“Podcasts were supposed to be a big deal several years ago, but that boom never happened. Now there’s at least anecdotal evidence that the format is actually picking up steam, as creators, listeners and advertisers warm to the format,” Peter Kafka reports for AllThingsD.
“So why have podcasts disappeared from the new version of iTunes that Apple started showing to developers this week?” Kafka reports. “Because Apple plans on giving the recordings their own bit of digital turf.”
Kafka reports, “People familiar with Apple’s plans tell me that when its new iOS 6 software becomes widely available this fall, podcasts will have their own app, where users will be able to discover, download and play them on mobile devices. Users who access iTunes via laptop and desktop machines will still find them in that version of iTunes, though.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lava_Head_UK” for the heads up.]
Phew! Don’t scare me like that. I can’t survive without my Tiësto’s Club Life!
Yeah I was a bit scared too. There are several Podcasts I listen to on a regular basis. With some podcasts having hundreds of thousands of listeners, it’s really smart for Apple to put a bit of effort behind making the experience even better.
That’s probably a good idea by Apple, to pare down iTunes a bit. Plus, a separate Podcast app like Newsstand/iBooks or individual Podcast apps would allow for more marketing focus to be placed on Podcasts.
iTunes isn’t being pared down. Podcasts will STILL be in iTunes, just as before. Podcasts are ALSO getting a separate app to provide users with a new access point. You neglected to read the final paragraph of the article above:
Kafka reports, “People familiar with Apple’s plans tell me that when its new iOS 6 software becomes widely available this fall, podcasts will have their own app, where users will be able to discover, download and play them on mobile devices. Users who access iTunes via laptop and desktop machines will still find them in that version of iTunes, though.”
Another brick in Apple’s production world
Hooray,
Another icon I probably won’t be able to delete!
Yeah, this is getting a little silly. How many new mandatory apps does that make? Oh well, this is why we have folders.
——RM
hopefully. Newsstand won’t go in a folder…
ummm… yes it does
No it doesn’t
If Apple is moving podcasts to their own app, then add Stitcher to the list of apps killed by iOS 6.
Would that iTunes on the iPad/Phone/Pod was not called the same thing as the desktop app. Headlines like that scare me.
I just checked. Podcasts are still there. I will believe this when I see it.
He’s talking about iOS 6.
Podcasts will STILL be in iTunes, just as before. Podcasts are ALSO getting a separate app to provide users with a new access point. You neglected to read the final paragraph of the article above:
Kafka reports, “People familiar with Apple’s plans tell me that when its new iOS 6 software becomes widely available this fall, podcasts will have their own app, where users will be able to discover, download and play them on mobile devices. Users who access iTunes via laptop and desktop machines will still find them in that version of iTunes, though.”
Podcasts are not “in the way.”
Leo Laporte sucks. Good move Apple!!!!!! Audio is kind boring. Video? Create your own app…. Do something more fun RSS is over… and iTunes is bloated.
To give you (all) some perspective; Leo Laporte was the A-hole who attempted to copyright the term “podcast” (undoubtedly to license use of it or at minimum control it (and derive profit indirectly))
Apple filed for fair use of the copyright (they invented and had already been using the term long before laporte filed a copyright.)
He screamed his chicken (Sh_t) head off, badmouthing apple and saying they were going to use the copyright to “corner” or own the “podcast space”. (funny how you always see your own bad intentions in others eh?)
Turns out all Apple was doing was making sure some a-hole didn’t try to make people pay to use the term. (thus foiling laporte’s dreams of world podcast domination ;-))
The guy has had a chip on his shoulder ever since and his best buddies (and collaborators) are the likes of Paul Thurrott (and other apple hating weenies of his ilk.)
I often think that “Macbreak weekly” should just change its name to “Panicking about Apple” and be done with it already.
Podcasts never took off?!?!?
There are hundreds of thousands of them on iTunes. Just about every radio program makes a podcast of it. Many, many bloggers and journalists make podcasts – video or audio-only. Podcasts are one of Apple’s many contributions to the digital age. This guy clearly doesn’t understand that.
Yeah, reading that was kind of a “blink in disbelief” moment. Podcasts never struggled to “take off”. What they needed to do was mature.
Podcasts followed a similar path as blogs did when they first appeared on the scene. First, everyone and his brother had a blog/podcast and they were all crap. Then the format matured as it became the domain of people who took it very seriously. Today, the most popular blogs are run professionally by people who update them every day. Similarly, podcasts have matured into a serious audio format dominated by serious podcasters who update every week.
——RM
Like the iTunes U App?
Exactly. This is no different than the iTunesU app. Or the iBooks app.
Much ado about nothing.
This columnist needs to understand the difference between iTunes the media player/organizer and iTunes the store. When I read the headlines, I nearly freaked out.
But nothing’s changing for me. I prefer to download my podcasts on my Mac and sync them.
——RM
For a boom that never happened, I sure seem to listen/watch more podcasts than watch tv or listen to the radio. My favorites are the Rachel Maddow Show and Savage Lovecast. Skeptical Inquirer and The Nerdist are pretty good, too.
Podcasts were supposed to be a big deal several years ago, but that boom never happened.
WRONG. Kafka must have been a cockroach at the time and missed it.
No big deal to me, I already use a seperate app.
It offers better functionality than what iTunes or the music app does.
Nice to see Apple addressing this.
Titillating headline that’s meant to piss off the readers. Congratulations! Mission accomplished. But not with Apple though.
I actively use iTunes to subscribe to a number of podcasts, which I then usually sync to my iPad. Apple has clearly been moving to “deprecate” the Radio function in iTunes, and the Podcast function in the iOS 5 where it became an obscure afterthought in the new “Music” app. So basically what they’re saying is that any “free” service they’ve been providing in recent years to hook you on their hardware is probably not long for this world.
Probably means that anything you don’t actively pay for in the current iTunes may be gone before too long. Sort of like minor, insignificant things like optical drives, Ethernet ports, FireWire ports, and mini DisplayPorts in the new MacBooks. Bye bye!
I was frustrated with getting podcasts in on my iPad 3. A bit of research brought me the
Downcast app. It’s brilliant. I bet Apple hired the downcast progammer to do I for him. . It even syncs with iCloud.
No need to wait for IOS 6
….Do it for THEM. not him.. iPad keyboard don’t ya know….
So how do I download my podcasts to my iPod Shuffle and or Nano if they’re not there in iTunes?
They’ll still be available in iTunes on the Mac OS platform (desktop, laptop) which is where you’d be doing your uploading — this is talking about changes on iOS6 when it comes out.
I think Apple is finally going to spin off all of it’s separate iTunes content into separate apps. I have said many times that renting a movie or buying an app from a store named iTunes just doesn’t make sense.
Why is iTunes bloated? Answer: To invades the Windows plataform and sell iPods, iPhones, Music, Movies… Now in a post PC world… there’s no room for Windows… and all will become iOS apps.