Apple Podcast Subscriber Count Has Grown Over 300% Since June 2021

[MacRumors]

Apple's paid podcast subscription service has been seeing notable growth, increasing more than 300 percent since June 2021. The metric was shared today by an Apple spokesperson who spoke to Digiday about a new Dateline subscription podcast offering.

More than 25 percent of the top 100 shows from the "Top Shows" chart offer a subscription option more than a year after subscriptions first debuted. Apple introduced Apple Podcasts Subscriptions in April 2021, with the feature designed to allow users to unlock benefits like ad-free listening, access to additional content, and early or exclusive access to new podcast series.

Podcast subscriptions earn Apple a 15 to 30 percent cut of revenue, similar to how App Store subscriptions work. Apple takes a 30 percent cut during the first year a user is subscribed, and a 15 percent cut for each subsequent year.

Apple's latest subscription addition comes from Dateline, which is introducing an ad-free listening experience across nine podcasts and shows, one-week early access to episodes, and monthly bonus episodes. The subscription is priced at $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year, with podcasters able to set their own subscription pricing terms.

Article Link: Apple Podcast Subscriber Count Has Grown Over 300% Since June 2021

 

[erikkfi]

300% from what base?

 

[flashflood101]

So, there are now 3 subscribers instead of only 1? 😂

 

[AppleTO]

I forgot podcast subscriptions exist.

 

[belvdr]

300% from what base?

Per the article:

Apple declined to share exactly how many subscriptions or subscribers it has on Apple Podcasts.

 

[Sayewhat]

300% from what base?

Now we know where all the Twitter bots migrated to. 😂😂😂😂😂

 

[boss.king]

People know that no one is making them use Apple Podcasts, right? Someone tell them that Overcast is free.

 

[steve09090]

Project Unabom & Hooked are two brilliant "Apple Original" podcasts. They’re starting to hand pick really well produced podcasts to boost their subscriber base, and if they picking content like these, it’ll keep going up.

 

[dannyyankou]

There's been an explosion of podcasts since the pandemic, so I'd imagine there's been a considerable increase in subscribers too.

 

[Chaos215bar2]

Does this mean the playback controls in Podcasts actually work consistently now?

I switched to Overcast after countless frustrations where the lock screen controls got out of sync, playback skipped to a totally different position when switching to/from Air Pods, HomePod, etc. It's hard to consider a subscription unless the basic app functionality is solid.

 

[raziel101]

As with many other Apple services, the syncing across devices is terrible.

 

[kToni73]

What are some of your favorite Podcasts? 🤔

I recommend to everyone Land of the Giants, Season 5 is all about Apple.

 

[kToni73]

As with many other Apple services, the syncing across devices is terrible.

It really is bad… I’ve tried saving a show on my Mac, just to get it on my iPhone later on. Turns out it ain’t that fast 🤦‍♂️ They definitely need to work on it.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I'm happy because podcasters are working hard to put out their content and they deserve viewers, generally...

 

[1madman1]

I just stopped using Apple Podcasts and switched to Overcast because the only time I still use podcasts is on my watch - and Apple's official podcast applet is 100% broken on there. It takes about 6 hours to sync over a single podcast to the watch in Overcast, but that's still infinitely better than 4+ months and counting with no visible progress bar on the official app.

Apple's Podcast system has been going downhill for years, only place it's still seems functional is in iTunes on my Macs.

 

[Sendeky]

I genuinely have no idea when they announced a paid Podcasts tier…and also who would pay for that? I understand the content being good but the app is beyond horrible right now, it works better on my iPhone 6 stuck on iOS 12 than on my iPad with 15.6

 

[PsykX]

I don't really get why the world is so excited with Podcasts. They're usually way too long. Cut straight to the point.

 

[nvmls]

Must be the app quality 🤣

 

[4nNtt]

300% from what base?

Up 300% from zero subscribers. /jk

I’m not sure what podcasts have picked it up. None of my paid podcasts (including Apple geek podcasts) use it. Maybe they are outside the geek-sphere?

 

[temende]

If you're using Apple Podcasts, I humbly suggest you try Overcast instead. Just trust me.

 

[iBreatheApple]

Not because they make it easy to sort the episodes of a show, I can tell you that.

 

[JosephAW]

There are more interesting podcasts now than there were a few years ago, some of that is because there has been a shift of content from main stream media to podcast media.
Some good content isn’t found on the Apple ecosystem but on other networks.

 

[steve09090]

I don't really get why the world is so excited with Podcasts. They're usually way too long. Cut straight to the point.

Great for a commute, but I just listen to them while I’m gardening. Get lost in my own little world.

 

[SoldOnApple]

I wish Tim Cook would do a podcast series.

 

[Naraxus]

Make the app useable Apple and then we'll talk.

Til then I'm using other podcast apps.