Its getting to the point I am questioning staying with Apple. I love the ecosystem, but the "my way or the highway" is not sitting well with me. I lose the tight ecosystem and "It just Works (except when it doesn't)" but I gain flexibility and if Dell pisses me off I can go to ASUS (example).
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Apple Will Keep 15 to 30% Cut of Podcast Subscriptions
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Nothing says they can’t do both. You could theoretically offer the same perks via Patreon or Ivoox as you do via Apple Podcasts.
AIUI apple doesn’t host podcasts, they just host the index files. OTOH, you can often get apple gift cards with a 10% discount from supermarkets so you can save yourself money and reduce apple’s cut that way.
Don't you have to have the full Athletic sub to get the ad-free podcasts? I found the Athletic podcast section in their app to be poor. I also have misgivings about the Apple Podcasts app but it's been years since I gave it a go. Maybe some folks would be happy to pay for the Athletic podcasts only without paying for the writing.
I’d suspect so. I actually use Apple Podcasts, myself. I have a handful of programs that I listen to, they usually release over the weekend. So Monday, I’ll typically listen to all of them. Apple Podcasts lets me manage the listening cue in a similar manner to Apple Music and it offers 2x speed, which is really all the podcast features I need. But if you’re listening to multiple work days worth of content each week (as opposed to my roughly four hours a week) or you want multiple cueing and grouping features, you’d probably want a heavier duty app. But I’d imagine that most occasional podcast listeners, even most moderate listeners, probably use Apple Podcasts (or Stitcher on Android). The audience for something like Downcast 1) really cares about podcasts enough to make an effort to seek out third party options, 2) even knows what podcasts are (I’d suspect quite a few podcast listeners just listen on YouTube via YouTube recommendations or their YouTube subscriptions or follow their shows on social media and just listen to episodes via a web player).
But people in 1) have a tendency to overestimate podcasting’s cultural significance. It reminds me of the YouTube fandom. I watch plenty of YouTube channels I find interesting. But there’s a certain section of the YouTube audience that stans (I think that’s the word the kids are using these days) for certain YouTubers, who eat up drama between YouTubers, who live and breathe YouTube videos about YouTube. As an outsider, I’m almost always completely lost whenever YouTube’s recommendations serves up one of these videos for me. (I’ve noticed that certain YouTubers have discovered that covering YouTube drama on YouTube is a sure ticket to views and engagement, as measured by YouTube. YouTube occasionally seems to think they’re similar enough to the videos I usually enjoy.) If you were to ask someone on the street who Onision or Shane Dawson were, or even Mr Beast, for instance, most people would draw a blank. Same goes for most “influential podcasts”, heck, even as someone vaguely podcast aware, I’d probably draw a blank, as all of my usual listens are pretty niche.
As they should. If you make money on my platform, I make money. Give it for free or sell ads, pay me nothing. That’s like getting free rent and furniture
Apple has supported this platform for 15 years and because it makes them nothing it has not been invested into. This is the danger of people litigating to get access to the App Store for free. If they are not making money, they won’t keep investing in it.
I think you are correct, I know two podcasters that use Patreon for exclusive or early release content. Apple doing the same will only give podcasters more options and should be easier billing for folks that already pay for iCloud / Apple Music services
Also curious to see what The Athletic will be doing on Apple Podcasts. Will I get the subscription features if I have an Athletic subscription? Will that be possible to do within Apple's system? Or is this The Athletic's attempt to get me to pay twice to get ad free podcasts outside of their own app?
There’s so many podcasts out there now that many must find it difficult to make money on advertising alone.
This could allow very niche podcasts to thrive, as with the scale Podcasts operates at, it may be possible to make a healthy living running one.
Obviously this is motivated by money on Apple’s part though.
I suspect Apple is seeing what models work as I would be shocked if Podcasts+ isn’t announced by the end of the year.
And we may see a per podcast subscription as well as an ‘all you can eat’ approach.
This could allow very niche podcasts to thrive, as with the scale Podcasts operates at, it may be possible to make a healthy living running one.
Obviously this is motivated by money on Apple’s part though.
I suspect Apple is seeing what models work as I would be shocked if Podcasts+ isn’t announced by the end of the year.
And we may see a per podcast subscription as well as an ‘all you can eat’ approach.
I had a mixed reaction to this.
A) Like the earlier person said, "15 to 30%, but of course", it's Apple.
B) Podcasters need to, or it would be nice if many did, make money and I doubt many of them do.
C) Apple podcasts and their infrastructure, including the AW, friggin' sucks. I don't think it's ever reliably synced to the watch and sometimes podcasts download, sometimes they don't, and it all seems pretty damn random.
I'm starting to question Apple because they do deliver but they also nickel and dime you by pulling cables from products, claiming it's for the environment, and you know they'd have pulled the cable if they saved a nickel.
And since their Podcast app mostly sucks, maybe it doesn't matter.
A) Like the earlier person said, "15 to 30%, but of course", it's Apple.
B) Podcasters need to, or it would be nice if many did, make money and I doubt many of them do.
C) Apple podcasts and their infrastructure, including the AW, friggin' sucks. I don't think it's ever reliably synced to the watch and sometimes podcasts download, sometimes they don't, and it all seems pretty damn random.
I'm starting to question Apple because they do deliver but they also nickel and dime you by pulling cables from products, claiming it's for the environment, and you know they'd have pulled the cable if they saved a nickel.
And since their Podcast app mostly sucks, maybe it doesn't matter.
This is good for podcasters, I honestly think participating in this program would lead to more subscribers. I don’t have numbers to back this up, but I think I can safely assume most iOS users just listen to podcast using the default app, which is pretty good. Less friction the better. If subscribing to a premium feed is just a few taps away, I will gladly pay for my favorite podcast rather then going the extra step of using Patreon or other services. It’s just a hassle to me so I don’t do it.
Now the devil will be in the detail of the terms of service. If by participating in the premium program, podcasters will not be allowed to mention ALL the ways listeners can subscribe, then this will go nowhere. I hope Apple was smart about it.
Now the devil will be in the detail of the terms of service. If by participating in the premium program, podcasters will not be allowed to mention ALL the ways listeners can subscribe, then this will go nowhere. I hope Apple was smart about it.
Based on what exactly? This IS how podcasting currently works, and has been for years. In fact it's how television and radio work too. You can watch stuff that airs for free on NBC or BBC or whatever the over the air channel is in your country or you can pay for premium content on HBO or Netflix.
The same thing is true here. Yes... some podcasts are just free to you with no ads. Others might have ads. Others might cost you money. Subscription services have been a part of this since the beginning. This issue true if you're Joe Rogan and the richest podcaster in the world or if you're a joe average with a niche show or two like me. Some people charge through their own website and others use Patreon or Amazon or Spotify to collect money for a members only feed.
Apple isn't innovating here. They're just getting in on the action. And as a podcaster creator AND listener, I welcome it. This is no different than the app store. Your comment is like saying that all apps should be free and ad supported and the app that costs money will be the downfall of the software industry.
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depends on the show. First of all, technically "most podcasts" are not ad supported. There are over 2million podcasts combining for like 50million episodes. MOST podcasts don't last very long. And of those that do, MOST are people paying out of their own pocket to build an audience. It's hard to find advertisers if you don't have listeners yet, and there are a ton of shows that are basically listened to by people's friends and family.
Some podcasters use Patreon for only donations. Others do special features. There are often ad free versions of the regular show (assuming the regular show has ads) and other times, many people have a "bonus show" that is available only through Patreon (or whatever collection service the podcast is using. Patreon is just the most popular right now).
So honestly, the way most podcasters survive "all that time" is that we're willing to lose money in order to run our shows. For most the dream is to break even... for many this will definitely help them.
this is literally how stores work. Patreon also takes a cut. In fact, when I sell something with a "direct payment" service like square or even PayPal, they take a cut. The only way for you to give me money and make sure I "get 100%" of it is to literally hand me cash.
Not here in the EU, just use a direct money transfer IBAN, no prob, they even offer instant transfer.
Same persons who pay for podcasts will continue to pay for podcasts. Few of them will just shift over to the Apple Payment, with the result of less money going to the creators. Have fun searching for good podcasts in the future... Apple platform is turning more and more into something awesome 🤮
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Do you have evidence to back that assertion? We have the following pieces of evidence to suggest that this might substantially increase people’s willingness to pay for podcasts. 1) The success of the Patreon model generally. 2) iOS users’ enhanced willingness to pay for content/apps, which likely will translate to podcasts, and 3) the fact that podcast subscriptions will be managed through Apple’s subscription management framework and be charged the exact same way as a paid app download.
Lately, I find that society has this overarching penchant for cynicism and fear. It takes no particular genius or skill to be a cynic or anxious, yet we elevate people with this trait because we fear that the world can’t really be all that good. Cheer up, the world isn’t all bad!
The News app was much better than it is since Apple News+ came out IMO. I really wanted to like Apple News+ , especially since the Apple One bundle made it affordable to enjoy all the services. But it's too biased, and pinning political (I would say terrorist movements frankly) to the top is why I left it.
I'm worried that Podcasts will go the same way. I like it how it is now, just a 'player' that has a link to iTunes directory which was always good and vast because it was open. Apple never made money as such from it, so they left it alone. It thrived through great content / shows. But now, who knows what will happen ..
I'm worried that Podcasts will go the same way. I like it how it is now, just a 'player' that has a link to iTunes directory which was always good and vast because it was open. Apple never made money as such from it, so they left it alone. It thrived through great content / shows. But now, who knows what will happen ..
I actually forgot about Apple News+. I never subbed, have it on my main page on the iPad but it's just about useless. I have content that never changes, although anything to do with the Apple Watch will get you 38 articles about how it saved some guys life by detecting afib.
Podcasts are a weird thing because apparently it requires a hacker combining Neo, Felicity and Warlock (yes, I picked the 3 worst examples I could think of in 10 seconds of thought) to get anything resembling a functional podcast UI.