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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)

#91

Post by kossae »

dont__panic wrote: post #62
StavrosK wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use Pocket Casts. I just like it a lot, and I don't want to switch because it does everything I need. Spotify seems like it wouldn't be as configurable, but I haven't even felt the need to check. Plus, I don't like a monoculture.

I would love to support Pocket Casts, but I don't want to pay another subscription (Pocket Casts plus appears to be $1/mo). Do you know if there's any way to just pay $12 for Plus forever or something like that? Or another podcast app that has that kind of one-time purchase?

I use Overcast (https://overcast.fm/) which I believe has a one-time purchase fee to remove ads. It also has pretty nice features such as audio boost and silence trimming.

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

#92

Post by michaelbuckbee »

ryanwhitney wrote: post #74
ThisIsTheWay wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll admit I'm a podcast novice, but what player are you using and what does it offer beyond Spotify? I find, download, and play podcasts through Spotify without issues, and the few features I need (speed adjustment, offline access, and show notes/links) are all available on Spotify. If there is a better way to listen, I'd love to hear about it.

Overcast. It has a “smart speed” feature that cuts out breaks and pauses in a way that’s almost unnoticeable but will save/gain you hundreds of hours. And audio clip sharing and great leveling in addition to privacy features. https://overcast.fm/ There’s numerous small developers out there putting in much more care than Spotify.

Also a huge fan of Overcast. I just looked and it's saved me an extra "211 hours beyond speed adjustments alone".

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

#93

Post by christopherwxyz »

tootie wrote: post #77
mrweasel wrote: post #35

Do Spotify actually manage to sell any significant number of subscriptions due to podcasts? Personally when ever I hear about an interesting podcast, and it's followed by "available on Spotify/Podimo, whatever", my reaction is always: Okay, never mind then. There are so many great podcasts on the open web. Those available on platforms like Spotify always seems to be people with existing celebrity status trying to "ca…

They don't really need to. In fact, some early industry rumors say that are not close to recouping costs. They're instead doing the classic SV play of selling customers a dollar for 50 cents until they are addicted and then pulling the rug. They want to cripple the open market by firehosing cash until everyone else gives up, then they can do what they want. Apple and Google are playing this game too in their own ways…

Any fixed cost business will inherently have large sunk costs and will not experience net profits until you've worked your way down the cost curve. Content businesses have marginal costs that approach zero as a function of time -- of course without any operating cost of delivery. There's no need for "early industry rumors" to understand the fixed cost business of streaming.

"The Office" was paid for in full, distributed in a first-party network, then syndicated, then digitally licensed, and now back to its first-party network. The total revenue value of that decade long investment is not the same as a variable cost businesses like ecommerce, delivery services, or Moviepass.

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

#94

Post by devoutsalsa »

Lendal wrote: post #76
mrweasel wrote: post #35

Do Spotify actually manage to sell any significant number of subscriptions due to podcasts? Personally when ever I hear about an interesting podcast, and it's followed by "available on Spotify/Podimo, whatever", my reaction is always: Okay, never mind then. There are so many great podcasts on the open web. Those available on platforms like Spotify always seems to be people with existing celebrity status trying to "ca…

No, but they could lose subscribers due to Podcasts. See, I pay for Spotify because of their playlists. Playlists have nothing to do with podcasts. I listen to my podcasts using a different app. Yet Spotify keeps throwing its podcasts in my face. Spotify is not good at podcasts. That's why I use a different app for that. I'm getting tired of scrolling past all the podcast spam in my Spotify UI, and yet Spotify provid…

Not very related... The reason I canceled Spotify Account is because I couldn’t downvote songs in a playlist. The music suggestions for some artists were horrible, and I couldn’t opt out of them.

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

#95

Post by jorvi »

mrweasel wrote: post #35

Do Spotify actually manage to sell any significant number of subscriptions due to podcasts? Personally when ever I hear about an interesting podcast, and it's followed by "available on Spotify/Podimo, whatever", my reaction is always: Okay, never mind then. There are so many great podcasts on the open web. Those available on platforms like Spotify always seems to be people with existing celebrity status trying to "ca…

Spotify's reason for getting people on podcasts is not only lock-in, every hour you listen to a podcast is an hour they don't have to pay music royalties for.

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

#96

Post by input_sh »

xnyan wrote: post #15
1cvmask wrote: post #2

Wonder how the removal and censorship of podcasts will affect content makers: https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-rogan-experience-podcast...

I think calling this censorship is like saying Applebee's censors beer because they stock Bud Lite over Old Rasputin. Spotify is the owner of the content and pulled those episodes for the same reason all mass marketed content gravitates to the bland and benign - bland and benign is easier to sell to a large mass of people. Joe Rogan was free (not just free, well compensated) as an indy and could have kept his lucrati…

> Joe Rogan was free (not just free, well compensated) as an indy and could have kept his lucrative gig, but spotify dumped a truck load of money in his lawn and he decided he'd rather have that.

I mean obviously we can't know for sure without access to his finances, but I remember seeing some estimates that he could've earned the amount of money Spotify gave to him in like two years or so.

So his choice was money upfront or earning it via traditional means in a couple of years. In my view, he made the wrong choice.

I'm faced with a similar dilemma right now (but with losing money instead of gaining it) by investing in a NAS that would pay off in a little over two years by downscaling the servers I'm renting.

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

#97

Post by ravi-delia »

tootie wrote: post #77
mrweasel wrote: post #35

Do Spotify actually manage to sell any significant number of subscriptions due to podcasts? Personally when ever I hear about an interesting podcast, and it's followed by "available on Spotify/Podimo, whatever", my reaction is always: Okay, never mind then. There are so many great podcasts on the open web. Those available on platforms like Spotify always seems to be people with existing celebrity status trying to "ca…

They don't really need to. In fact, some early industry rumors say that are not close to recouping costs. They're instead doing the classic SV play of selling customers a dollar for 50 cents until they are addicted and then pulling the rug. They want to cripple the open market by firehosing cash until everyone else gives up, then they can do what they want. Apple and Google are playing this game too in their own ways…

I mean, the point still kinda stands. Spotify can throw money at podcasting until the cows go home, but if they aren't buying something for their money it's just going to waste. Podcasts on Spotify aren't all that good, and every podcast I (and everyone I know) actually listen to is accessible elsewhere.

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

#98

Post by rchaud »

echelon wrote: post #44
apatters wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What Spotify is trying to do is called a roll-up. This is a well tread business tactic favored by aspiring monopolists and the strategy is simple: acquire most of the distribution in the space, then jack up the price. (In the podcast world, "distribution" equates to "listeners" and price equates to "Spotify's subscription and ad revenue.") The harm caused to both consumers and producers by a roll-up is well-documente…

So this is what Apple did with the app store. Applications used to be distributed everywhere, but Apple tightly controlled the platform and crippled the web browser. They even prevented Flash and other runtimes so they would be the only way to get native control on the device. They "rolled up" computing. What scummy behavior.

Not exactly. Podcasts were openly available as downloadable, RSS-friendly MP3 files for a long time. Apple required iOS apps to be distributed through the app store. Before that, there were no iOS apps to speak of.

Web pages are the iOS equivalent to open podcasts. iOS didn't stop those from working, although it did limit support for PWAs, which arrived years after the App Store. Even then, I can use apps like Uber without the App Store: m.uber.com.

Not all companies will try to create a web experience that's 1:1 with the mobile app, but it's not something iOS prevents.

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

#99

Post by Covzire »

syshum wrote: post #22
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…

I stopped listening to Rogan when he fell off my preferred PodCast app, and I am a Paying Spotify Premium user but I do not use Spotify for PodCasts because I like to keep my PodCasts and Music Separate

The strangest thing about Spotify for me is that I pay for Premium as well but that doesn't save me from Joe Rogan's own commercials he inserts into his spotify podcasts. They're skippable by simply moving the seek bar to the end but why if I'm paying for Premium are they even there? They're not baked into the podcast itself but rather the player pauses the playback of the podcast and cues up multiple 120(!) second ads.

They're also a royal PITA to skip in my car because the spotify app on iPhone and PC are both awful but the mobile app is awful squared.

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

#100

Post by root_axis »

mrweasel wrote: post #35

Do Spotify actually manage to sell any significant number of subscriptions due to podcasts? Personally when ever I hear about an interesting podcast, and it's followed by "available on Spotify/Podimo, whatever", my reaction is always: Okay, never mind then. There are so many great podcasts on the open web. Those available on platforms like Spotify always seems to be people with existing celebrity status trying to "ca…

Spotify is targeting the millions of customers that already use their app who aren't regular podcast listeners. These people will now get exposed to the podcast ecosystem through Spotify and that'll help boost subscriber retention.
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