Podcast Subscriptions Top One Million

[rdowns]

Apple(R) today announced that in just two days iTunes(R) customers have subscribed to more than one million Podcasts from the new iTunes Podcast Directory. iTunes 4.9 has everything users need to discover, subscribe, manage and listen to Podcasts built in, so users can now have each new episode of their favorite Podcasts automatically delivered over the Internet to their computer and iPod(R).

"With the release of iTunes 4.9, listeners are voting with their ears," said Adam Curry, co-founder of the PodShow Podcast Network. "Subscriptions have dramatically increased across our entire PodShow Podcast Network, and I predict over the coming months that iTunes will introduce tens of millions of new listeners to the world of Podcasting."

"Podcasting is like cappuccino," said August Trometer, developer of iPodderX. "Gourmet coffee was around for a long time, but it took Starbucks to put it on the map. Apple is like the Starbucks of Podcasting and advertisers will take us more seriously now."

"iTunes has done what possibly no one else could have accomplished, propelled Podcasting into the mainstream," said Will Lewis, management consultant for KCRW. "Our servers have been swamped with a stratospheric increase in traffic. In fact, downloads have increased tenfold as a result of the iTunes 4.9 launch."

iTunes enables anyone to quickly and easily find and subscribe to their favorite Podcasts so that every time there's a new episode, it's automatically downloaded to their Mac(R) or PC and Auto-Synced to their iPod. iTunes also makes it easy to manage multiple Podcast subscriptions with simple organization and display by episode and date. iPods now offer an easy to use Podcast menu, including bookmarking within a Podcast and the ability to display color Podcast artwork.

With Apple's legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as integrated Podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, seamless integration with iPod and groundbreaking personal use rights, the iTunes Music Store is the best way for Mac and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music online. The iTunes Music Store features more than 1.5 million songs from the major music companies and over 1,000 independent record labels, 10,000 audiobooks, gift certificates and exclusive music not found anywhere else online.

[Lacero]

I've never heard a podcast until yesterday. Gotta give it to Apple. They made searching for and subscribing to podcasts very, very easy. Once you subscribe to a podcast, it virtually takes no additional effort on the part of the user. All you have to do is dock your iPod and have iTunes open, and the rest is automated. I love it.

[spacefreak4]

This isn't much of a surprise though, especially given the exponentially growing number of Podcasts and Podcast listeners.

[DavidLeblond]

I agree, I had written podcasts off as being lame (without ever having listened to one.) I tried it out with iTunes and I love it (especially This Week in Tech!)

"Podcasting is like cappuccino," said August Trometer, developer of iPodderX. "Gourmet coffee was around for a long time, but it took Starbucks to put it on the map. Apple is like the Starbucks of Podcasting and advertisers will take us more seriously now."

Apple the Starbucks of Podcasting? That would mean Apple would hunt around for the worst quality podcasts and then sell them to us for $5 a pop...

[xli_ne]

well they are free downloads, just think if they cost just a buck.
a cool million in under two days.

[runninmac]

Yeah you got to hand it to apple I think they would be one of the only companies that would make it easy to do. Before this I was to (idn what word mabey afraid???) to try it but now its so easy to do.

[JDOG_]

I think what would get me way more excited about all this would be Apple Hosting podcasts and not just linking them. A lot of these podcasters have had serious bandwidth issues because of the subscription model, and Apple offering this technology really should have been kind enough to offer the bandwidth for it themselves.

Am I wrong in my thinking here or just optimistic?

[J-Squire]

I think what would get me way more excited about all this would be Apple Hosting podcasts and not just linking them. A lot of these podcasters have had serious bandwidth issues because of the subscription model, and Apple offering this technology really should have been kind enough to offer the bandwidth for it themselves.

Am I wrong in my thinking here or just optimistic?

I can see your point, but I don't think the podcasters would be complaining about the heavy traffic. If they have registered with Apple to have their podcast linked to via iTunes, they are obviously keen to gain exposure, and Apple has clearly delivered on that side of the deal. Apple shouldn't be required to add extra bandwidth to accommodate this extra exposure to people's podcasts.

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

Apple announced (http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/jun/30podcast.html) today that Podcast subscriptions have topped one million subscribers in the first two days of availability on iTunes 4.9.

“With the release of iTunes 4.9, listeners are voting with their ears,” said Adam Curry, co-founder of the PodShow Podcast Network. “Subscriptions have dramatically increased across our entire PodShow Podcast Network, and I predict over the coming months that iTunes will introduce tens of millions of new listeners to the world of Podcasting.”

iTunes 4.9 was released (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2005/06/20050628065508.shtml) on June 28th.

[AoWolf]

So many so fast had no idea it was that big. Guess I better take a longer look at the list :) Good for apple PR for sure...

[biohazard6969]

yea, i had barely known wat a podcast WAS untill 2 days ago haha

[mad jew]

Honestly surprised.

This is going to affect regular radio broadcasts more than I first thought.

[ebunton]

well that was fast

[cube]

Of course. Apple made many podcasts subscribe-only the second day.

[TBR]

Apple has handled this podcast upgrade to iTunes without there usual panache, almost all new submissions are not being added to the library, there are a lot of people waiting to be listed. (including myself)

Not only that but the shows that are there are not updating correctly, check out the forums over at www.podcastalley.com and the many disgruntled podcasters voiceing what I'm trying to say far more eloquently.

Not only that but they didn't release the specifications for the additions everyone needs to make to there feeds to be in the directory until the day 4.9 was released, giving members of Adam Curry's little group of friends an advantage over the rest of us at day one.

ANYWAY...

The actual integration of podcasting into iTunes seems to be quite nice, works very simply and without any fancy features, the podcast part of the store has been flaky over the past few days though.

All in all a shaky start to Podcatching with iTunes but I'm sure it'll get a lot better soon. For now I'm sticking with iPodderx

[SpaceMagic]

Mwhahaha! Apple takes over Podcasting too :p

If you think that there's only 3000 podcasts, 1 million subscriptions = woah :eek:

[qzak]

seriously. i mean personally i see no interest in it at all, except for howard stern which probably wont be coming to podcast anyway. buut thats just me, obviously theres plenty of people out there thinking otherwise!

[iAlan]

I was not really interested in Podcasts - I mean, listening to some tosspot rant on about his latest little peeve, or worst still someones absoute shocking taste in music...but there is a lot of good stuff out there and I will start subscribing to some of the dervices...most definately Apple's iTunes New Music Tuesday podcast...and maybe a couple of tosspots anyway!

[virus1]

i know that they don't cost money, but that is amazing! i am suprized most people are aware of itunes 4.9.

[Chaszmyr]

This is a shock to me. The only people I know interested in podcasting want NPR broadcasts, and iTunes doesn't currently offer those.

[jadam]

I was not really interested in Podcasts - I mean, listening to some tosspot rant on about his latest little peeve, or worst still someones absoute shocking taste in music...but there is a lot of good stuff out there and I will start subscribing to some of the dervices...most definately Apple's iTunes New Music Tuesday podcast...and maybe a couple of tosspots anyway!

Heh, I was jus tgoing to tell you to try out the NPR On the Media Podcast, but then I Saw your in Tokyo :-P

Anyways yeah I agree, for the most part I don't wanna hear a bunch of pissy little people talk about everything that gets them on in life! But some of the stuff is professional and good!

[jadam]

This is a shock to me. The only people I know interested in podcasting want NPR broadcasts, and iTunes doesn't currently offer those.


Theres NPR On The Media.

[maya]

This news is good for Apple, iTune, PodCast, and all the individual PodCasters out there.

And all this for 2 days of official release of PodCast on iTunes. :)

[itsa]

I just don't get it... Does anyone really listen to the radio any more?

[jch200]

This is going to be huge for sure. What's really great if you ask me is just being able to download the shows and listen to them on my computer while I work. I haven't even put one on my ipod yet. Of course, it's great to be able to take them with you. But it's just a darn good way to listen to radio shows either way. This is so much better than having a built in fm tuner in the ipod.

The other cool thing is the name iPod is incorporated into "Podcast", so it's going to be really hard for the competition to adopt this feature without totally looking stupid. heh heh. Apple's made some very smart moves on how they played this.

[michaelrjohnson]

I just don't get it... Does anyone really listen to the radio any more?
No. ;)

[michaelrjohnson]

I listened to a few podcasts here and there *before* the iTunes domination, but I must say. iTunes integration is much more elegant than the other apps (maybe not as powerful).

I'm happy with them, just because it's easy.

[AoWolf]

I think the thing that makes this so big is the way it brings the aspects of radio I want to listen to, me. For example I am a pilot and like aviation stuff there is not to much of that on the radio. Pod casting brings that to me it's pretty cool.

[Kerry Sanders]

Mwhahaha! Apple takes over Podcasting too :p

If you think that there's only 3000 podcasts, 1 million subscriptions = woah :eek:

If Apple is basing their total number of podcasts just based on the list that they have now, then they need to recalculate their figures. They have tons of duplicates in their directory. :(

[CubaTBird]

yeah this is good stuff.. the way the podcasts integrate with the ipod is a seamless integration... keep up the good work apple :)

[michaelrjohnson]

If Apple is basing their total number of podcasts just based on the list that they have now, then they need to recalculate their figures. They have tons of duplicates in their directory. :(
Well, they're categorizing a particular 'cast in different categories. Which is a good idea IMO.

But I'm *positive* the number will increase in the coming weeks/months.

[njmac]

I predicted, since first hearing about podcasting, that it will be huge. Right now there are 3,000 podcasts. By this time next year, I will not be surprised if there are 30,000 podcasts.

Especially if someone figures out a way to make money with them :rolleyes:

[Philsy]

I dunno, it all seems like a lot of hassle. I can understand downloading podcasts with a specialist interest, but why on earth would someone want to listen to, say, yesterday's BBC news when you can hear today's online, or over the radio or TV?

[jadam]

yeah im just waiting for the day when companies artificially inflate podcast user numbers!

[TBR]

I dunno, it all seems like a lot of hassle. I can understand downloading podcasts with a specialist interest, but why on earth would someone want to listen to, say, yesterday's BBC news when you can hear today's online, or over the radio or TV?

Exactly, but this is not really what podcasting was intended for, this is an example of a corporation just repurposing there content for a new medium.
Podcasting was 'originally' a way to syndicate home brew audio shows/content not a vehicle for the big guns.

[jared_kipe]

Of course the number is huge, its FREE. People will download anything if its free. They should publish the number of free song downloads they've had. That number would be huge.

[michaelrjohnson]

I predicted, since first hearing about podcasting, that it will be huge. Right now there are 3,000 podcasts. By this time next year, I will not be surprised if there are 30,000 podcasts.

Especially if someone figures out a way to make money with them :rolleyes:
There are *far* more than 3,000 podcasts right now. Apple only claims that they list 3,000 of them though.

Podcasting, like blogging, is meant to be free. I hope nobody ever comes up with that scheme (unless it's me ;) )

[njmac]

I like one podcast - This Week in Tech
I thought I would try another one to see what all the fuss is about so I listened to the Dawn and Drew show. I could listen to them for all of 2 minutes. It was just so inane and annoying. How could anyone listen to that?

I'm afraid that out of one million downloads, there's maybe a dozen good ones.

[quackattack]

Especially if someone figures out a way to make money with them :rolleyes:

Simple, sell advertising. It won't be long before the more commercial podcasts feature ads.

Regardless, I am very excited to see where this technology takes us! I would be scared if I was clearchannel right now!

[trose]

I was not really interested in Podcasts - I mean, listening to some tosspot rant on about his latest little peeve, or worst still someones absoute shocking taste in music...but there is a lot of good stuff out there and I will start subscribing to some of the dervices...most definately Apple's iTunes New Music Tuesday podcast...and maybe a couple of tosspots anyway!

Huh?
Do you even know what a podcast is?
It can be anything from what you describe, to a full fledged radio show. It's simply a medium for distributing an audio show... what is on that show is completely up to whomever publishes it.

You seem to have mixed up "blogs" and "podcasts". Not the same thing at all.

[iMeowbot]

I dunno, it all seems like a lot of hassle. I can understand downloading podcasts with a specialist interest, but why on earth would someone want to listen to, say, yesterday's BBC news when you can hear today's online, or over the radio or TV?
It can work for the same reason that weekly or monthly news magazines could sell even with daily newspapers around, or newspapers could sell even with radio and TV around. Lots of information has a lifetime a lot longer than a few minutes, and entertainment can have a shelf life of many years.

[Object-X]

The allure will wear off fast. Somehow I don't think podcasting will be quite the revolution everyone thinks it will. I think there are some formats that work well in this context, but most of this stuff is amateurish and I can't imagine people wasting their valuable time trying to download, manage, and listen to it all.

Most programs you will want to delete after you have listened to it once. There needs to be an easier way to do this. Imagine subscribing too dozens of podcasts and having to remember which ones you listened too and scrolling through large amounts of old shows to find the one you want. The iPod does not keep track of what you listen too and then sync it with iTunes. Now imagine trying to manually delete the ones you don't want anymore. Too much hassel.

[njmac]

I wonder if a podcaster is really good and has a lot of subscribers if NPR or satelite or even AM radio will sign them.

It could be like a field team for getting your own real radio show.

[Object-X]

I predicted, since first hearing about podcasting, that it will be huge. Right now there are 3,000 podcasts. By this time next year, I will not be surprised if there are 30,000 podcasts.

Especially if someone figures out a way to make money with them :rolleyes:

Actually that is alreay happening. At the keynote there was a slide with a list of different podcasts. On that list was Rush Limbaugh, but you won't find his podcast on iTunes. Why? Because if you want to listen to Rush you have to pay for it.

Quality content will soon become a pay subscription service like anything else; I think I heard Jobs hinting at that in an interview I just heard. Most of the amature stuff will not have a broad audiance and will remain free, but once a show reaches a certain point of interest they will charge for it and you will purchase it like any other song.

The other possibility I see are for non-profit organizations like religious radio programming for example. They could have a donate and download button and let you choose. It would be interesting to see if Apple would ever facilitate the distribution of free content but accept donations through your .mac account.

[wdlove]

I would consider this to be a remarkable feat. It's great for Apple to have one millions Podcast subscriptions in just two days. Hopefully they are pulling a lot of interest from Windows users also. :cool:

[oskar]

The allure will wear off fast. Somehow I don't think podcasting will be quite the revolution everyone thinks it will. I think there are some formats that work well in this context, but most of this stuff is amateurish and I can't imagine people wasting their valuable time trying to download, manage, and listen to it all.

Most programs you will want to delete after you have listened to it once. There needs to be an easier way to do this. Imagine subscribing too dozens of podcasts and having to remember which ones you listened too and scrolling through large amounts of old shows to find the one you want. The iPod does not keep track of what you listen too and then sync it with iTunes. Now imagine trying to manually delete the ones you don't want anymore. Too much hassel.

Huh? Have you tried it? First of all, the Podcasts playlist supports bookmarks. I've never heard audiobooks on my iPod or iTunes but I would imagine that it works the same. The track plays from the last time you were listening to it.
And you don't have to remember which ones you've listened to. iTunes has the option to either delete Podcasts you've listened to, or you can keep most recent ones, etc.
AND, when you subscribe to the Podcasts you want to hear, they are downloaded automatically as you choose to download them.
I think you are very misinformed and stating too much.

I, on the other hand, think Podcasts are great. It's a (FREE ;)) way of listening to shows about stuff you are really interested in. There are some who think they're just going to listen to some guy in his garage who recorded his personal thoughts of idiotic stuff, and some Podcasts probably will be like that... but, the Podcasts that I've heard are far from amateur, have very good content, and some have included interviews with professionals on different subjects. Maybe you have to choose your Podcasts right. Don't expect to download every single episode or ALL the Podcasts on one theme.
I think Podcasting is going to turn into something a lot bigger and if people know about it before buying an iPod, they have one more reason to do it.

[dejo]

...but why on earth would someone want to listen to, say, yesterday's BBC news when you can hear today's online, or over the radio or TV?

Think of podcasting as Tivo-for-radio. You may want to listen to yesterday's BBC news when you are offline, or not near a radio or TV, or when you can't get that channel, or when the time it's aired is inconvenient for you.

[dontmatter]

I predicted, since first hearing about podcasting, that it will be huge. Right now there are 3,000 podcasts. By this time next year, I will not be surprised if there are 30,000 podcasts.

Especially if someone figures out a way to make money with them :rolleyes:

yeah, this news is stunning, and evidence that the number will skyrocket.

But, uh..... somebody's already figured out how to make money off of them. Apple. More itunes=less winamp=more itms and more ipods.

And server space is cheap, these days, though apparently, apple underestimated demand.

Also, did anyone notice? Macrumors said 1 million podcast subscribers... which must be a typo, it's gotta be one million subscriptions. I'd believe people trying out a whole bunch of podcasts b/c they're free, but one million people downloading podcasts in two days.... just a little much. Plus, if that was true, they'd say number of subscriptions, for sure, because it would be much larger.

KEXP needs to podcast their shows, as with more NPR. Just in case anyone's listening.

[~Shard~]

I just don't get it... Does anyone really listen to the radio any more?

Do you realize you just answered your own question? :p ;)

[njmac]

Here's another thought:

If Apple can put podcasts on iTunes, surely they can have a Garage Band section too. I know there are other sites out there, but I'm talking iTunes here. Major, major player now in the music world.

If there was a Garage Band section on iTunes, Millions of people will hear true indy stuff. Now, alot of that will be pure crap, but I bet a lot of jems would emerge and would be an amazing outlet for talented amatuers.

Podcasts paved the way. Garage Band for iTunes can't be too far away.

[Fender2112]

Cool! :cool:

[dejo]

Podcasts paved the way. Garage Band for iTunes can't be too far away.

Especially since Apple is suggesting to use GarageBand to record your podcasts:

GarageBand Support: Recording Your Podcast (http://www.apple.com/support/garageband/podcasts/)

[joepunk]

I just don't get it... Does anyone really listen to the radio any more?
I still do. It's called kexp and cbcradio3

KEXP needs to podcast their shows, as with more NPR. Just in case anyone's listening.
I think that it would be great if they podcasted thier live, in studio events/shows such as Schoolyard Heroes, The Decemberists and others.

[Object-X]

Spoken like a true ignoramus. Firstly, most amateurish podcasts serve a small, but loyal niche of listeners that mainstream radio simply will not cover. You could have an hour-long podcast about moccasins and there will be an audience for that and other obscure topics.

Secondly, iTunes can be set up to download the latest podcast only or you can keep a number of episodes before they get deleted, so managing them is easy. You can archive podcasts as well, if want. Apple makes that easy as well.

That's all well and good on iTunes, but what about the iPod? Am I missing something here? How does iTunes keep track of what I listen too on the iPod? Most of my listening happens in a car with the iPod, not iTunes. How do you sync between the two? If you can't do this then the settings in iTunes are basically meaningless.

[dernhelm]

This is a shock to me. The only people I know interested in podcasting want NPR broadcasts, and iTunes doesn't currently offer those.
Not quite - but I agree that the day NPR gets its act together and Podcast's Terry Gross, Car Talk and the Splendid Table, you'll see a 2-3 fold increase in Podcasting traffic.

At least I and most everyone else I know will subscribe to them all - and a few more besides. Come on NPR get it together!

:-)

[TBR]

That's all well and good on iTunes, but what about the iPod? Am I missing something here? How does iTunes keep track of what I listen too on the iPod? Most of my listening happens in a car with the iPod, not iTunes. How do you sync between the two? If you can't do this then the settings in iTunes are basically meaningless.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this one of the main features of the iPod, the fact that it sync with itunes the data is transferred between them such as play counts etc?!?! :)

[Squire]

I think it's definitely a good thing to have podcasts on iTunes in that it presents this medium to a much wider audience. I wouldn't exactly call it (the iTunes adoption of podcasts) revolutionary or anything, though; I didn't find iPodderX to be a difficult program to run. However, getting rid of that extra step and having the audiobook-like functionality is nice.

A couple of my favorite podcasts are from CBC: Quirks and Quarks and Tod Maffin's Radio Tech Program. (On a side note, Apple actually photoshopped an extra 'd' onto his name on the cover page. Tod says, "I mean, it's still my same logo they used but I guess they thought my name looked better with two d's?")

With respect to the GarageBand content comment, it's possible but Steve has already slammed another download service (forget which one) for allowing any joker to post his/her music. He was talking about the library of "quality" tunes in the iTMS.

I'd like to see some .mac integration with respect to podcasts. Getting the XML feed and everything ready for a download is still kind of complicated.

Squire

[dcranston]

That's all well and good on iTunes, but what about the iPod? Am I missing something here? How does iTunes keep track of what I listen too on the iPod? Most of my listening happens in a car with the iPod, not iTunes. How do you sync between the two? If you can't do this then the settings in iTunes are basically meaningless.

No, this is one of the great features of iTunes + iPod. They sync. So, in the same way that if you buy an audio book, listen to 3 hours in iTunes, your iPod knows where you left off, you listen to another 3 hours, iTunes picks up the information from the iPod and picks up where you left off.

This is the same for podcasts -- try it out! It keeps track of where you left off with electronic bookmarks, and it all syncs back and forth between iTunes and iPod. See http://www.apple.com/itunes/sync.html for more information:

A Sync That Works Both Ways

You can rate your songs, awarding tracks from one to five stars, on your iPod and sync your ratings to iTunes. Or you can do it the other way around, rating songs in iTunes and syncing your ratings to iPod. You can also make on-the-go playlists that will appear in iTunes when you sync your iPod with your computer. Your iPod also tracks where you are in an audiobook or podcast and syncs it to iTunes. If you listen a bit more on iTunes and re-sync, your iPod knows where you left off in iTunes. If you’ve purchased a voice recorder for your iPod, any notes you take will automatically transfer to iTunes when you sync.

[~Shard~]

A couple of my favorite podcasts are from CBC: Quirks and Quarks and Tod Maffin's Radio Tech Program.

I enjoy listening to Quirks and Quarks as well. I used to watch Bob MacDonald when I was little on a CBC show called "Wonderstruck" as well, which was pretty much the same thing. Cool science experiments, and really fascinating subject matter on the whole. :cool:

[Squire]

I wonder if podcasts will become a new means of virus spreading?

Squire

[~Shard~]

I wonder if podcasts will become a new means of virus spreading?

Squire

Hmm, interesting idea, please elaborate... could that really work?

[Object-X]

No, this is one of the great features of iTunes + iPod. They sync. So, in the same way that if you buy an audio book, listen to 3 hours in iTunes, your iPod knows where you left off, you listen to another 3 hours, iTunes picks up the information from the iPod and picks up where you left off.

This is the same for podcasts -- try it out! It keeps track of where you left off with electronic bookmarks, and it all syncs back and forth between iTunes and iPod. See http://www.apple.com/itunes/sync.html for more information:

A Sync That Works Both Ways

You can rate your songs, awarding tracks from one to five stars, on your iPod and sync your ratings to iTunes. Or you can do it the other way around, rating songs in iTunes and syncing your ratings to iPod. You can also make on-the-go playlists that will appear in iTunes when you sync your iPod with your computer. Your iPod also tracks where you are in an audiobook or podcast and syncs it to iTunes. If you listen a bit more on iTunes and re-sync, your iPod knows where you left off in iTunes. If you’ve purchased a voice recorder for your iPod, any notes you take will automatically transfer to iTunes when you sync.

Well then, I stand corrected. I'm now an informed ignoramous.
:o I will need to pay closer attention to that. I guess Apple is smarter than I thought.

[eXan]

Apple(R) today announced that in just two days iTunes(R) customers have subscribed to more than one million Podcasts from the new iTunes Podcast Directory. iTunes 4.9 has everything users need to discover, subscribe, manage and listen to Podcasts built in, so users can now have each new episode of their favorite Podcasts automatically delivered over the Internet to their computer and iPod(R).

"With the release of iTunes 4.9, listeners are voting with their ears," said Adam Curry, co-founder of the PodShow Podcast Network. "Subscriptions have dramatically increased across our entire PodShow Podcast Network, and I predict over the coming months that iTunes will introduce tens of millions of new listeners to the world of Podcasting."

"Podcasting is like cappuccino," said August Trometer, developer of iPodderX. "Gourmet coffee was around for a long time, but it took Starbucks to put it on the map. Apple is like the Starbucks of Podcasting and advertisers will take us more seriously now."

"iTunes has done what possibly no one else could have accomplished, propelled Podcasting into the mainstream," said Will Lewis, management consultant for KCRW. "Our servers have been swamped with a stratospheric increase in traffic. In fact, downloads have increased tenfold as a result of the iTunes 4.9 launch."

iTunes enables anyone to quickly and easily find and subscribe to their favorite Podcasts so that every time there's a new episode, it's automatically downloaded to their Mac(R) or PC and Auto-Synced to their iPod. iTunes also makes it easy to manage multiple Podcast subscriptions with simple organization and display by episode and date. iPods now offer an easy to use Podcast menu, including bookmarking within a Podcast and the ability to display color Podcast artwork.

With Apple's legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as integrated Podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, seamless integration with iPod and groundbreaking personal use rights, the iTunes Music Store is the best way for Mac and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music online. The iTunes Music Store features more than 1.5 million songs from the major music companies and over 1,000 independent record labels, 10,000 audiobooks, gift certificates and exclusive music not found anywhere else online.

1 million in 2 days - not bad! :)

[michaelb]

Here's another thought:

If Apple can put podcasts on iTunes, surely they can have a Garage Band section too. I know there are other sites out there, but I'm talking iTunes here. Major, major player now in the music world.

If there was a Garage Band section on iTunes, Millions of people will hear true indy stuff. Now, alot of that will be pure crap, but I bet a lot of jems would emerge and would be an amazing outlet for talented amatuers.

Podcasts paved the way. Garage Band for iTunes can't be too far away.

That's a ***great*** idea!

But even without Apple doing anything directly, what's to stop someone creating a Podcast show featuring amateurs' GarageBand music...

1. Set up a web site inviting GarageBand users to submit some music.

2. Put on your best DJ voice, "Now we're going to a hear a silky smooth track from John Smith. His notes say that's his girlfriend on vocals..."

3. Mix in the tracks.

4. Publish the podcast and submit it to iTunes Podcasts submission.


In fact, since there are already GarageBand user sites, step 1 could be eliminated if those sites just decided to do a podcast...

If anyone is thinking of starting up a podcast, Apple's posted a guide to recording one in GarageBand:

http://www.apple.com/support/garageband/podcasts/

[Squire]

Hmm, interesting idea, please elaborate... could that really work?

Well, a podcast involves files (.mp3 and .xml, right?) that people innocently download. What's to stop some warped geek from embedding a virus into the podcast? (That's a real question, by the way. Isn't it possible?) I mean, the first few million folks who downloaded stuff off of p2p networks probably weren't too worried about viruses. Imagine the bad press if Apple, the company supposedly immune to virus attacks, actually hosted a podcast containing a virus.

Just a dark thought.

Squire

[~Shard~]

Well, a podcast involves files (.mp3 and .xml, right?) that people innocently download. What's to stop some warped geek from embedding a virus into the podcast? (That's a real question, by the way. Isn't it possible?) I mean, the first few million folks who downloaded stuff off of p2p networks probably weren't too worried about viruses. Imagine the bad press if Apple, the company supposedly immune to virus attacks, actually hosted a podcast containing a virus.

Just a dark thought.

Squire

That's a really good point, and now that you mention it, yes, I do think it would be possible. But come on, who would do such a mean thing? :rolleyes: ;) :cool:

[Squire]

But come on, who would do such a mean thing? :rolleyes: ;) :cool:

Bob McDonald? ;)

Squire

[~Shard~]

Bob McDonald? ;)

Squire

Haha - and we come full circle, it all makes sense now... ;) :cool:

[Caitlyn]

Personally, I think Apple is making too much of a big deal over the Podcasts. Most of them aren't very interesting. I have unsubscribed to the ones I subscribed to when I first got 4.9. It began to bore me.

[wdlove]

I wonder if podcasts will become a new means of virus spreading?

Squire

It would seem that Mac OS X users would still be protected. If any problems occurred Apple would release a security update. It would seem that it could occur with Windows users.

[Johnny Rico]

.

[Arnaud]

Apple(R) today announced that in just two days iTunes(R) customers have subscribed to more than one million Podcasts from the new iTunes Podcast Directory. (...)

"With the release of iTunes 4.9, listeners are voting with their ears," said Adam Curry, co-founder of the PodShow Podcast Network. "Subscriptions have dramatically increased across our entire PodShow Podcast Network, and I predict over the coming months that iTunes will introduce tens of millions of new listeners to the world of Podcasting."

The interest of Podcasts is one thing, but this press release is a pathetic.

I mean, not even knowing what a podcast was, and because of all the noise about it, I had to suscribe to 4 or 5 of them in iTunes in order to listen to them and make up my mind, i.e. I voted with my ears before even listening to a podcast...

Now, I wasn't impressed by the result and the concept, and 2 of them didn't work at all. I unsuscribed to everyone of them.

So, basically, I represent 4.5/1000000 of the "supporting subscribers", even though I don't support the concept ?

The beauty of statistics and PR... I guess it's all for the sake of the shareholders ?

A. :confused:

[wdlove]

The shareholders are the one's that Apple needs to keep happy. My wife subscribed, she likes the Apple Radio.

[Meromo]

I had to suscribe to 4 or 5 of them in iTunes in order to listen to them and make up my mind, i.e. I voted with my ears before even listening to a podcast...

Now, I wasn't impressed by the result and the concept, and 2 of them didn't work at all. I unsuscribed to everyone of them.

So, basically, I represent 4.5/1000000 of the "supporting subscribers", even though I don't support the concept ?

The beauty of statistics and PR... I guess it's all for the sake of the shareholders ?

A. :confused:

You didn't actually have to subscribe to listen to them - just double clicking the podcast starts it playing (it's not a 30 sec preview like iTMS songs), and then you're not skewing the stats, but still able to "vote with your ears"! Everybody happy!

[Arnaud]

You didn't actually have to subscribe to listen to them - just double clicking the podcast starts it playing (it's not a 30 sec preview like iTMS songs), and then you're not skewing the stats, but still able to "vote with your ears"! Everybody happy!

Mmm, ok, I'll give it another try then.
(But people who made a mistake like me must have influenced the statistics anyway, no ? :) )

A.