Are Fewer New Podcasts Launching in 2026, and What Do Listen Notes' Counts Mean for Guest Bookings?

What Do the Listen Notes Counts Show?

Listen Notes is a podcast search engine that says it indexes “(almost) all publicly-accessible RSS-based podcasts in the world” and publishes running statistics from that database. Its page was last updated on October 10, 2026 when we read it (Listen Notes).

The chart shows 2026 at 116,258 new podcasts with about a fifth of the year left, below every full-year total from 2017 to 2025. To match 2025’s 211,038, the remaining weeks would have to add almost as many shows as the first nine months did; the monthly table shows September at 8,848, near the year’s low. We make no forecast. Barrett Media, reading the same data on October 12, wrote that 2026 is “on pace for its fewest podcast launches in ten years” (Barrett Media). Listen Notes itself makes no such comparison.

How Much of the New Supply Is AI-Generated?

Listen Notes’ monthly table splits new feeds into “Human-created podcasts” and “AI-generated fake podcasts removed.” For 2026 through October 10 it lists 116,258 of the first and 46,974 of the second. The yearly new-podcast count matches the human-created column, so removed AI feeds are not in the chart above. By our arithmetic, removed AI feeds were 32.1% of all new feeds in February (8,157 of 25,445), 28.6% across July to September, and 25.6% in September. Barrett Media reported about 29% for the third quarter and 26.1% for September, likely from an earlier version of the same table. Listen Notes does not say how it decides a feed is AI-generated. For listener attitudes, see Would Listeners Accept an AI Podcast Host?

Are More Podcasts Active Than Ever?

Barrett Media’s headline says podcast publishing activity is “reaching record highs.” It reports that “563,571 podcasts have been active so far in 2026,” which it says “more than doubles each annual total from 2024 and 2025.” The Listen Notes table that matches that figure is labeled “Last Active Podcasts by Year,” and on October 10 it read 567,678 for 2026, 230,492 for 2025 and 207,835 for 2024.

The page does not define the label. If, as it suggests, each show is counted once in the year of its most recent episode, then the 2026 figure includes every show still publishing, while the 2024 and 2025 figures include only shows whose last episode came in those years. On that reading, a current year will always look large next to past years, and the comparison would not show a record. We cannot confirm the definition, so we treat the “record” reading as Barrett Media’s interpretation, not a measured result.

Barrett Media also says Listen Notes counts a show as dead only when its feed disappears or its creator marks it complete, so shows that quietly stopped may still look alive. Listen Notes’ “Dead Podcasts by Year” table shows 16,480 for 2026 so far and 35,462 for 2025; the page does not define that term either.

Do These Counts Say Anything About Guest Opportunities?

Very little. Neither source measures guest slots, booking rates or audience size. The counts describe feeds. A directory with hundreds of thousands of recently active feeds can still hold a short list of shows that reach the listeners a company wants. Our guides on how many Americans listen to podcasts and what share of listeners finish an episode deal with audience size. Barrett Media’s view that podcasting is “running more on established shows” is its interpretation; the data does not measure where attention goes.

What This Means for Anyone Booking Podcast Guest Spots

Our recommendation, not a rule from either source: treat a show’s presence in a directory as the start of vetting; it does not prove reach. Before agreeing to a booking or a paid spot, check that the show has published regularly in the last 90 days, that recent episodes have a named human host, and that the show says how it counts downloads. A paid podcast spot or sponsored segment is advertising and should be disclosed. No vendor can promise listeners. See How to Pitch Yourself as a Podcast Guest and Do Podcast Guests Gain Search Visibility?

Methodology and Limitations

Four limits apply. First, these are one directory’s counts, and other directories use other rules. Second, Listen Notes does not define “last active,” “dead” or “AI-generated” on the page; the dead-show definition comes from Barrett Media. Third, the 2026 figures change as the page updates, and Barrett Media’s figures (113,332 launches through September; 563,571 active) come from an earlier read than ours. Fourth, directory counts say nothing about audience.

Conclusion

Listen Notes’ count of new human-made podcasts so far this year is below every full-year total since 2017, and it is removing tens of thousands of AI-generated feeds alongside them. Whether more shows are active than ever depends on a definition the page does not give. For a guest or a buyer, the useful step is the same either way: vet each show on its own record.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

This report is built from Listen Notes' public statistics page (including its Markdown version) and Barrett Media's October 12, 2026 report on Listen Notes data, both read on October 17, 2026. Percentages and sums marked as our arithmetic are calculated from Listen Notes' tables. Vetting advice is ours.

1. vendor research Listen Notes, Podcast Stats: How many podcasts are there?. Supports the yearly, monthly, last-active and dead-podcast counts and the moderation statement. Updated October 10, 2026; read October 17, 2026.
2. trade press Barrett Media (John Mamola), Podcast Publishing Activity Reaching Record Highs According to New Data. Supports the active-show and launch figures it reports, its AI shares and the dead-show definition. Read October 17, 2026.