Apple’s new podcast subscription model is the company trying to take back what it once created

You know what the wiki definition of a ‘podcast’ is? It is a portmanteau of the words ‘iPod’ and ‘broadcast’ and was first coined by journalist Ben Hammersley when he wrote an article for The Guardian. Interesting, isn’t it? What is also interesting is that the company whose product is in the combination of words no longer serves as the de-facto platform for it. That is because Apple never monetised it till now.

Over time, ‘Podcasts’ evolved outside of Apple’s domain and became a popular source of entertainment for people on the go. At its core, a podcast is an episodic series of spoken word audio on a topic. These topics can range from scientific research to entertainment and even journalism. They can be as simple as one person speaking into a mic and as complex as a carefully created and scripted work of entertainment.

Apple first introduced podcasts to the masses through the iTunes store as free audio files that could be downloaded and listened to on the move using the iPod. Since rivals such as Spotify have muscled into Apple’s territory by offering their alternatives and generating revenue through subscription models. That is about to change.

Apple has now formally announced its intention of jumping back headfirst into the subscription market. It will now finally start monetizing and collecting a cut of revenue generated through subscriptions on its podcasts app.

What is Apple’s subscription model?

The new subscription model will allow Podcast creators to enroll in the Apple Podcasters Program for $20 a year. In exchange, Apple will allow them to monetise their content setting the price from 49 cents and up. Apple will then take a 30 percent cut from the revenue generated for the first year and then 15 percent after that.

Apple will also revamp its podcasts app, making it easier for people to find podcasts they like by dividing them into dedicated channels. For example – one of these channels from Luminary will have 35 original podcast series and will charge users $5.99 a month to access them.

Apple’s competitors like Spotify have an early lead here, it had 2.2 million podcast channels in December 2020. Some of these were tailored to Indian audiences as well like the cricket focused 22 yarns or a fiction thriller narrated by Mantra.

They also revealed a plan for subscription models soon and have been slowly testing the waters with surveys and background tests. For now, they seem to have settled on a model that charges users between $3 to $8 a month with cheapest plan including access to interviews and episodes but with ads. Spotify even purchased Anchor (a service that let’s users make podcasts) to strengthen its offerings.