Podcasting has exploded in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic, with an estimated 116 million Americans now counting themselves as monthly podcast listeners—an 11% increase over 2020—according to Edison Research and Triton Digital. Apple and Spotify are shaping up to be the dominant players in an all-out war for your ears. From The Wall Street Journal..Here’s how:
Key Takeaways
1. Apple announced forthcoming paid podcast subscriptions.
Next month, Apple will roll out a feature that will let podcasters pay the company $19.99 a year to enable subscriptions to their shows, and set their own prices for listeners. Some of the company’s strategy will depend on exclusivity: Its TV studio has already released original podcasts like “The Line” and “For All Mankind,” and Apple is in talks with podcasters about creating original and exclusive shows for the new service, according to people familiar with the matter. “Even though they have the keys to the kingdom in terms of overall customer base and the App Store and broader content,” said Daniel Ives, an analyst for Wedbush Securities, “what’s going to differentiate them is not just aggregation, it’s exclusive content.”
2. Spotify made early moves that Apple is trying to catch up to.
Spotify, which moved into podcasting years ago, has taken lots of steps to edge out Apple, which previously had a stranglehold on podcasts via iTunes but was slow to monetize them. (The “pod” in podcasting is taken from the iPod.) Spotify has made exclusive deals, too, snatching up well-known podcast producers like Gimlet Media and Bill Simmons’ the Ringer, as well as recent deals with Michelle and Barack Obama. It also acquired services that make podcast production easier, such as Anchor. Next, it will add one more feature to compete directly with Apple: Its own subscription service will be completely free to podcasters.
3. Their rivalry has played out in other ways, too.
Spotify’s podcast listenership in the U.S. is on track to overtake Apple’s this year, according to research from eMarketer. But the companies’ broader rivalry has intensified. Spotify is beating out Apple for music subscribers—155 million globally, compared to Apple’s 60 million, as it reported in June 2019—and Spotify has openly criticized the company, claiming that it uses its ownership of the App Store to compete unfairly, which Apple denies.
4. Subscription podcasting has come with varying success.
Apple and Spotify are likely to make paying for podcast content more mainstream than it’s ever been. Other notable podcast platforms have launched subscriptions to mixed reception, including Stitcher (acquired by SiriusXM), Wondery (acquired by Amazon ), Patreon and Pocket Casts. Luminary, thought to be the most established player in subscriptions, will make its original podcasts available to Apple podcast listeners through the new program.
Read the original article by Anne Steele here.
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