Will People Pay for Your Podcasts?

Last week’s announcement about Apple Podcasts subscriptions has everyone in the industry talking. Let’s break down what’s happening and answer some questions about what it means for listeners.

Who is subscription podcasting for?

There is one essential factor driving creator interest in podcast subscriptions, and it is not their audience. It’s revenue. Hang on to that idea for a moment — Apple’s podcast subscription announcement has little to do with pleasing an audience. After all, listeners are already getting terrific content for free. The motivation is purely on the side of the creator.

Just about every article and post I have seen since Apple’s announcement talks about the virtue of giving the creator money. The truth is many producers cannot easily monetize their shows. As a result, some will perish, and others will have to augment their income to survive.

At first look, Apple’s subscription initiative seems to favor podcasters who haven’t aggregated enough audience to make an ad model work but are still trying to hang in there.

This new revenue could be a lifeline for many of them. Think of it this way: a podcaster with 2,000 listeners willing to subscribe for $5 per month would gross $120,000. For each subscriber’s first year, the creator will give 30%…