Many podcasters are unhappy with the services provided by Apple, which could be a good sign for competitors.
Podcasting involves radio-style shows that are made for the Internet users. Podcasts have been in existence for over a decade, but their popularity has increased in the last few years.
Podcasters are frustrated that Apple does not seem to care about podcasting even though the company has a major share in the podcast business. However, the company does not make money directly from podcasts.
Some podcasters claim that Apple is not fast enough in responding to the growing demand of podcasts and it is still taking the service as a free feature that is assisting hardware sales.
A New York Times report reveals that podcasters are unhappy with Apple as promotion channels within Apple's ecosystem are limited. iTunes restricts revenue for Apple as well as podcasters as it does not offer paid subscriptions or downloads.
The situation may benefit Apple's rivals such as Spotify and Google, who have been rolling out services for hosting and distributing podcasts. Many individual podcasters as well as podcast networks like NPR and Gimlet are creating their own distribution channels, which are generally standalone apps.
Todd Cochrane, the CEO of RawVoice (a podcasting tracking company), says that Apple's market share of podcast listenership has decreased from 70 percent to 65 percent. Cochrane adds this is due to an increase in listening to podcasts on Android. Amazon is also investing heavily in its audiobook service called Audible.
Laura Walker, the president and CEO of New York Public Radio, also says they are distributing content in different places. "Everything is growing," "2 Dope Queens" and "Freakonomics" are some of the podcasts offered by NY Public Radio.
Some podcasters complain that Apple offers very little information for better targeting the right listeners and helping to grow the audience base.
"I think everyone who's seriously involved in this space, they'd at least like to know what the endgame is. People think there's another shoe that's going to drop," said Chris Morrow, the CEO of the Loud Speakers Podcast Network.
Apple no longer has monopoly in the podcast business and will now have to address complaints regarding the services seriously, otherwise it may lose even more share in the near term.
Reports suggest that Apple is also working with some leading podcast professionals to understand the problems faced by them and find a solution to better a ddress the issue.
