I was having an exchange with abrahamKim about the Joe Rogan/Spotify/Neil Young controversy. I have maintained that the Golden Age of Podcasts is slowly ending. What's been great about podcasts is they have been free and you can get them "wherever you get your podcasts." We tolerate ads (just skip through actually) because the podcasts are free.
This is the deal that's been in place for a long time. If you are getting something for free, then you have to tolerate ads. Terrestrial radio is a classic example. If you are paying for a premium service, there should be no ads. I have HBO Max and Showtime. Other than previews for other shows, there are no ads. That's the way it should be.
I find magazines to be a curious exception. You pay for the magazine AND you have to flip through 25% or more of pages with ads. Why is that? And why are there no ads in books?
The trend is now moving toward paywalls or exclusive rights to podcasts. Look no further than Joe Rogan's blockbuster deal with Spotify. Once he went to Spotify, that was the end of him for me since I have Apple Music. Sam Harris is another example.
Now, I'm not a cheapo. I'll pay for content if I think it's worth it. At least there are still so many podcasts out there that if a few go paid-only, I'll still have plenty to listen to.
I like to think of the end to the
golden age
of
podcasts
from a slightly different angle. It's fully from my perspective as a listener of podcasts.
There was once a time when I looked forward to listening to podcasts all day. Whether i was driving or walking or even working! I thought I needed to have a podcast on!
This was the time when i was crazy about
Tom Bilyeu
's impact theory, which is still a very good interview show, but these days I just don't feel that same craving for podcasts I once did. Sometimes I'm just more interested in what I'm doing -- whether it be work or walking or etc -- that I'd rather not listen to other people chit chatting... although the content might be good.
I still listen to podcasts but it's just not a thing that I have as a my regular routine. I see the end of the golden age as the populace shifting like so.
Good ol' Tom. I wonder if he is still being legendary. In terms of preferences, I prefer podcasts to audiobooks almost exclusively. A conversation is much more interesting than dry narration of a book. Podcasts replaced music for me. I do understand how preferences change. One that I noticed recently for me is watching movies. Rather than sit through a two-hour movie, I'd rather watch an episode or two of a series.
abrahamKim
There was once a time when I looked forward to listening to podcasts all day. Whether i was driving or walking or even working! I thought I needed to have a podcast on!
This was the time when i was crazy about
I still listen to podcasts but it's just not a thing that I have as a my regular routine. I see the end of the golden age as the populace shifting like so.