The latest endeavor of the tech giant Apple is an exclusive podcast service that will compete against brands like Stitcher and Spotify, as well as independent podcasters and make Apple a publisher on the Podcasts platform for the first time.
Recently, Apple’s executives contacted media companies to talk about possibly buying rights to audio content and podcasts.
According to reports from anonymous people from the industry interviewed by Bloomberg, Apple offered something it had never done before.
Note that Apple is still the biggest name in the world of podcasting. However, it was never its main priority – instead allowing independent podcasters to thrive. Now, the corporation seems to be determined to increase its market share and make some content exclusive to their platforms.
Apple wants to increase the number of creators and upgrade its audio service. With even more exclusive content, Apple may get close to the title of a monopoly as it capitalizes on ending the open standards of podcasting that it had championed for so long.
Apple already made some changes to the platform by releasing a fairly well-received Podcast Analytics tool as well as apps for Macs and even an online browser version. Many podcast makers believe that there is no way to the top of the industry without being featured on Apple’s platforms and are worried that if Apple starts competing with them, Apple would have an unfair advantage.
It looks as if Apple is focusing more and more on creating media content and making it exclusive to their platform. Apple TV+ is a great example as it makes it clear that Apple wants to be a publisher.
While video content is an industry with some tough competition, the podcast business is a little bit less crowded. Spotify is the only real competitor, and it seems that Spotify is ready to fight. It invested over $400 million recently to buy some podcast companies.
Podcasts are a rapidly growing industry. With over 65% sales increase over three years, the market looks very promising. Apple is making its moves to get its piece of the pie.
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