Some of the biggest podcasts on the planet have been, for various reasons, pushing back on an attempt at “disrupting” their industry. The attempt, carried out by Luminary, is designed to exploit the wide reach and appeal of podcasting, that is built on open standards, only to lock the service behind a subscription model.
Luminary – who recently raised $100 million in venture funding to develop their paid audio service -have now launched their app for Android and iOS. But those unwilling to play by the new rules include Joe Rogan, the New York Times’ The Daily, and several Spotify shows.
Joe Rogan’s massively popular podcast has decided against participating in the Luminary platform, citing licensing issues – namely, Luminary reportedly failed to seek permission or license to carry the show, prompting the negative reaction.
Surely not a minor blow to the nascent service, as the Joe Rogan Experience is an industry powerhouse that consistently ranks in Apple’s top 20 list – one that has been described by Slate as “an essential platform for ‘freethinkers’ who hate the left”.”
The Joe Rogan show has also decided to stay out Spotify – who have made their own bid at “disrupting” and cordoning off their piece of the booming podcast market by acquiring the Gimlet Media studio and the hosting platform Anchor – also flying in the face of the medium’s existing standards.
However, Hot Pod News argues that the actual reasons behind the biggest shows pulling out of Luminary’s service doesn’t have to do with supporting the industry’s basics such as openness, and much more with issues such as licensing and intellectual property – ultimately, it’s shaping up to be a turf war to better monetize.
Meanwhile, Luminary is off to a rocky start, with a number of other shows pulling out as well – effectively disrupting the reported premise of its business model that seeks to lure subscribers in with original and exclusive shows, to then lock the content behind a paywall. And that my prove difficult with the most attractive podcasts giving the new platform a snub.
