5 ms·

Agreed. I don't think people appreciate how unique podcasting is as a distribution medium in that it has lasted so long as a completely open ecosystem. Nobody n

by paulgb 6y ago

Agreed. I don't think people appreciate how unique podcasting is as a distribution medium in that it has lasted so long as a completely open ecosystem. Nobody needs anyone's permission to write a podcasting app or launch a new podcast. Sad to see that start to change, but I'm also kind of optimistic for one reason: there's just so damned much audio content out there that it is people's attention, not audio content, that is scarce. I don't think platforms have the upper hand in audio content the way that, say, Netflix does. I think that's why platforms like Luminary haven't really taken off.

tempestn 6y ago
Agreed; that's what keeps me hopeful here too. Looking at my podcast player, I don't think there's any single podcast that I would download a new app for, if they tried this. So hopefully at least for the type of podcasts I listen to, this wouldn't be a winning move.
- mopsi 6y ago
  I agree, too. I've seen several podcasts move to exclusive apps and I've not followed any of them there. With such a low entry barrier, there's so much content available that exclusive deals don't seem to have much influence, no podcast is "must have". Not available? I'll just play the next one on the list. Many will remain open and free. Fortunately, podcasts can financially sustain themselves under these conditions, it wasn't a forced move.
downerending 6y ago
Re permission, that's not quite true. His show is on YouTube, and his shows are allowed on there only at their pleasure. Censorship there is not unheard of, and though I've watched only a couple, his shows seem like something that could set them off.
- xerxesaa 6y ago
  It's available as an rss feed that can be consumed by any podcast player. It's not just YouTube.
  - HankB99 6y ago
    "exclusive" From the second paragraph of the article "The show will hit Spotify September 1, and become exclusive to the platform later in the year." Doesn't this mean it will no longer be available via the RSS feed? Edit: typo
    - swiley 6y ago
      Right that's what they're lamenting. It was previously not exclusive and now it is.
    - sails 6y ago
      IMO this is the headline point here, walled gardens for podcasts is terribly sad.
bvandewalle 6y ago
It feels like this became the life-cycle of Internet. The same thing happened with decentralized websites and blogs.then everyone got attracted by the managed platforms and now the web is more centralized than ever.
- jfoster 6y ago
  It pre-dates the internet. Happened with cable TV as well.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
seumars 6y ago
>...it has lasted so long as a completely open ecosystem It's the platforms that have contributed to the podcast boom of recent years, not the "open ecosystem". Anyone can start a website and upload recorded audio, which may be the reason nobody uses RSS seriously anymore because "curated" content is the new norm. The JRE podcast has been around for ages, and it built up an audience on YouTube because that has has been the dominating media platform for more than a decade. Now Spotify is investing heavily in big names like Gimlet and now JRE, which will help it become the next dominating platform for this decade.

by paulgb 6y ago

tempestn 6y ago

Agreed; that's what keeps me hopeful here too. Looking at my podcast player, I don't think there's any single podcast that I would download a new app for, if they tried this. So hopefully at least for the type of podcasts I listen to, this wouldn't be a winning move.

mopsi 6y ago
I agree, too. I've seen several podcasts move to exclusive apps and I've not followed any of them there. With such a low entry barrier, there's so much content available that exclusive deals don't seem to have much influence, no podcast is "must have". Not available? I'll just play the next one on the list. Many will remain open and free. Fortunately, podcasts can financially sustain themselves under these conditions, it wasn't a forced move.

downerending 6y ago

Re permission, that's not quite true. His show is on YouTube, and his shows are allowed on there only at their pleasure. Censorship there is not unheard of, and though I've watched only a couple, his shows seem like something that could set them off.

xerxesaa 6y ago
It's available as an rss feed that can be consumed by any podcast player. It's not just YouTube.
- HankB99 6y ago
  "exclusive" From the second paragraph of the article "The show will hit Spotify September 1, and become exclusive to the platform later in the year." Doesn't this mean it will no longer be available via the RSS feed? Edit: typo
  - swiley 6y ago
    Right that's what they're lamenting. It was previously not exclusive and now it is.
  - sails 6y ago
    IMO this is the headline point here, walled gardens for podcasts is terribly sad.

bvandewalle 6y ago

It feels like this became the life-cycle of Internet. The same thing happened with decentralized websites and blogs.then everyone got attracted by the managed platforms and now the web is more centralized than ever.

jfoster 6y ago
It pre-dates the internet. Happened with cable TV as well.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

seumars 6y ago

>...it has lasted so long as a completely open ecosystem It's the platforms that have contributed to the podcast boom of recent years, not the "open ecosystem". Anyone can start a website and upload recorded audio, which may be the reason nobody uses RSS seriously anymore because "curated" content is the new norm. The JRE podcast has been around for ages, and it built up an audience on YouTube because that has has been the dominating media platform for more than a decade. Now Spotify is investing heavily in big names like Gimlet and now JRE, which will help it become the next dominating platform for this decade.