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Apple May Announce Podcasts Subscription Service at 'Spring Loaded' Event [Updated]
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They need to fix that terrible podcasts app first
No, no, no! Podcasting is an open ecosystem. This exclusive podcast trend goes directly against that. I hate it!
I think Apple may have run out of new, actually good, ideas.
Same here. Been listening to podcasts since my first iPod in 2005. I'm more than a casual podcast consumer but have never felt compelled to pay or purchase one. I donate to listener supported ones and am okay with ads for the others--that's what the 30>> is for right?
If it was Option 1 and included in my Apple One subscription, I'd be delighted. Zero ads on the podcasts I already listen to would be a big value add. However, I doubt this is the case, as it would require negotiation with existing creators, and I imagine there would have been plenty of rumours if that had been the case.
Well, I think they have some good ideas in the Apple Silicon Mac department.
But yeah, new subscription services seem to be a lot of what they're offering these days (for obvious financial reasons) and...yawn to that.
Subscription to Use iCloud photos, you already have to pay for storage, so this is already kind of a thing.
Subscription to make phone calls: yeah, that’s called a cellular plan.
Subscription to download free apps from the App Store: there are tons of apps that are free on the App Store, that you have to pay to use. Netflix, Hulu, etc.
Literally everything you listed is already how it is. Get used to it.
Or, of course, you can use the old-fashioned methods that are cheaper.
For podcasts? Just listen to the FM radio that’s in your car.
Music? YouTube has a lot of music, but it has ads. Also the radio.
Watching movies and TV shows? Buy a cheap antenna and hook it up to your TV, then you’ll have tons of stuff to watch. Just not the stuff you want to watch
It's tough for those of us that have been listening to podcasts since the early days when they were passion projects made by creative folks. While those are still out there, podcasts are now largely profit driven. Podcasts are part of the market economy.
You do realizing that podcast is never, and was never, free, right?
Oh sure, it’s free for you, you just click a button and download it.
But the people creating it have to pay for audio equipment, editors, unless they want to sit and take the time to do it themselves. Most people want to be paid for their work.
That’s why almost every podcast I listen to is covered and smothered in ads, has donation buttons all over their websites, has Patreon‘s, this stuff is not free.
So if Apple can create a service to get these people paid, I don’t think it’s anything but a good thing for the creators.
Podcasts are free, people don’t have to pay for it.
Sometimes, they have exclusive content, which is not accessible to free listeners.
Podcasts were also a hobby. Not an income. Hobbies normally don’t make money, yet people still do them.
You know, when you put it like that it sounds bad.
but at the same time, us as Apple fans want tons of cool things. We want redesigned iMacs, we want Apple silicon, we want iPhones with 120 Hz displays, we want yearly iOS updates and frequent bug fixes, and none of that is going to happen if you have all of your employees just working on their own time.
Apple is a huge company with huge responsibilities, so of course they’re going to keep their employees working.
but also, I have no doubts that the people that work at that spaceship campus are very handsomely paid.
if we’re going to have an actual discussion on apples labor practices, it shouldn’t be about the people that work in that campus.
It should be about the things that happen to get millions of them into our hands, that is where all of the problems lay
Before they ask money they better have Siri be able to properly handle podcasts particularly with HomePod mini. As is, sometimes it’ll play the latest episode, other time start an older one and other start playing a totally different podcast cause Siri is too damn stupid to understand the same question.
A hobby for some people maybe, but not for everyone.
and either way, what you’re saying is you don’t think that people should get paid for doing something that they enjoy?
I can enjoy podcasting, and want to get paid for my work at the same time.
If I spend 2-3 hours recording a podcast, another 2-3 hours editing it, and then more time uploading it and promoting it, I should have the option to be paid. Even if I enjoy it.
Ask Leo from Twit, Who has been podcasting since before podcasts were even on iTunes, if he would still be doing it if he wasn’t being paid for it.
I bet his answer would be no.
Also, it’s not unheard of for something that at one time was a hobby, and then gained popularity, to become a job.
YouTube at one time was just a hobby.
Now, for some people, it’s a career.
So let’s stop being greedy that people who enjoy making podcasts might start getting paid for it.
I can both agree and disagree with you. Yes, their supply chain needs fixed. But I believe Apple could create the same products without all of their employees being the same building. In fact, I believe some of their products would/could be better if they worked more independently.
Podcasters and YouTubers are the same. They get paid to talk. They are also very lucky that they are backed by big tech and corporate America. There are a lot of other hobbies where people put in a lot of time and work, and where other people benefit greatly from them, yet they have no chance at making any money from. So yes, why don’t we pay people to talk just because they spent 2-3 editing a conversation they had with their buddy?
I hope they don't ruin the podcast experience (they will). Some podcasts have ads injected into them, and the podcaster doesn't even know what ads will be injected. It's gross. If Apple is no longer the open place to connect, a new, free one (or many) will spring up. I bet Marco Arment will be involved in that. Well, we had a good run.
Apple being the one company that has stood up to the pressure to add metrics on podcast usage, not going to pay for this too. If it’s in Apple+ you can bet they will pay creators more than the competition. So as long as I don’t pay more, and I don’t have to opt out of spying on me, I’m okay with it. As long as I can keep using Overcast.
Apple may announce a podcasts subscription service at its "Spring Loaded" event tomorrow, according to Vox's Peter Kafka and findings in the beta of iOS 14.5.
Kafka remarked in a tweet, spotted by 9to5Mac, that he is "pretty sure Apple is prepping its own podcast plan - a paid subscription service - on Tuesday." MacRumors contributor Stever Moser has now said that Kafka's claim lines up with findings in the beta of iOS 14.5.
The Podcasts app in iOS 14.5 features a new account button on the "Listen Now" tab, just like in Apple Music. Notifications settings have been moved to this new area, which will presumably include other account and subscription information.
Apple has not yet announced a release date for iOS 14.5, but with eight betas having been released, iOS 14.5 is nearing the end of the testing process. It is likely that a release candidate of iOS 14.5 will follow the Apple event, along with an update on when iOS 14.5 will fully roll out.
Apple has been rumored to be planning to launch a podcasts subscription service for some time. A report by Loup Ventures analysts made the case for a new Apple service tentatively titled "Podcasts+." According to the report, Podcasts+ would form a tier in the existing Podcasts app, offering a selection of exclusive premium shows.
The service is speculated to be bundled as a part of Apple One as well as Apple Music, with no added charge for existing paid subscribers. Podcasts+ would help to "drive incremental interest" in Apple Music and Apple One as a result, "generating high-margin, recurring revenue."
The Information and Bloomberg have reinforced the rumor, explaining that talks between Apple and production companies for a new podcast service were ongoing.
Apple held talks to purchase podcast network Wondery before it was bought by Amazon, and completed the acquisition of podcasts app Scout FM in September 2020, indicating the company's movement in the podcasting space.
Apple has already begun launching a number of original podcasts such as "The Line," some of which focus on its Apple TV+ output, which may be similar to how the company began experimenting with original programming on Apple Music before announcing Apple TV+.
Spotify has moved aggressively into podcasts, acquiring the exclusive rights to popular shows and removing them from other services. A podcasts subscription service would enable Apple to claw back space within the field.
According to Kafka, the new service could be announced as soon as tomorrow, presumably to accompany iOS 14.5, at Apple's "Spring Loaded" event. The event is also expected to see the debut of new iPad models and potentially redesigned iMacs with Apple silicon chips.
MacRumors will provide live coverage both here on MacRumors.com and through our MacRumorsLive Twitter account.
Update: AppleInsider reports that Apple is no longer accepting new podcast submissions on iTunes connect. Reports of Apple refusing to accept new podcast submissions for review began emerging yesterday, and may indicate that a major podcast-related change could be set to arrive imminently, which has fueled speculation around an Apple podcasts subscription service being announced tomorrow. It is also possible that the podcast submission block may simply be a consequence of scheduled maintenance.
Article Link: Apple May Announce Podcasts Subscription Service at 'Spring Loaded' Event [Updated]
I worked in the radio broadcasting industry in NYC for years and Apple went on a huge hiring spree for friends of mine in the business late 2019. Places like Sirius/XM, iHeart and Fox lost a decent amount of people to Apple. From what I understand they were literally just throwing buckets of money at people! Nice to see that Apple is finally entering the space.