Apple Podcasts

I am very particular about podcasts, podcast apps, how to subscribe, and generally anything related to the podcast industry. I change my podcast app of choice on almost a weekly basis. I am passionate about all things podcasts. One trend that I’ve seen in 2020 is a move to premium podcasts for additional content. I subscribe to the premium version of ATP, Cortex, and many others. I love supporting my favorite shows to get additional content. For the past few weeks, I’ve spent some time with Wondery Plus. I’ve been a fan of many Wondery shows for quite a while, so I wanted to see what else they had to offer.
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Apple today unveiled a new version of its Podcast app that is coming with iOS 14 and macOS 11. The company is now focusing on offering curated suggestions that lets users discover new podcasts more easily.

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Apple Podcasts is one of the premier places to find, subscribe, and listen to podcasts. It’s not a perfect app, though. In my quest to find the perfect podcast app (it doesn’t exist), I’ve realized that there are a handful of features from third-party podcast apps that Apple should copy for Apple Podcasts. What new features of Apple Podcasts should be copied from existing third-party podcast apps? As we look ahead to WWDC 2020, we already have some advanced information on what’s coming to Apple Podcasts, but here are my ideas for the future.
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Listening to podcasts is on par with TV, movies, and books in my life. I probably spend more time listening to podcasts than watching TV in a given week. I love podcasts because I can enjoy them while cooking, cleaning, commuting, etc. My wife and I subscribe to several Patreon’s for various podcasts we listen to each week. Still, it can often be a clunky process in finding the link, figuring out which tier we want, and getting the bonus content (audio files, etc.). I believe it’s time for Apple to allow podcast donations right inside of Apple Podcasts with options to get bonus content. Especially as the ‘Podcast Wars’ heat up between Apple and Spotify, Apple needs to evolve its platform.

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Following Spotify’s acquisition of The Joe Rogan Experience earlier this week, a new report from Bloomberg today details Apple’s own plans to ramp up its focus on podcasts. The report explains that part of Apple’s goal is to help promote its Apple TV+ service.

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Joe Rogan has announced today that his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience will become a Spotify exclusive starting later this year. The show is currently available on a variety of platforms, with full video versions posted to YouTube. As of today, it sits in second place on the Apple Podcasts charts.

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QCODE Media has quickly become the HBO of podcast creators for me. I await their new shows with much anticipation. Over the weekend, I got one of my favorite emails: a new show is coming. Today, episode one of the Left Right Game is now available.
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Apple has built up some notable momentum with Apple TV+ in the few short months since the launch of the service, even bringing home some awards. Now a new report from Bloomberg says that the company may use original podcasts to create companion content for Apple TV+ shows and movies.

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The decade has come and gone, and if there is one thing that was a massive change for me over the past decade, it was how much time I spent listening to podcasts. I change podcast apps like I change my socks. I subscribe to new shows like other people read magazine articles. As we close out the decade, I wanted to take a look at my favorite shows from 2010 to now. During that time, I’ve seen my friends start new shows, friends start new companies, and have seen major media companies open their eyes to the opportunities that exist in the space. If I don’t list links to subscribe, it means the show is retired.

So let’s get to it. Here are my favorite shows from the 2010s. I’ve left out all 9to5 shows on purpose, but I highly recommend our entire network. My list is mostly tech/Apple focused, but I’d love to hear your favorite shows in the comments.
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Podcasts have officially been around since 2003, but in the past few years, the medium has gone mainstream. It seems like every hit TV show has a podcast to go along with it. Topics that used to be niche can now have a global following. Regardless if a show is done by a mainstream media company or a one-person operation, anyone can have a podcast. There has been a lot of talk about Apple investing in original podcast content. Still, I think there is another way Apple could invest in the podcast industry: Building out the tools to enable business customers to use Apple Podcasts as a corporate training tool.
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Apple has partnered with Amazon to launch support for Apple Podcasts on Amazon Echo devices. Starting today, Echo owners in the United States can ask Alexa to play any of the 800,000 shows in the Apple Podcasts directory.

To set up the integration, Echo customers must first link their Apple ID in the Alexa app. As well as asking Alexa to play a specific show, playback progress will automatically sync with all of your Apple Podcasts app across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac.

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We have received several reports that users are experiencing repeated crashes when using the Apple Podcasts app on their iPhone today. During playback of shows, the app is inexplicably crashing as frequently as once every two minutes in what appears to be some kind of bug relating to how the Podcasts app syncs progress between devices.

The issue seems to have been caused by some kind of server-side change on Apple’s part, as the crashes have only become prolific recently, weeks after Apple’s latest software update, iOS 13.2.3, was released.

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Spotify has been working with podcasts for a number of years now, and they have been investing more and more in this area that Apple used to dominate. Spotify has spent millions of dollars to acquire original content and also improve their platform for users and creators.

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A few months ago, I wrote about The Athletic, and I thought it would make a great acquisition target for Apple. When I originally wrote that article, I mentioned that the Athletic had recently launched a podcast section, but they were only available inside of their app and not dedicated podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, Overcast, or Pocket Casts. In recent weeks, they’ve reversed that stance and started submitting their shows to Apple Podcasts and Spotify, but only including some of the episodes as a free download.
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