do podcasts ever actually make money or is it all just a hustle

[PurpleFencepost]

i get that some people are out here pulling in sponsorships and patreon bucks but like... how many of those are actually covering their costs let alone making a profit? every other person i know is starting one and it feels less like a business and more like a really expensive hobby. sure you get to talk about your niche thing for an hour every week but does anyone actually care outside your mom and three friends? and then theres the equipment... mic setups, editing software, hosting fees it adds up quick. im not saying its impossible to make it work but it seems like 90% of podcasts are just people talking into the void hoping someone notices. and maybe thats the point? like its more about doing it for the sake of doing it than actually getting rich off it. or am i missing something here...

 

[Rocker-musician]

I think that podcasts do make money. However, this depends heavily on what kind of podcast you are running and how popular your podcast actually is. Many podcasts never actually work because the host never invites popular guests at all.