knit community rather than chase the top of the charts. But one thing stands out when analyzing all the shows that made it onto the Dutch Spotify podcast charts: Consistency is key!

The most frequently charting podcasts tend to release on a regular schedule, whether that’s daily news updates, weekly deep dives, or anything in between. The data shows that staying present keeps listeners engaged—and keeps your podcast visible.

Below is the release schedule from January 2023 onwards for the top 20 shows that spent the most time in Spotify’s top 50.

You can see the different strategies at play—some podcasts drop episodes daily, while others stick to a more spaced-out schedule. Regardless of frequency, the common thread is consistency. The shows that dominate the charts tend to maintain a reliable release rhythm, keeping listeners engaged week after week.

There’s a lot more that could be uncovered with this data—but hey, maybe I’ll dive back into it sometime. 😉

If you have any hypotheses that you’d like me to test with data (there has to be some publicly available data out there) feel free to shoot me any ideas!

Until the next one! 👋