Crowd Network, a rapidly growing Manchester-based audio on demand network, is celebrating 10 million podcast downloads in just over 18 months of launch.

Having launched a slate of new shows in recent months, including Go Love Yourself co-hosted by Laura Adlington and Lauren Smith, and The Sam & Billie Show from Sam and Billie Faiers, the independent network has seen downloads reach one million a month in the last five months.

Since its launch in September 2020, Crowd has created a suite of chart-topping shows to critical acclaim. Recent popular shows include Flight 149, a documentary series delving into the 1990 human hostage crisis and cover-up by the British Government, released in February this year. The company is in talks for a French series, speaking with French nationals involved in the scandal, to be released later this year.

As its library of shows grows, the network has welcomed six new faces in the last twelve months, with plans to grow the team by five over the next six months as show production ramps up.

Working with major names including Joe Marler, The Joe Marler Show, Geraint Thomas, The Geraint Thomas Cycling Club, and Alan Cumming, Alan Cumming’s Shelves as part of its Crowd People division, the network’s Crowd Stories arm features award winning shows, such as Murder in House Two, and the chart-topping American Vigilante. Six new podcasts are in the pipeline for 2022 across its Crowd People and Crowd Stories divisions.

The success of these shows saw the network partner with LA-based Creative Artists Agency in 2021 to explore film and television options for existing shows.

Co-founded by a team formerly based at the BBC, Crowd is led by CEO Mike Carr. Carr commented on the milestone: “When the team and I first talked about launching our own network, we wanted to create a company that ultimately gave our people complete creative control over their content. We didn’t want to just produce audio with other media companies, and we didn’t want to create podcasts that we thought people wouldn’t truly connect with.

“To have 10 million downloads, multiple awards, and some of the biggest names in entertainment, like Joe Male an Geraint Thomas, behind us less than two years in, is true testament to the Crowd team’s hard work over the last 18 months. I’m thrilled to be on this journey with some of the best in the industry, working one some of the most popular podcasts out there. As an independent network, we’re aware that there are other, perhaps easier, routes to growth. Yet these options wouldn’t be in line with our core offering of creating and owning our own quality IP, a strategy that is clearly resonating with listeners, talent and the market. We’re growing quickly, organically, in a way that stays true to our original focus: quality shows that bring people together.”