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Spotify Poised to Surpass Apple Podcasts in U.S. Listeners This Year
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Did anyone say that?
If you're trying to use Apple Music on Windows or Android (both fairly widespread systems, even though I don't use them much), your Apple Music experience will suffer greatly. It's not like they're trying to be the best experience for everyone. Their target audience is iPhone/iPad users, with Mac users a distant second. Then everyone else.
That said - even on a Mac, I much prefer Spotify. The app is better, the mixes and discovery is way, way, way better - both because of practical reasons (Spotify makes it much more visible to like/dislike music), and because Apple's focus seems to be focused on recommending three general playlists a day rather than more personalised and varied suggestions. Also, Spotify actually improves their app while Apple just seems to do some minor changes when they do their yearly OS updates.
That Spotify will soon offer a lossless tier just sweetens the deal. I currently have both (that is, I pay for Apple Music family and my wife subscribes to Spotify Duo), but I think the AM will just get cancelled soon.
On-target PS: My main annoyance with Spotify is actually podcasts. I use another app for this (Pocket Casts), and would love it if I could disable any mention of podcasts in Spotify.
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Spotify is terrible for podcasts... (for my needs)
It keeps forgetting position,
and there is no option for Audio only (as far as I could tell)
I ended up looking for an alternative, and found Acast which could import the single Podcast I listen to on Spotify that doesn't work on Apple Podcasts.
Ive deleted Spotify, and hope to never have to install again...
It keeps forgetting position,
and there is no option for Audio only (as far as I could tell)
I ended up looking for an alternative, and found Acast which could import the single Podcast I listen to on Spotify that doesn't work on Apple Podcasts.
Ive deleted Spotify, and hope to never have to install again...
I been saying this. But Spotify knows me a lot better than Apple Music. And I get Apple Music with Verizon. And still pay for Spotify. Having podcasts on Spotify is a big plus. Plus being able to cast to any device I choose is the topper for me.
Yes, Spotify Connect works much better than Airplay for the purpose of playing music on external speakers.
Main reason being that it isn't interrupted/overridden by other activity on the device - so the sound unintentionally gets replaced when you're browsing., playing a game etc.
But that raises the question whether a podcast becoming Spotify-exclusive actually increases its listenership among existing Spotify subscribers. Joe Roman’s podcast was available for free for all on all podcast players, including on Spotify, before Spotify bought it. So I don’t see how its listenership should increase on Spotify after they bought it and made it exclusive (except for those that explicitly subscribed to Spotify to keep listening to it).
Maybe if Spotify heavily promoted it as a Spotify exclusive, but then they could promote any free podcast, they wouldn’t need to buy it to do so.
You specifically referred to to “the subscribers that matter‘....”the paying ones”. You are literally making numbers up out of thin air as to Apple‘s numbers, so that you can (no surprise) once again, paint Apple as heroes. Apple does not care about you, you really don’t have to carry the torch for them on this website 7 days a week.
It’s safe to assume that Apple has at least 70 million Apple Music subscribers.
Is Apple Music at 70 Million Subscribers Yet? | The Motley Fool
The Mac maker's music-streaming service should be there by now.
www.fool.com
It’s also safe to assume that the majority of subscribers are iPhone users, in developed countries where the Apple ecosystem is more established.
It’s not about trying to paint Apple as the hero. I think people really need to look beyond surface numbers and realise that it’s not just raw (sometimes profit-less) market share, but usage share that makes all the difference sometimes.
People said that Apple was doomed when it had 14% market share. People said that this would lead to fewer developers supporting the iOS platform.
It’s the same story every single time. Apple will likely never surpass Spotify in any form of streaming numbers (partly due to its absence of a free tier), and that’s perfectly fine, because Apple has scale in the premium end of the market which again, it commands thanks to the iPhone and (now) Apple One.
You know that is a new feature in the latest beta, "hey Siri play X" and it then prompts you what service you want to use and makes it default.
Ok. Right. Again, just making a bunch of broad, pro-Apple assumptions, no surprise. I'll refer you to your initial statement, which was completely false, you simply jumped to the conclusion that Apple had more paying subscribers without doing 10 seconds of research, because that is what made Apple look good.It’s safe to assume that Apple has at least 70 million Apple Music subscribers.
Is Apple Music at 70 Million Subscribers Yet? | The Motley Fool
The Mac maker's music-streaming service should be there by now.
It’s also safe to assume that the majority of subscribers are iPhone users, in developed countries where the Apple ecosystem is more established.
It’s not about trying to paint Apple as the hero. I think people really need to look beyond surface numbers and realise that it’s not just raw (sometimes profit-less) market share, but usage share that makes all the difference sometimes.
People said that Apple was doomed when it had 14% market share. People said that this would lead to fewer developers supporting the iOS platform.
It’s the same story every single time. Apple will likely never surpass Spotify in any form of streaming numbers (partly due to its absence of a free tier), and that’s perfectly fine, because Apple has scale in the premium end of the market which again, it commands thanks to the iPhone and (now) Apple One.
Spotify for podcasts is a pretty good experience, pretty happy with it. It may become my default podcasting app at some point since I already use it for music.
Until Apple stops ignoring Windows (ancient iTunes that they refuse to update/replace with something more modern like on macOS), there is no way no how I will ever consider paying for Apple Music or use their apps for podcasting. The cross-platform nature is essential for me. Spotify on Windows is pretty great, in addition to their iOS app.
Until Apple stops ignoring Windows (ancient iTunes that they refuse to update/replace with something more modern like on macOS), there is no way no how I will ever consider paying for Apple Music or use their apps for podcasting. The cross-platform nature is essential for me. Spotify on Windows is pretty great, in addition to their iOS app.
Correction - I am not saying that Apple has more paying customers in an absolute sense, but that the people subscribed to Apple Music are potentially worth more than the people subscribed to Spotify, due to the countries in which these subscriptions are made.
And this is what will continue to be a perennial challenge for Spotify - converting their free, ad-supported tier to premium subs.
Apple has failed miserably (again ) with a media app experience. The podcasts app and Apple Watch integration is absolutely abysmal, a total joke, and really they should be ashamed and embarrassed by it. I bought my wife an apple watch and told her the podcast integration was "seamless" and apple made me into a liar. Getting podcasts onto the Apple Watch is:
Spotify has been making inroads in the podcasting market over the course of the last few years, ramping up its original podcast offerings and making major acquisitions like Gimlet Media, Parcast, and Anchor, as well as scoring key deals such as the rights to the popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
Spotify's efforts may be paying off, according to a new forecast shared today by eMarketer (via TechCrunch) that predicts Spotify could soon have more podcast listeners than Apple.
According to eMarketer's estimates, 28.2 million people will listen to podcasts on Spotify at least monthly, while 28 million people will listen through Apple Podcasts. Though Apple has also made efforts to improve its podcast offerings, Apple Podcasts has been losing listener share.
In 2018, Apple Podcasts represented 34 percent of podcast listeners, a metric that will fall to 23.8 in 2021. Spotify's rise in popularity can be attributed to Apple's failure to match Spotify's pace of investment and innovation in the podcasting space, according to eMarketer analyst Peter Vahle.Apple is working to counter Spotify's deep investments in podcasting with its own original content. Apple recently debuted the first podcast based on "For All Mankind," one of its Apple TV+ shows, and more TV-related content is expected to come out.
Rumors suggest that Apple is also working to purchase exclusive original podcasts for the Podcasts app, with those original podcasts also perhaps serving as inspiration for future television content.
As of November, Apple allows Apple Podcasts to be embedded on the web to increase visibility, and in January, Apple launched a new Podcasts Spotlight feature to highlight rising podcast creators. Apple is also said to be working on a podcast subscription service to better allow it to compete with Spotify by luring content creators with the promise of more money.
It's worth noting that eMarketer's analysis is based on estimated podcast listeners, and there is no concrete data available from Apple on the number of people in the United States who are listening to podcasts.
Article Link: Spotify Poised to Surpass Apple Podcasts in U.S. Listeners This Year
1) SLOW
2) Unreliable
3) Totally opaque (whats downloading? how? when? who knows?
4) horribly glitchy "podcast unavailable". Why? I have wifi, cellular service, all sorts of connectivity. JUST FIND IT AND PLAY IT THIS DAMN WATCH COSTS $600.
Truly embarrassing.
I gave up Spotify once they started to shove podcast down my throat. No way to switch it off and they kept insisting I might like xy and z show. I prefer keeping my podcast and music separate, especially when Spotify starts showing you what other friends are listening too. Since switching to Apple Music full time, I find it much better. The app could use a bit of refinement but all in all, I find the experience much more "human" for lack of better term. The playlist on Apple Music are better curated IMO and the radio shows are pretty good. Only thing that can't be beat is Spotify's Discover Weekly, but so far I can live without it.
apple needs to allow video in their podcasts! Joe Rogan has been neutered on Spotify, to the point I quit my premium sub!
Until Spotify allow custom RSS/Patreon feeds, it’s a non event for me.
This is where the Apple Podcasts app shines and that, along with Apple Music work well enough for myself and the family that we see no reason to move.
This is where the Apple Podcasts app shines and that, along with Apple Music work well enough for myself and the family that we see no reason to move.
Is there even any benefit to using the Spotify app to consume podcasts, apart from accessing proprietary podcasts?
The stock iOS podcast app is supported on all Apple hardware, from my iPhone to my Apple Watch to my Apple TV. Overcast has features like smart speed.
What’s the advantage of the Spotify app again?