Re:Spotify’s podcast plan went off the rails
by voisin on Thursday June 22, 2023 @08:06AM
(#36430870)
> people like me said “huh this is exclusive to a service I’m not paying for, I guess I’ll just listen to one of the million shows in my queue instead.”
This is what happened back in the day with Howard Stern too. His reach and cultural importance shrank, just like Joe Rogans now, as soon as he took the cash went behind a paywall.
They bought into something they fundamentally didn’t understand (not implying I do, it just seems they didn’t).
Podcasts are radio for the modern era, and radio has never been a hugely profitable business. When it is, it makes money on ads, full stop. Subs don’t make up for ad revenue.
They made some shows exclusive in a medium overflowing with content, so people like me said “huh this is exclusive to a service I’m not paying for, I guess I’ll just listen to one of the million shows in my queue instead.”
Good for Gimlet for getting while the getting was good.