this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2024
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Technology
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It seems they are about to have their bubble burst. It's probably the next wave of enshittification.
Somehow I think Podcasts will survive enshittification. The basis is just RSS and file hosting, so at its core, it's possible to create and distribute podcasts without huge capital investment. There's always gonna be some people trying to get their voices out and Podcasts still seems to be the easiest way to do that so until some better method comes out, podcasts will live on.
If you're talking about Podcast networks, streaming services, ad networks, then yeah, those might face some kind of enshittification and destruction, but no matter what, I'm pretty confident some good podcasts, and some good ways to listen to them, will stick around.
Despite Spotify’s best efforts 🥲
Thankfully Spotify's podcast platform still supplies RSS for most podcasts. The only exclusive podcast I listen to got so much backlash they had to make it non exclusive again
Which was that? Afaik heaveyweight still has one season exclusive to the platform
It's a podcast called Parenting Hell
So good. I love British panel shows and I'm a parent of young kids. It's one of my most-listened-to podcasts in the last 4 years.
Didn't realize it ever went Spotify exclusive. That must have been between my binge sessions; I've only listened (on Podcast Addict) to a small fraction of what my wife listens to (on Spotify).
Truth. I was genuinely angry seeing how Spotify kept trying to buy up everything podcast related. Felt like I was screaming into the void about how platform exclusive podcasts are antithetical to the free and open nature of podcasts. I hope their billions of dollars invested into podcasts continue to bite them in the butts.
Spotify is actively and aggressively trying to be the ones to break podcasts by having their spotify exclusives.
Even things like Patreon bonus episodes aren't a problem -- they still are sent out via RSS. Still use the interoperable standard. You can even share the URL with people you know, if you feel like it.
The bad actors creating true app-exclusive content need to be called out, shamed, and stopped. Even if it is NPR.
I'm more just talking about how the COOOL NEW THING attracts a lot of attention. Then an ungodly amount of investor money. And then dies. I don't like podcasts and I don't know a whole lot about their distribution, but the fact that they get funded like super bowl ads definitely means another shoe is about to drop.