Crime Junkie

What Crime Junkie does

Crime Junkie is a true crime podcast produced by Audiochuck, LLC, an Indianapolis-based private media company founded by Ashley Flowers in December 2017. The flagship weekly podcast, hosted by Flowers and Brit Prawat, covers missing persons cases, unsolved murders, mysterious deaths, and serial killers, and has accumulated over 1.5 billion downloads while holding a top spot on Apple Podcasts for four consecutive years. The Audiochuck network has expanded to include three additional shows — The Deck, CounterClock, and Dark Valley — bringing the total catalog to 1,000+ episodes, and supports a Fan Club mobile app that bundles ad-free listening, early episode access (up to three days early), exclusive bonus content, and community features.

The underlying technology stack is conventional media infrastructure rather than a proprietary platform: standard podcast distribution to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Pandora; a proprietary Fan Club mobile application; Shopify-powered e-commerce at shop.audiochuck.com; Patreon for international memberships; and YouTube plus Tubi for video distribution. Content is created in-house with no disclosed AI/ML systems.

The business model combines four revenue streams: podcast advertising (host-read and programmatic on public platforms), recurring Fan Club subscriptions at $8/month (Core Access) and $20/month (All Access) with 38% annual discounts, merchandise sales through Shopify with member discounts up to 20%, and book royalties from Ashley Flowers's two New York Times bestsellers (All Good People Here and The Missing Half). Go-to-market is community-led and organic, relying on word-of-mouth, social media engagement across Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, and TikTok, plus the advocacy-driven Season of Justice nonprofit, which Flowers founded in 2020 and which has channeled over $8.5 million to 150+ nonprofits over 5.5 years. The company is bootstrapped with no external institutional investors.

Name

Crime Junkie

Legal name

Audio Chuck LLC

Website

https://crimejunkiepodcast.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Crime Junkie is a true crime podcast produced by Indianapolis-based Audiochuck, LLC, serving millions of listeners weekly with content on missing persons, unsolved murders, and mysterious deaths, and monetizing via advertising, Fan Club subscriptions, merchandise, and book royalties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Podcast Media & Digital Audio Content

NAICS

Sound Recording Studios (51224)

akta.pro primary industry

Audio Production & Podcasting (BPAFAIAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Subscription Fan Membership Platforms (Paid Communities) (MPACAFAA), Creator/Artist Direct-to-Fan Streaming & Membership (MPAIACAF)

Keywords

• True crime podcast
• Podcast advertising
• Fan club membership
• Podcast production
• Digital audio content

Headquarters

HQ city

Indianapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Fan Club Membership Subscriptions: Recurring subscription revenue from Fan Club memberships (Core Access at $8/month and All Access at $20/month), providing ad-free listening, exclusive content, early episode access, and merchandise discounts.
2. Podcast Advertising: Advertising revenue from podcast sponsorships and brand partnerships, monetizing the large listener audience through pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll advertisements.
3. Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise including apparel and accessories through the Audiochuck shop, with Fan Club members receiving discounts up to 20%.
4. Book Sales: Ashley Flowers has authored New York Times bestsellers 'All Good People Here' and 'The Missing Half', generating additional revenue streams.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Crime Junkie produces and distributes the flagship weekly true crime podcast hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat, covering missing persons, unsolved murders, and mysterious deaths. The company monetizes the show through advertising, a paid Fan Club membership program (Core Access at $8/month and All Access at $20/month) offering ad-free listening and early access, branded merchandise sales, and book publishing. Additional Audiochuck network podcasts (The Deck, CounterClock, Dark Valley) are bundled into the Fan Club offering.

Product overview

Crime Junkie is a podcast media company operating under the Audiochuck network, producing multiple true crime podcasts. The core product is the Crime Junkie podcast (the #1 true crime podcast with over 1.5 billion downloads), hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat. The company operates a Fan Club subscription program (with Core Access and All Access tiers) offering ad-free listening, early access, and exclusive content across Audiochuck shows including Crime Junkie, The Deck, CounterClock, and Dark Valley. Additional offerings include free educational resources (FOIA 101 guide, If I Go Missing form, Life Rules), a merchandise store, and advocacy through the Season of Justice nonprofit. Content is distributed across Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, YouTube, Tubi, and Pandora.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Crime Junkie Fan Club: Premium membership program offering ad-free listening, early access to episodes, exclusive content, and merchandise discounts.

Products and services

• Crime Junkie Podcast The flagship weekly true crime podcast hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat, featuring episodes on missing persons, unsolved murders, and mysterious deaths. Available free on major podcast platforms with advertising support.
• Crime Junkie Fan Club A paid membership program offering ad-free listening to 1000+ episodes, early access to new episodes (up to 3 days early), exclusive bonus content, behind-the-scenes videos, Fan Club-only merch, and merchandise discounts. Available in Core Access ($8/month or $60/year) and All Access ($20/month or $150/year) tiers.
• Crime Junkie Merchandise Store Official Audiochuck merchandise storefront (powered by Shopify) selling branded apparel, accessories, and exclusive Fan Club-only items. Fan Club members receive discounts up to 20%.
• The Deck Podcast An Audiochuck network podcast featuring card-based true crime storytelling, available within the Fan Club with 50+ episodes.
• CounterClock Podcast

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.5 billion+ total podcast downloads
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TubicoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCrime Junkie episodes are available for streaming on Tubi, a video streaming platform. This partnership expands the show's reach to viewers who prefer video content over audio podcasts, providing on-demand access to episode content through Tubi's platform.
• United Talent AgencycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUnited Talent Agency handles talent booking and live events for Crime Junkie. This partnership enables professional booking management for live shows, events, and speaking appearances by hosts Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat.
• PatreonminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPatreon serves as the membership platform for Crime Junkie Fan Club access for international residents outside the United States who cannot access the primary membership app.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• iHeartPodcasts: The podcast division of iHeartMedia, a broad incumbent that distributes and produces dozens of true crime and entertainment shows — competing both for listener share and as a potential acquirer of independent networks like Audiochuck.
• Wondery: Amazon-owned premium podcast network producing many true crime titles (Dr. Death, Morbid) and operating a similar subscription-plus-advertising model — a broader incumbent that competes for both listeners and advertiser spend in the same genre.
• Spotify (Podcasts): Spotify Studios produces and exclusively distributes several top true crime titles (e.g., Call Her Daddy, acquisitions of Gimlet/The Ringer) — a broad incumbent that controls both the largest distribution platform and competes directly for top true crime audiences and talent.

Direct peers

• Last Podcast on the Left: A long-running, top-ranked true crime/horror podcast with a host-driven brand, Patreon membership, and live-event circuit — comparable in tone-adjacent genre, host-driven identity, and direct-to-fan monetization.
• Serial: Produced by This American Life/Sarah Koenig, Serial is the genre-defining investigative true crime podcast — while more limited-series in format, it competes for the same listeners and demonstrates the premium pricing power of true crime IP.
• My Favorite Murder: Hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, My Favorite Murder is one of the largest true crime/comedy podcasts with a similar host-driven brand, live-event circuit, and merchandise business — directly comparable in audience demographics, tone, and monetization approach.
• Generation Why: A long-running two-host true crime/unsolved-mysteries podcast with comparable storytelling format and listener base — directly competing for the same weekly true crime audience that Crime Junkie serves.
• Court Junkie: An independent true crime podcast with a near-identical brand name and similar deep-dive, well-researched episode format — competing for the same true crime enthusiast segment and the same podcast advertising slots.
• Casefile True Crime: An anonymous-hosted, narratively-produced true crime podcast with a global top-ranking audience and similar deep back catalog — comparable in genre, episode cadence, and listener-overlap with Crime Junkie's audience.
• True Crime Garage: A weekly two-host true crime podcast covering unsolved cases, missing persons and serial killers — directly comparable in subject matter, release cadence, and listener demographics to Crime Junkie.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CrimeJunkiePod
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@CrimeJunkie
• Facebookfacebook.com/CrimeJunkiePodcast
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/crime-junkie-podcast
• Instagraminstagram.com/crimejunkiepodcast

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Crime Junkie