Apple today announced Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, allowing users to unlock additional podcast benefits such as ad-free listening, access to additional content, and early or exclusive access to new series.
Apple says that users will be able to enjoy a range of premium subscriptions from NPR, the Los Angeles Times, Sony Music Entertainment, and more. Listeners will also be able to access channels, which are groups of shows that feature unique titles, descriptions, and artwork. Apple Podcasts Subscriptions will be available in over 170 countries in May.
With iOS 14.5, the Podcasts app is gaining a major redesign with an enhanced Search tab and updated pages for shows and episodes. There's also a new Smart Play button that lets users automatically start the latest episode from episodic shows. Additionally, users can download individual episodes for offline playback, making podcast listening more accessible.
Apple also unveiled a new Apple Podcasts for Creators website that is designed to help creators learn more about podcasting. Creators can also now access an updated Apple Podcasts Connect dashboard that has new features to make it easier to manage shows on Apple Podcasts, and creators can use the site to enroll in the Apple Podcasters Program to access the tools needed to build and distribute premium subscriptions on Apple Podcasts.
This story was part of our live coverage of Apple's ongoing "Spring Loaded" event today. Read our live blog for a recap of other announcements.
Ahhhh crap... so they will put an add engine into their podcast app, and you’ll need a subscription to disable it? I really hate how everything is about making more and more money now.
Ahhhh crap... so they will put an add engine into their podcast app, and you’ll need a subscription to disable it? I really hate how everything is about making more and more money now.
I’m assuming ad-free listening means ad-free versions of podcasts that usually have, as the industry puts it, “content native ads” (ie sponsor breaks hard encoded in the podcast). The idea is something like Patreon or Twitch (or like Apple News+), where, by subscribing to the service and subscribing to a participating podcast, Apple pays the podcasters. Like with Patreon, a podcast could also set up special episodes for supporters or early access, as well.
In other words, Patreon, except with Apple billing.
Edit: Not a bad thing, one fewer account to manage. I forgot my wallet back home the other day and thought I might have been pickpocketed. So I replaced my card right away, just in case. It’s been a slog changing everywhere important that I used the old card at.
Podcast exclusivity is even worse. I hate the move to having ads everywhere. Both within the app itself and during the podcast itself. But I have no issue with supporting my podcast creators by listening to ads during the podcast as long as it doesn't get out of hand and the volume level of the ads aren't completely out of sync. On the other hand, exclusivity makes podcasting that has always been a free and open market being funnelled into specific apps is just terrible.
I don't want to use Spotify for listening to podcasts. Funnelling "premium" podcasts into Spotify and Spotify only creates fragmentation, and I won't be shuffling several apps to keep on top of my podcasts. And a lot of these apps have their strength and weakness. I love to have the freedom to choose whatever app provides me with the best experience and have all my podcasts playable within that app. If I cannot play a podcast using Castro, my current preferred podcast app, I will ignore those podcasts.
If Apple becomes more serious with this "premium" trend in the podcasting world, they need to put much more effort into the podcast app. It's just terrible for managing, sorting, and prioritising podcasts. It still lacks basic features like smart play / shorten silence and volume normalisation that you get from great third-party podcasting apps like Castro Pocket Cast and Overcast.
The worst part with using Apple's podcast app is how it doesn't stay in sync between my M1 Mac mini and my iPhone 12 Pro Max. I did my best to get some kind of prioritising going within the app. As the utilities to do so is so limited, I just had to move my podcast around, so my most prioritised ones are at the top. But as soon as I got this completed on my phone, it was still not sorted the same way in the podcast app on my Mac. And If I tried to make changes on my Mac, it would reset the sorting on my iPhone. Come on now, Apple, how hard could this be?
Spotify has announced the availability of podcast timestamp sharing, a new feature of its mobile app that lets users share podcasts beginning at a particular moment.
Previously, it was only possible to share a podcast link to an entire episode on Spotify. Timestamp sharing means the shared podcast will play for the recipient from the time that the sender chooses, allowing them to highlight...
Apple has announced a new affiliate program for its upcoming Apple Podcasts Subscriptions platform that will allow users to earn a commission when a podcast link they share leads to a new subscriber.
Launching this month, Apple Podcast Subscriptions will allow users to subscribe to podcasts to receive perks, such as an ad-free listening experience, early access to episodes, and exclusive...
Tuesday April 20, 2021 12:59 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today announced a new podcasts subscription feature that's coming to the Podcasts app. Podcast subscriptions will let podcast publishers sell subscriptions to an individual show or a group of shows, with pricing starting at 49 cents per month.
Publishers will be able to set their own pricing, but according to Recode, Apple plans to take a cut. Apple will collect 30 percent of...
As was rumored last week, Spotify today announced a new paid subscription platform for podcasts. The service will begin rolling out in the United States today and then expand internationally in the coming months (via Variety). The announcement comes exactly one week after Apple announced its own Apple Podcasts subscription platform at the "Spring Loaded" event.
The new Spotify feature...
Amazon's podcast subscription service Wondery+ will be available through the Apple Podcasts Subscriptions platform, which launches in over 170 countries later this month, according to a report today from The Hollywood Reporter.
Wondery+ offers dozens of ad-free podcasts, with early access and exclusive episodes for subscribers, making it a natural fit for Apple Podcasts Subscriptions. The...
Tuesday January 19, 2021 9:15 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today announced the launch of Apple Podcasts Spotlight, a new monthly editorial feature that's designed to celebrate rising podcast creators.
The first Podcasts Spotlight creator is Chelsea Devantez, who hosts Celebrity Book Club. In the weekly podcast, Chelsea is joined by co-hosts like Gabourey Sidibe, Ashley Nicole Black, and Lydia Popovic to discuss the memoirs of celebrities like...
Apple is widely believed to be preparing to launch a new podcasts subscription service, according to a variety of reports.
Apple already has a popular Podcasts app and maintains a podcast distribution service on its Mac and iOS platforms, but the company has attempted to monetize it to date. By creating a paid podcasting service, Apple could potentially lure podcast creators with the...
Apple has signed a deal for a podcast focusing on pop culture icons Siegfried & Roy, reports Deadline. This will be one of Apple's first exclusive, original podcast offerings.
The Siegfried & Roy podcast will be exclusive to the Apple Podcasts app, and it comes as Apple is making a push into original podcast content. Apple recently announced plans to allow podcasters to collect subscription...
In spite of redesigning its Podcasts app with iOS 14.5, long-standing bugs within the app persist, and hundreds of reports from users across Twitter and Reddit are complaining about a range of new usability problems.
Apple's iOS 14.5 update, accompanied by iPadOS 14.5 and macOS Big Sur 11.3 brought a major overhaul of the Podcasts app, including a new design, a re-thought system of...
Monday November 16, 2020 10:57 am PST by Juli Clover
Starting today, Apple is making an Apple Podcasts web player that can be embedded on webpages available to everyone through the Apple Podcasts Marketing Tools website or through Apple Podcasts Preview pages. What the Apple Podcasts webpage embed looks like As TechCrunch points out, this tool will let creators, marketers, and podcast fans create embed codes for any of the podcasts that are...
Top Rated Comments
I really hate how everything is about making more and more money now.
Edit: Not a bad thing, one fewer account to manage. I forgot my wallet back home the other day and thought I might have been pickpocketed. So I replaced my card right away, just in case. It’s been a slog changing everywhere important that I used the old card at.
I don't want to use Spotify for listening to podcasts. Funnelling "premium" podcasts into Spotify and Spotify only creates fragmentation, and I won't be shuffling several apps to keep on top of my podcasts. And a lot of these apps have their strength and weakness. I love to have the freedom to choose whatever app provides me with the best experience and have all my podcasts playable within that app. If I cannot play a podcast using Castro, my current preferred podcast app, I will ignore those podcasts.
If Apple becomes more serious with this "premium" trend in the podcasting world, they need to put much more effort into the podcast app. It's just terrible for managing, sorting, and prioritising podcasts. It still lacks basic features like smart play / shorten silence and volume normalisation that you get from great third-party podcasting apps like Castro Pocket Cast and Overcast.
The worst part with using Apple's podcast app is how it doesn't stay in sync between my M1 Mac mini and my iPhone 12 Pro Max. I did my best to get some kind of prioritising going within the app. As the utilities to do so is so limited, I just had to move my podcast around, so my most prioritised ones are at the top. But as soon as I got this completed on my phone, it was still not sorted the same way in the podcast app on my Mac. And If I tried to make changes on my Mac, it would reset the sorting on my iPhone. Come on now, Apple, how hard could this be?