3 ms·

As podcasts become bigger and bigger I've been afraid of something like Breaker succeeding. Thanks to RSS/Atom it's currently a very open medium. Anyone can sta

As podcasts become bigger and bigger I've been afraid of something like Breaker succeeding. Thanks to RSS/Atom it's currently a very open medium. Anyone can start putting out content and I can consume it on any device and app I choose, download episodes for on-the-go and offline listening, transfer the files easily between devices—even to "dumb" MP3 players that never had an app ecosystem—and move my subscriptions around with the common OPML format. There's no tracking or analytics peering over my shoulder, unlike so much of modern media that's become enslaved to data: as a listener I consider this a feature. I'm quite willing to pay for podcast content, and I do. I've been a paid subscriber to The NoSleep Podcast ever since they started offering the option, at $20 a season. They use a service called Nanacast, which collects my payment and gives me a unique RSS feed URL that I can add to any podcast app. No arbitrary centralization or gatekeepers required.

gkop 10y ago
Isn't it just a matter of time?
haraball 10y ago
Breaker's app looks good, but I agree in that I hope they won't succeed. Their monetization strategy is to "own" podcasts and have people pay for access, if I understand correctly. Which podcasts do they have lined up for this? Will those podcasts still have ads in them? When will they start charging? Too many unanswered questions for me at this point which stops me from switching from my current podcast setup, and to advocate my friends to switch to this new "social" platform which might shut down when money runs out. I pay for Spotify, Netflix etc. to avoid ads. Some podcasts manage to incorporate ads tastefully with respect for the listener. Others are not done that well, and produces the same horror as when you're used to Netflix and suddenly see how a show looks with frequent commercial breaks on a hotel TV. Here's an idea: Crowdsourced ad-filtered podcast RSS streams you have to pay to access, where the profits go back to the podcasts themselves. Users mark the start and end of the ads in the podcast audio, and a podcast player skips those parts. That's something I would pay for, and hopefully would generate more money to the producers of podcasts than ads.
- evgen 10y ago
  Interesting, as from what I have seen of the app screenshots it looks far to busy and full of useless features compared to the podcast apps I use regularly or have used in the past. As a simple example, the idea that I want to have a comment section for a podcast seems laughable at best and for the most part each major panel of the app seems to be working on a 'how many buttons can we stick in here' theme that would lead me to look elsewhere.
- ghaff 10y ago
  Fortunately, podcasts do seem to be one area that is apparently working reasonably well today for both producers and consumers. Consumers get mostly free podcasts. Producers are either fine with not monetizing; the podcast is a hobby or it's in support of other activities that do bring in money. Or a pretty reasonable ad density (apparently) brings in enough money that people find it worthwhile to produce podcasts.

gkop 10y ago

Isn't it just a matter of time?

haraball 10y ago

Breaker's app looks good, but I agree in that I hope they won't succeed. Their monetization strategy is to "own" podcasts and have people pay for access, if I understand correctly. Which podcasts do they have lined up for this? Will those podcasts still have ads in them? When will they start charging? Too many unanswered questions for me at this point which stops me from switching from my current podcast setup, and to advocate my friends to switch to this new "social" platform which might shut down when money runs out. I pay for Spotify, Netflix etc. to avoid ads. Some podcasts manage to incorporate ads tastefully with respect for the listener. Others are not done that well, and produces the same horror as when you're used to Netflix and suddenly see how a show looks with frequent commercial breaks on a hotel TV. Here's an idea: Crowdsourced ad-filtered podcast RSS streams you have to pay to access, where the profits go back to the podcasts themselves. Users mark the start and end of the ads in the podcast audio, and a podcast player skips those parts. That's something I would pay for, and hopefully would generate more money to the producers of podcasts than ads.

evgen 10y ago
Interesting, as from what I have seen of the app screenshots it looks far to busy and full of useless features compared to the podcast apps I use regularly or have used in the past. As a simple example, the idea that I want to have a comment section for a podcast seems laughable at best and for the most part each major panel of the app seems to be working on a 'how many buttons can we stick in here' theme that would lead me to look elsewhere.
ghaff 10y ago
Fortunately, podcasts do seem to be one area that is apparently working reasonably well today for both producers and consumers. Consumers get mostly free podcasts. Producers are either fine with not monetizing; the podcast is a hobby or it's in support of other activities that do bring in money. Or a pretty reasonable ad density (apparently) brings in enough money that people find it worthwhile to produce podcasts.