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“Unwillingness to support content creators” We are under absolutely NO obligation to support them. They like to talk. We may or may not like to listen. They a

“Unwillingness to support content creators” We are under absolutely NO obligation to support them. They like to talk. We may or may not like to listen. They are the digital equivalent of HAM radio operators, and Spotify is acting like worse than a leech on a free and open system.

Barrin92 7y ago
>They are the digital equivalent of HAM radio operators this isn't really accurate any more. A lot of podcasts these days, in particular, the ones Spotify seems to pick up, are professionally produced audio dramas or documentaries that come with significant cost. Look at some of the more popular ones like Homecoming with Oscar Isaac, Blackout with Rami Malek or Carrier with Cynthia Erivo, those guys and the teams behind it don't work for free.
- daveFNbuck 7y ago
  Even seemingly low-budget podcasts take a lot of work to put together. I used to do a 30-minute weekly tech news podcast with a friend. For that, I spent several hours each week clipping news stories, then another couple of hours picking the best ones to cover, reading more about them and taking notes for the podcast. After the podcast was over, it took about an hour or two to listen through carefully and edit the podcast down to something pleasant to listen to, removing the crosstalk, pauses, weird noises, and things I wish we hadn't said. People who care more about their podcasts and have longer podcasts spend much more time researching and editing. That time has a lot of cost, especially for people with demanding jobs and families.
  - hombre_fatal 7y ago
    Even the most selfish "podcasts should be free for me!" person should be able to understand that they also benefit selfishly when people can make a living making the content they prefer instead of hoping a hobbyist has free time to do it. But this isn't always so. Imagine all the books that never would have been written if we seriously thought free Reddit r/writingprompts fiction should be good enough for anyone. "Fiction should stay open and free!"
ohmaigad 7y ago
And podcast creators have no obligation to not sell themselves to Spotify...
eropple 7y ago
This "steadfast denial that we live in a society" thing is getting pretty old.
badfrog 7y ago
> They are the digital equivalent of HAM radio operators That is really overlooking a lot of time, effort, and money that many people and companies put into their podcasts. A lot of the best journalism and story telling in the world is in podcast form right now. That won't be the case for very long if the creators can't monetize their work.
- stonogo 7y ago
  Are you asserting that HAM radio operators do not put a lot of time, effort, and money into HAM radio?
  - majos 7y ago
    Do HAM radio operators write scripts, pay people to appear, generally...put on entertainment? I’m genuinely asking. I thought HAM radio was mostly chatting, or occasionally broadcasting useful info during a disaster. Also: note that restricting entertainment to that which is provided for free is a big restriction.
Spooky23 7y ago
Spotify is thinking like Netflix... They are in the business of taking your attention, and spoken word audio is a more cost effective means of doing that. Look at all of the money made in the 90s Premier Radio Networks, Westwood One, etc. They aggregated content ranging from conservative babble to psychology shows to Art Bell and did very well. Podcasts could be a similar phenomenon as radio dies out. Eventually AM and FM radio will be auctioned off to cellular carriers, and networks like Spotify will take over. The current podcast ecosystem only exists due to the benevolent dictatorship of Apple. That can go poof any day.
daveFNbuck 7y ago
No one is suggesting that you're obliged to pay for the media you consume. You just have to understand that podcasters aren't obliged to provide free media. Producing podcasts costs money. If listeners aren't paying for the costs, someone else has to. If the podcaster can't afford to pay these costs, they'll end up going to someone like Spotify rather than bankrupting themselves for our entertainment.

Barrin92 7y ago

>They are the digital equivalent of HAM radio operators this isn't really accurate any more. A lot of podcasts these days, in particular, the ones Spotify seems to pick up, are professionally produced audio dramas or documentaries that come with significant cost. Look at some of the more popular ones like Homecoming with Oscar Isaac, Blackout with Rami Malek or Carrier with Cynthia Erivo, those guys and the teams behind it don't work for free.

daveFNbuck 7y ago
Even seemingly low-budget podcasts take a lot of work to put together. I used to do a 30-minute weekly tech news podcast with a friend. For that, I spent several hours each week clipping news stories, then another couple of hours picking the best ones to cover, reading more about them and taking notes for the podcast. After the podcast was over, it took about an hour or two to listen through carefully and edit the podcast down to something pleasant to listen to, removing the crosstalk, pauses, weird noises, and things I wish we hadn't said. People who care more about their podcasts and have longer podcasts spend much more time researching and editing. That time has a lot of cost, especially for people with demanding jobs and families.
- hombre_fatal 7y ago
  Even the most selfish "podcasts should be free for me!" person should be able to understand that they also benefit selfishly when people can make a living making the content they prefer instead of hoping a hobbyist has free time to do it. But this isn't always so. Imagine all the books that never would have been written if we seriously thought free Reddit r/writingprompts fiction should be good enough for anyone. "Fiction should stay open and free!"

ohmaigad 7y ago

And podcast creators have no obligation to not sell themselves to Spotify...

eropple 7y ago

This "steadfast denial that we live in a society" thing is getting pretty old.

badfrog 7y ago

> They are the digital equivalent of HAM radio operators That is really overlooking a lot of time, effort, and money that many people and companies put into their podcasts. A lot of the best journalism and story telling in the world is in podcast form right now. That won't be the case for very long if the creators can't monetize their work.

stonogo 7y ago
Are you asserting that HAM radio operators do not put a lot of time, effort, and money into HAM radio?
- majos 7y ago
  Do HAM radio operators write scripts, pay people to appear, generally...put on entertainment? I’m genuinely asking. I thought HAM radio was mostly chatting, or occasionally broadcasting useful info during a disaster. Also: note that restricting entertainment to that which is provided for free is a big restriction.

Spooky23 7y ago

Spotify is thinking like Netflix... They are in the business of taking your attention, and spoken word audio is a more cost effective means of doing that. Look at all of the money made in the 90s Premier Radio Networks, Westwood One, etc. They aggregated content ranging from conservative babble to psychology shows to Art Bell and did very well. Podcasts could be a similar phenomenon as radio dies out. Eventually AM and FM radio will be auctioned off to cellular carriers, and networks like Spotify will take over. The current podcast ecosystem only exists due to the benevolent dictatorship of Apple. That can go poof any day.

daveFNbuck 7y ago

No one is suggesting that you're obliged to pay for the media you consume. You just have to understand that podcasters aren't obliged to provide free media. Producing podcasts costs money. If listeners aren't paying for the costs, someone else has to. If the podcaster can't afford to pay these costs, they'll end up going to someone like Spotify rather than bankrupting themselves for our entertainment.