3 ms·

These days you're lucky if you can actually get the podcast and not just stream it from some awful "cloud" service with widevine DRM thats also trying to push y

These days you're lucky if you can actually get the podcast and not just stream it from some awful "cloud" service with widevine DRM thats also trying to push you to pay ten bucks a month for a premium account which only forces you to listen to the ads embedded in the podcast itself.

huijzer 3y ago
Clouds are not per se awful if you compare it to manually managing mp3 files and not all podcasts contain ads. I’m not saying your statement is completely wrong, I’m saying it could use some more nuance.
- tempest_ 3y ago
  Who is "manually managing mp3" files? My software reads RSS feeds and downloads the podcasts. I never see a file on my phone.
  - pas 3y ago
    I do, because I'm ... well, I do a last minute scramble to download that one or two episodes before the flight takes off, and haven't ever thought about setting up an app for it, because it's just mp3 files I can download from a webpage, duh! I guess it's time to accept that I'm a regular listener and I'd be much better off with some semi-sane system.
    - tempest_ 3y ago
      15 years ago I downloaded podcastaddict, it keeps my RSS feeds and updates them all every morning at 7am, or at the press of a button.
anonymous_sorry 3y ago
Those aren't podcasts, in my opinion. When things I subscribe to become not-podcasts (which has only really happened once - looking at you BBC), I spend a few minutes looking for something new to try out instead. I always have too much in my queue anyway.
- vulcan01 3y ago
  My understanding (and I might be wrong here) is that the BBC not-podcasts are for folks within the UK, since the globally available ones have ads, right? I'm not in the UK, and am subscribed to several BBC podcasts, none of which have been not-podcasts.
  - anonymous_sorry 3y ago
    Not sure to be honest. A couple of years ago someone at the BBC decided they wanted to push listeners to their app (which has live "radio" as well as shows on catch-up). They chose a few of their most popular podcasts, including The News Quiz, and made the appropriately surreal announcement that (great news!) this _topical_ comedy panel show would now be available six weeks sooner via their app. The RSS feed still doesn't have ads last time I checked (at least for me, accessing from the UK), but now aggregates six-week-old political satire. I do have BBC sounds on my phone, but I never remember to listen to it. I always just go to my podcatcher out of habit, and end up listening to something else.
    - caoilte 3y ago
      You get ads outside the UK, which is always weird for me when i get back from holiday and have a bunch of shows i downloaded while I was in another country and haven't listened to yet. Actually, I say bunch - but I've deleted everything except In Our Time. Australian Broadcast Company does more better podcasts than BBC these days.
- rchaud 3y ago
  The distinction won't matter to end-users because they most of the distribution pipeline is hidden from them already.
  - anonymous_sorry 3y ago
    The distribution pipeline is invisible because of the open, distributed ecosystem. As soon as a podcast announces it is going platform-exclusive, the pipeline becomes extremely visible for everyone except those already subscribing via that platform.
duxup 3y ago
Maybe I'm not "that into" podcasts but I've never had to pay to listen to the podcasts I like. I can't even remember being prompted like you describe. I don't even pay for the software that plays the podcasts... (well one time a LONG time ago I paid for a player that was really nice). What situations are you encountering this?
- sphars 3y ago
  I'm pretty sure the GP was referring to Spotify exclusive podcasts, that were only accessible from the Spotify app, thus encumbered in DRM.
arrowsmith 3y ago
What podcasts do you listen to that are like this? I've subscribed to countless podcasts over the years using PocketCasts on my phone and I've never once encountered anything like what you're describing.

huijzer 3y ago

Clouds are not per se awful if you compare it to manually managing mp3 files and not all podcasts contain ads. I’m not saying your statement is completely wrong, I’m saying it could use some more nuance.

tempest_ 3y ago
Who is "manually managing mp3" files? My software reads RSS feeds and downloads the podcasts. I never see a file on my phone.
- pas 3y ago
  I do, because I'm ... well, I do a last minute scramble to download that one or two episodes before the flight takes off, and haven't ever thought about setting up an app for it, because it's just mp3 files I can download from a webpage, duh! I guess it's time to accept that I'm a regular listener and I'd be much better off with some semi-sane system.
  - tempest_ 3y ago
    15 years ago I downloaded podcastaddict, it keeps my RSS feeds and updates them all every morning at 7am, or at the press of a button.

anonymous_sorry 3y ago

Those aren't podcasts, in my opinion. When things I subscribe to become not-podcasts (which has only really happened once - looking at you BBC), I spend a few minutes looking for something new to try out instead. I always have too much in my queue anyway.

vulcan01 3y ago
My understanding (and I might be wrong here) is that the BBC not-podcasts are for folks within the UK, since the globally available ones have ads, right? I'm not in the UK, and am subscribed to several BBC podcasts, none of which have been not-podcasts.
- anonymous_sorry 3y ago
  Not sure to be honest. A couple of years ago someone at the BBC decided they wanted to push listeners to their app (which has live "radio" as well as shows on catch-up). They chose a few of their most popular podcasts, including The News Quiz, and made the appropriately surreal announcement that (great news!) this _topical_ comedy panel show would now be available six weeks sooner via their app. The RSS feed still doesn't have ads last time I checked (at least for me, accessing from the UK), but now aggregates six-week-old political satire. I do have BBC sounds on my phone, but I never remember to listen to it. I always just go to my podcatcher out of habit, and end up listening to something else.
  - caoilte 3y ago
    You get ads outside the UK, which is always weird for me when i get back from holiday and have a bunch of shows i downloaded while I was in another country and haven't listened to yet. Actually, I say bunch - but I've deleted everything except In Our Time. Australian Broadcast Company does more better podcasts than BBC these days.
rchaud 3y ago
The distinction won't matter to end-users because they most of the distribution pipeline is hidden from them already.
- anonymous_sorry 3y ago
  The distribution pipeline is invisible because of the open, distributed ecosystem. As soon as a podcast announces it is going platform-exclusive, the pipeline becomes extremely visible for everyone except those already subscribing via that platform.

duxup 3y ago

Maybe I'm not "that into" podcasts but I've never had to pay to listen to the podcasts I like. I can't even remember being prompted like you describe. I don't even pay for the software that plays the podcasts... (well one time a LONG time ago I paid for a player that was really nice). What situations are you encountering this?

sphars 3y ago
I'm pretty sure the GP was referring to Spotify exclusive podcasts, that were only accessible from the Spotify app, thus encumbered in DRM.

arrowsmith 3y ago

What podcasts do you listen to that are like this? I've subscribed to countless podcasts over the years using PocketCasts on my phone and I've never once encountered anything like what you're describing.