Unlocking the Potential of Fiction Podcasts: A Call to Podcast App Developers

The trouble with podcasts is that they are difficult to grow: while text can be shared and consumed quickly, a podcast requires a commitment (which again, is why advertising in them is so valuable).

Think about Spotify’s podcast business as an example. A few years ago, the streaming audio giant evolved from being only a music service to being one for other categories of audio, such as podcasts. Given the content and experience differences between music and podcasts, many hoped the company would launch a dedicated podcast listening app to offer... See more

So an episode of The Vergecast looked at the past, present, and future of podcasting, and host David Pierce (who was recording from his car ala the style of many early podcasters) talked to James Cridland about what a podcast even is and what on earth we should do about YouTube. I really liked James’ definition (“on demand audio-first content, some... See more

Will podcasts go away?

In a world where every podcast includes video, every platform supports video, and video-first shows are more engaging for users (and therefore more valuable for creators), it’s fair to wonder if people will stop making “podcasts” as we know them today. Today a podcast is an episode of audio content featuring people talking. T... See more

So, what does this mean? Even if there’s a podcast app that does a great job of surfacing a bunch of new, seemingly great stuff, I’m still likely to keep coming back to my favorite shows.