Apple Meets With Podcasters to Hear Wide-Ranging Community Grievances

[MacRumors]

Apple has held a special meeting with leading podcasters in an attempt to address concerns that the company is failing to adequately support the iTunes broadcast community, reports The New York Times.

According to the piece published today, the meeting took place last month at the company's Cupertino headquarters, where seven top iTunes podcasters were invited to air their grievances regarding Apple's handling of the popular audio format in recent years.

The podcasters expressed in "frank terms" their biggest issues to a room full of Apple employees, according to two attendees who spoke on condition of anonymity after signing nondisclosure agreements.

At the top of the complaints list was a frustration among podcasters at their lack of ability to make money through subscription downloads, mainly due to insufficient access to data about their listeners - data that they argued Apple is in a unique position to provide.

The program producers also took issue with iTunes' limited sharing features, which take multiple clicks to advertise content on social media. In addition, podcasters said they had been "relegated to wooing a single Apple employee" when it came to discussing issues, such as perceived inconsistencies in the way iTunes elects to promote content.

After the meeting was over, SVP Eddy Cue met with Apple employees separately in a closed-door session to discuss the issues that had been raised by the podcasters, but the company did not make any promises to address their concerns, according to the sources.

Apple essentially gave birth to the mainstream podcasting community in 2005 when it released iTunes 4.9 with native support for podcasts. Within a year, public radio networks like the BBC, CBC Radio One, and National Public Radio had placed many of their radio shows on the platform.

The format's popularity has surged in recent years, with many amateur podcasters going professional and major media organizations posting new shows every week. In 2014, breakout hit "Serial" garnered 110 million downloads as listeners avidly followed the radio spin-off's re-examination of a murder case. In 2015, at least 46 million Americans listened to podcasts each month. That figure is expected to reach 57 million by this year's end, according to a survey by Edison Research.

The report notes that podcasts bring Apple no direct revenue and its iTunes podcasting hub has changed very little since it was introduced, while promotion is decided by a small team that fields pitches and conducts its own outreach.

In a statement to The New York Times, Apple SVP Cue said, "We have more people than ever focused on podcasting, including engineers, editors and programmers." Cue added, "Podcasts hold a special place with us at Apple."

With Google and Spotify now actively promoting their own podcast promotion and distribution services, time will tell whether broadcasters agree.

Article Link: Apple Meets With Podcasters to Hear Wide-Ranging Community Grievances

 

[meaning-matters]

Good example of Apple acting on input from concerned customers.

 

[Cougarcat]

Well, for fellow ATP listeners, now we know why John Siracusa took a vacation to Apple Headquarters!

 

[GadgetDon]

"Apple essentially gave birth to the mainstream podcasting community in 2005 when it released iTunes 4.9 with native support for podcasts." No. Just no. Yes, podcasting got a big boost when iTunes supported it, but they were going strong before that.

 

[tasset]

Wait, so podcasters top grievance is a lack of customer data that they can use to monetize, or charge subscriptions?
I love podcasts but it would be a huge turnoff if the medium turned into yet another monthly fee.

 

[Wiesenlooser]

Good way to look at this:

-Well Apple is finally listening to the consumer (consumer this time the producers)

bad way:

-Apple doesnt know itself what makes a good product anymore.

 

[budselectjr]

Wait, so podcasters top grievance is a lack of customer data that they can use to monetize, or charge subscriptions?
I love podcasts but it would be a huge turnoff if the medium turned into yet another monthly fee.

The advertising market for podcasts/podcast networks is crashing so they are trying everything at this point to make money. Value for value model is the only viable long term solution.

 

[twocents]

My solution for Podcasts has been to disable it under Restrictions settings, and voila it's no more!

 

[santaliqueur]

"Apple essentially gave birth to the mainstream podcasting community in 2005 when it released iTunes 4.9 with native support for podcasts." No. Just no. Yes, podcasting got a big boost when iTunes supported it, but they were going strong before that.

Mainstream. Podcasts were around, but "going strong" is a bit much. Apple introduced it to a very wide audience. Mainstream.

 

[FightTheFuture]

"No. Just no. Yes, podcasting got a big boost when iTunes supported it, but they were going strong before that.

Just curious how strong exactly were podcasts before iTunes 4.9? Didn't really listen to them before then.

 

[SteveW928]

Hmm, this is interesting. I wonder who these folks were?

These aren't complaints I've heard, and I follow the podcasting community pretty closely. I suppose some podcasters might like a bit more data from Apple about subscriptions or ranking, etc. they can get *plenty* of aggregated data about their audience from the big podcast hosts already! (Apple doesn't host the podcasts, they are just a directory, VIA which people can search/subscribe).

I think many podcaster's main beef with Apple's efforts are the quality of the podcast app, and search quality of iTunes (which is a problem for everyone, not just podcasters... app developers, people searching for apps, podcasts, etc.)

And... make money via subscription downloads? Who would that be? I don't know many podcasters who want that. Might we be talking the podcasting newcomers, NPR here, or someone like that?

"Apple essentially gave birth to the mainstream podcasting community in 2005 when it released iTunes 4.9 with native support for podcasts." No. Just no. Yes, podcasting got a big boost when iTunes supported it, but they were going strong before that.

I'm not sure I'd agree. Yes, some of us were listening to mp3 files before that, and some had started distributing via XML (i.e.: podcasting), but I think it was pretty much the iPod and iTunes that made it take off beyond a pretty small, dedicated community.

Wait, so podcasters top grievance is a lack of customer data that they can use to monetize, or charge subscriptions?
I love podcasts but it would be a huge turnoff if the medium turned into yet another monthly fee.

I've not heard that from any reputable podcaster I know or follow. The ones that have wanted to do extra paid content, or put their content behind a pay-wall have done so. I suppose *those* people might like the option of doing it directly via Apple's store, but again, I've never heard this before. (You can easily do this via some of the hosting services, Patreon type sites, or via a 'membership' site.)

The advertising market for podcasts/podcast networks is crashing so they are trying everything at this point to make money. Value for value model is the only viable long term solution.

No, I think it's actually growing. The difficulty is in getting traditional media/advertisers to recognize the difference between interruptive marketing vs content marketing. The measurements and effectiveness are completely different, so the pricing models should be as well. Even the popular NPR folks don't have a clue when it comes to this (they recently called podcast metrics the 'wild wild west').

But, yes, I think the value-for-value model is an excellent one for certain kinds of podcasts. But, that doesn't mean an ad or sponsorship model won't work. It just won't look the same as traditional radio/tv.

What's *actually* happening, is that podcasting has grown in popularity to the point that the big boys of media are taking note and wanting to get into the game. They just haven't stopped long enough to actually understand the medium first.

 

[diipii]

Apple has held a special meeting with leading podcasters in an attempt to address concerns that the company is failing to adequately support the iTunes broadcast community, reports to The New York Times.

According to the piece, the meeting took place last month at the company's Cupertino headquarters, where seven top iTunes podcasters were invited to air their grievances regarding Apple's handing of the popular audio format in recent years.

The podcasters expressed in "frank terms" their biggest issues to a room full of Apple employees, according to two attendees, who spoke on condition of anonymity after signing nondisclosure agreements.

Top of the complaints list was a frustration among podcasters at their lack of ability to make money through subscription downloads, mainly due to insufficient access to data about their listeners - data that they argued Apple is in a unique position to provide.

The program producers also took issue with iTunes' limited sharing features, which take multiple clicks to advertise content on social media. In addition, podcasters said they had been "relegated to wooing a single Apple employee" when it came to discussing issues, such as perceived inconsistencies in the way iTunes elects to promote content.

After the meeting was over, SVP Eddy Cue met with Apple employees separately in a closed-door session to discuss the issues that had been raised by the podcasters, but the company did not make any promises to address their concerns, according to the sources.

Apple essentially gave birth to the mainstream podcasting community in 2005 when it released iTunes 4.9 with native support for podcasts. Within a year, public radio networks like the BBC, CBC Radio One, and National Public Radio had placed many of their radio shows on the platform.

The format's popularity has surged in recent years, with many amateur podcasters going professional and major media organizations posting new shows every week. In 2014, breakout hit "Serial" garnered 110 million downloads as listeners avidly followed the radio spin-off's re-examination of a murder case. In 2015, at least 46 million Americans listened to podcasts each month. That figure is expected to reach 57 million by this year's end, according to a survey by Edison Research.

The report notes that podcasts bring Apple no direct revenue and its iTunes podcasting hub has changed very little since it was introduced, while promotion is decided by a small team that fields pitches and conducts its own outreach.

In a statement to The New York Times, Apple SVP Cue said, "We have more people than ever focused on podcasting, including engineers, editors and programmers." Cue added, "Podcasts hold a special place with us at Apple."

With Google and Spotify now actively promoting their own podcast promotion and distribution services, time will tell whether broadcasters agree.

Article Link: Apple Meets with Podcasters to Hear Wide-Ranging Community Grievances

Apple are not "of the people" prefering to hot-house in their own bubble of blinkered self-congratulation and greed.The while daring to feed us risible staements about making our lives better. We decide about our lives not the Cook-Ive axis of delusion.
It's time for change at the top.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Glad to hear this.

 

[RedOrchestra]

Apple is sounding more and more like a failing enterprise.

 

[duffman9000]

Good example of Apple acting on input from concerned customers.

Not really. This has been years in the making and Apple finally met with concerned parties. I doubt Apple will loosen its grip on customer data.

 

[JoeInMilwaukee]

The podcasters expressed in "frank terms" their biggest issues to a room full of Apple employees, according to two attendees, who spoke on condition of anonymity after signing nondisclosure agreements.

Of bigger concern to me is people signing NDAs and then disclosing what they heard and saw (anonymously or otherwise).

 

[Mike Oxard]

The advertising market for podcasts/podcast networks is crashing so they are trying everything at this point to make money. Value for value model is the only viable long term solution.

Where did you get the info the advertising market is crashing?
[doublepost=1462648907][/doublepost]

Of bigger concern to me is people signing NDAs and then disclosing what they heard and saw (anonymously or otherwise).

Probably best you stay off rumour sites then!!

 

[dannyyankou]

They're complaining about not making money? Well, every podcast I listen to has sponsors so...

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Well, for fellow ATP listeners, now we know why John Siracusa took a vacation to Apple Headquarters!

If that's why he was at Apple I'm delighted. John has a knack for putting into words what often many of us are thinking. They should invite Walter Murch, Telma Schoonmaker, Cohen Bros. and Margeret Sixel to talk to the FCPX team. I'd like to also see Apple release a dedicated Podcasts app on MacOS that syncs verbatim with the iOS client. The Podcasts tab in iTunes refuses to match exactly how I've set things on iOS. When I delete on iOS have it gone everywhere, if I only see two episodes on iOS and nothing else have the Mac app open to exactly this. I know I'd listen more on the Mac if both those things were the case. I happen to like the iOS client, now.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I used to use iTunes to sync podcasts to my old iPod Nano.

But ever since I got an iPhone 4S in 2011... I've been using 3rd-party podcast apps on iPhones.

Downcast and now Overcast.

So if I subscribe to a podcast through Overcast... it doesn't have anything to do with Apple or iTunes, right?

 

[pat500000]

Apple has held a special meeting with leading podcasters in an attempt to address concerns that the company is failing to adequately support the iTunes broadcast community, reports to The New York Times.

According to the piece, the meeting took place last month at the company's Cupertino headquarters, where seven top iTunes podcasters were invited to air their grievances regarding Apple's handing of the popular audio format in recent years.

The podcasters expressed in "frank terms" their biggest issues to a room full of Apple employees, according to two attendees, who spoke on condition of anonymity after signing nondisclosure agreements.

Top of the complaints list was a frustration among podcasters at their lack of ability to make money through subscription downloads, mainly due to insufficient access to data about their listeners - data that they argued Apple is in a unique position to provide.

The program producers also took issue with iTunes' limited sharing features, which take multiple clicks to advertise content on social media. In addition, podcasters said they had been "relegated to wooing a single Apple employee" when it came to discussing issues, such as perceived inconsistencies in the way iTunes elects to promote content.

After the meeting was over, SVP Eddy Cue met with Apple employees separately in a closed-door session to discuss the issues that had been raised by the podcasters, but the company did not make any promises to address their concerns, according to the sources.

Apple essentially gave birth to the mainstream podcasting community in 2005 when it released iTunes 4.9 with native support for podcasts. Within a year, public radio networks like the BBC, CBC Radio One, and National Public Radio had placed many of their radio shows on the platform.

The format's popularity has surged in recent years, with many amateur podcasters going professional and major media organizations posting new shows every week. In 2014, breakout hit "Serial" garnered 110 million downloads as listeners avidly followed the radio spin-off's re-examination of a murder case. In 2015, at least 46 million Americans listened to podcasts each month. That figure is expected to reach 57 million by this year's end, according to a survey by Edison Research.

The report notes that podcasts bring Apple no direct revenue and its iTunes podcasting hub has changed very little since it was introduced, while promotion is decided by a small team that fields pitches and conducts its own outreach.

In a statement to The New York Times, Apple SVP Cue said, "We have more people than ever focused on podcasting, including engineers, editors and programmers." Cue added, "Podcasts hold a special place with us at Apple."

With Google and Spotify now actively promoting their own podcast promotion and distribution services, time will tell whether broadcasters agree.

Article Link: Apple Meets With Podcasters to Hear Wide-Ranging Community Grievances

I heard people be screaming behind that close door as Eddie had a nice "chat" with each employees.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

No. Just no. Yes, podcasting got a big boost when iTunes supported it, but they were going strong before that.

Questionable memory. You do know where the name came from? Here's a clue: iPod. Before this it was audio-blogging and globally didn't make a blip. Apple absolutely put pod-casting on the map.

 

[Justim]

Of bigger concern to me is people signing NDAs and then disclosing what they heard and saw (anonymously or otherwise).

The bigger concern is WHY they went against the NDA. Could they feel Apple didn't take their concerns seriously? If only the top 7 podcasters were invited, the list of culprits is short. The risk of disclosing Apple secrets. This is either really stupid of them, or a ploy to get these concerns public.

Podcasts could compete against YouTube and soundcloud (and now Spotify) if they played it right.

 

[jozero]

I'd like to contribute money to podcasts I listen to if I could. I spend 50 bucks a month on cable and watch like 3% percent of the shows. I do contribute towards podcasts patreons if the option is there, but the process is annoying. It should just be baked into the podcast app. I listen to hundreds of hours a podcast a month, its embarrassing how little I contribute towards the effort of creating a podcast.

 

[Rogifan]

Seems lately that all the complaints are around stuff Eddy Cue is responsible for. Maybe he's the one that really needs to take an early retirement.