I fear the same things you’ve listed, but it’s important to remember that the podcasters themselves will choose these proprietary systems and we can’t let them

I fear the same things you’ve listed, but it’s important to remember that the podcasters themselves will choose these proprietary systems and we can’t let them escape blame if they do. Podcasting is currently as open as anything can possibly be and it would take a conscious choice from a podcaster to stop listing things in open formats. It’s important to remember one of the biggest benefits podcasting offers – at least imho – hobbyists who just want to make a show about their favorite interest. Almost every podcaster does it as a sideGigFunProject. And just like anything, we see it time and time again, the real damage will come when a critical mass decides they need to do it full time and make millions. A conscious choice to move away from a passion project. That move is what has consistently shifted open projects into walled gardens, time and time again. It very much so harms the hobbyist in the interest of “the professional.”. This is what the previous gen-Xers call “selling out” and I think they were correct that you lose something in this transition.