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Spotify is killing the open podcast ecosystem (2020)

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Re: Spotify is killing the open podcast ecosystem (2020)

#4

Post by intpx »

This post is essentially a funding pitch for Spotify. I talks a lot about they are going to try and kill the open podcast ecosystem but no evidence that they are making any progress. The podcast ecosystem is very different from other media markets-- it started open, it grew up open, and people are actually willing to directly pay content producers either for bonus content, to avoid ad reads, or just to keep the train chugging along. I immediately unsub from any podcast where there is some jarring dynamic ad insertion. I've watch all of the once great Gimlet podcasts wither, and some die since their acquisition.

Yea there is a market for the low-est common denominator stuff like low-brow true crime stuff and the joe rogans, but I don't see those as competition, either for sponsors or ears to the healthy, robust, mature open podcast ecosystem.

Re: Spotify is killing the open podcast ecosystem (2020)

#7

Post by brandonmenc »

I don't really consider these things "podcasts" anymore.

There are a couple (imo, "real") podcasts I subscribe to and pay for, but I pay the creators directly and they generally self-host the files.

Any other business model is just a network-exclusive TV or radio show, not a podcast.

Re: Spotify is killing the open podcast ecosystem (2020)

#9

Post by dantheman »

intpx wrote: post #4

This post is essentially a funding pitch for Spotify. I talks a lot about they are going to try and kill the open podcast ecosystem but no evidence that they are making any progress. The podcast ecosystem is very different from other media markets-- it started open, it grew up open, and people are actually willing to directly pay content producers either for bonus content, to avoid ad reads, or just to keep the train…

It's still good to call out they are a bad actor in the podcast ecosystem. They can't compete on software, so they try to buy content and make it exclusive. There is no benefit to the user to their activities.
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