Uncovering the Apple Podcast Mystery
By Tom Seest
How Is Apple Podcast Free?
At PodcastBig, we help new podcasters develop strategies to create content, traffic, and revenue from podcasts based on our experiences and experimentation.
Apple pioneered podcasting, yet never made money off it until now. But that is about to change with their launch of a subscription feature for Apple Podcasts.
Podcast creators can offer subscribers various benefits with subscription, such as ad-free listening and early access to episodes. Subscribers also have the option of sharing their subscription among family members.
How Is Apple Podcast Free?
Table Of Contents
What Makes Apple Podcast Subscriptions Unique?
Subscriptions allow podcast listeners to show their appreciation of shows they enjoy listening to by paying a subscription fee on an ongoing basis. In return, listeners gain exclusive episodes or ad-free versions of the show and can help podcasters grow their audiences by attracting new listeners. Podcasters have control over setting subscription prices, offering free trials and controlling how many subscribers they have at any given time.
To offer subscriptions through Apple Podcast Connect, podcasters need to create an account and add their RSS feed URL as well as artwork that meets Apple specifications. Once these steps have been taken, their podcast is ready for submission – Apple Podcasts will validate and display a preview so podcasters can make sure the content is formatted correctly before submission.
Once a podcast has been produced, it should be added to a channel. Producers of each show or networked shows can create their own channel; otherwise, they may use the master feed of all shows produced. Channels serve as bundles of content. Subscribers can select which shows to include by either tapping the “Subscribe” button or searching episodes using search. Some shows also provide free trials lasting three to seven days.
Apple will review each submission that is added to their directory before accepting them for store consideration, usually taking 24-48 hours (more during weekends and holidays) before it appears in search results and can be subscribed directly from within their app.
Apple will remove dynamically inserted ads from ad-supported episodes when offering them as paid subscriptions and display them as part of a bundle. If creators wish to continue monetizing through ads, other platforms such as Patreon or Podbean Ads Marketplace can still be used; alternatively they could employ other approaches, including sponsorship and affiliate marketing to monetize their podcast.
What Makes Apple Podcast Subscriptions Unique?
What Makes Offline Listening So Convenient?
Apple Podcasts allows for automatic offline listening by automatically downloading episodes for offline listening. Once an episode becomes available, you’ll be alerted and can choose either WiFi or your cellular data connection for its download. If you listen to multiple podcasts at once, Apple Podcasts will try downloading as many episodes as possible so as not to run out of space on your device. Furthermore, AirPlay support enables playback through speakers or headphones of whatever podcasts are currently being listened to by Apple Podcasts users.
If you want to download an entire episode, tap on the ellipsis button next to its name, and choose “Download Episode.” Your podcast will then be added to the Listen Now queue, and when next connected to WiFi it will begin downloading automatically – marking itself complete once fully downloaded.
Downloading podcasts for offline listening does have its drawbacks, however. First of all, downloading lots of episodes could consume your device’s storage. Thankfully, you can easily track how much storage the app uses within its settings and delete episodes once they’ve played out.
Apple podcasts are free for listeners to download and listen to, though certain creators offer paid subscriptions. You’ll know an episode has subscription option when its title contains the word ‘subscription. Apple takes 30% of any revenue generated through subscriptions – as with apps and streaming services in general.
If you want to maximize the Apple Podcasts app, there are a variety of third-party applications that can provide additional features. Some allow for silence removal while others let you view listening statistics; there are even apps that let you create playlists of episodes you wish to listen to later on.
Handoff is another fantastic feature, enabling you to start tasks on one device and finish them on another – for instance listening to podcasts on an iPhone before continuing them on an iPad as long as they both run the same version of iOS and are signed in using your Apple ID.
What Makes Offline Listening So Convenient?
What Makes Apple Podcasts Stand Out?
Your iPhone already comes preloaded with a podcast app, making it an excellent place to begin your quest for something easy and straightforward. Free from ads, it allows you to follow shows to stay abreast of new episodes as they arrive; and provides offline listening or push notification support for individual shows if desired. Plus, it will download episodes automatically so you can save them for later, though remember that this may eat up your storage capacity quickly!
Apple recently unveiled enhancements to their podcast app that are designed to optimize both creator and listener experiences. These updates include redesigning the Now Playing screen so your show page art or episode chapter image takes up the full space, as well as supporting higher audio bitrates for an enhanced listening experience for listeners.
Apple has recently updated the search tab to make it easier for listeners to find amazing shows. They have introduced nine additional subcategories which now appear next to the search field on iPhone, iPad and macOS and make it simple for listeners to find comedy, society & culture and sports shows easily. In addition, the company introduced “Podcasts by Language”, helping listeners discover programs in their own native tongue.
Subscribed podcasts now allow for ad-free listening and exclusive content, giving listeners access to premium programming without ads or interruption. The app will notify you if any podcast is eligible for subscription; simply tap its entry in your list to subscribe; all episodes or just recent ones can also be downloaded as needed.
Apple recently unveiled a Podcasts tab to make life simpler for podcast subscribers and creators. You’ll now have everything organized easily in one convenient spot, making it easier to discover shows you may have overlooked while also staying organized. Creators can utilize this new tab to share stats and chart data for their shows with their listeners.
What Makes Apple Podcasts Stand Out?
Searching for New Podcast Obsessions?
Apple’s Podcast App makes this process straightforward, enabling users to download episodes for offline listening on any of their devices – and manages both subscriptions and downloads at the same time.
The Podcasts settings menu (represented by a blue cog icon) offers users several customization features, including setting how often new episodes should automatically download each day or whether downloaded episodes should be deleted after 24 hours of non-play. Users may also enable or disable Remove Played Downloads as needed if old episodes take up storage space; keep Enable When Following enabled so auto-downloading of new episodes for shows they follow automatically occurs, and toggle Allow Over Cellular so podcasts will only download when connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data networks respectively.
Users can view how many episodes have been downloaded to their device by selecting Library and selecting a show. If a show with numerous episodes has been downloaded over an extended period of time, it may take longer for its app to load upon opening since all downloaded episodes will need to be rebuilt in the background and refreshed to keep them fresh and maintain an optimal viewing experience for users.
An iPod touch or iPhone as well as the Apple Watch (though without its own dedicated Podcasts app) all offer identical options when setting up their devices with a backup, with their Library, playlists, episodes downloaded through iCloud and subscriptions being transferred over to their new devices automatically when switching devices. When switching, however, the app should immediately offer to redownload everything again from iCloud including playlists, subscriptions and episodes downloaded before leaving one device for another one – providing seamless audio content streaming wherever you may go!
Whoever wishes to support their favorite podcasters by receiving additional content like bonus episodes and ad-free listening can subscribe for a fee. There are free channels as well as premium ones costing from USD 3.99 up. Subscribers also enjoy a 7-day free trial period before canceling at any time.
Searching for New Podcast Obsessions?
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