△ MENU/TOP △

Holtz Communications + Technology

Shel Holtz
Communicating at the Intersection of Business and Technology
SearchClose Icon

iTunes to accommodate podcasts

Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, announced at the Wall Street Journal’s “D3: All Things Digital” conference in San Diego that the next iteration of Apple’s iTunes software will accommodate podcasts. The new software is due in about 60 days.

Frank Barnako’s Internet Daily quotes Mena Trott, co-founder of Six Apart Inc: “Current plans call for podcasts to be free downloads. Users will submit their podcasts and Apple will be hand picking the content it makes available to iTunes users.” Barnako notes that Jobs’ remarks followed a meeting with podcasting evangelist Adam Curry.

No changes to the iPod itself were announced, such as wireless capabilities. At least it’s a first step and an acknowledgement by Apple that podcasting is worth some attention. Still, the approach contradicts the open nature of podcasting and will force most listeners to continue accessing podcasts the way they currently do, since the podcasts they listen to may not be available through Apple’s screening process.

05/23/05 | 6 Comments | iTunes to accommodate podcasts

Comments

  • 1.Why don't they just allow users to put their feed urls into iTunes ala iPodder and be done with it? I love Apple's products but they seem to make things difficult when they see a threat on the horizon when it would be so much easier to welcome this technology with open arms.

    Mike Bellina | May 2005 | New Jersey

  • 2.Precisely. You have to wonder what kinds of podcasts they'll filter out of the mix. Those with objectionable content, like Dawn & Drew? Those that don't agree with Apple's positions on issues? I'm glad to see the progress, but I'm not happy with the restrictive approach.

    Shel Holtz | May 2005 | Concord, CA

  • 3.After 15 seconds thought, I have a slightly different take. Apple is playing an editorial function much like Todd Cochrane is doing with his new venture (the framework around the GeekNews podcast).

    On the Mac platform, apple has RSS covered through Safari RSS (the best browser RSS I have experienced) and can just route enclosures to iTunes anyway. Personally, I prefer that method and dropped iPodderX when I discovered I good do podcasts through my normal RSS client.

    I think it would take a lot of work for Apple to allow user contributions and maintain the focus of their store. Look at how other social services such as Orkut and Flickr have suddenly found themselves being partially taken over by groups (Orkut by Brazil and Flickr with a large walled off UAE community).

    Bud Gibson | May 2005 | Ann Arbor, MI

  • 4.I see your point, Bud. However, I think there's a difference between Safari and iTunes. To use Safari as my aggregator, my computer still has to take the extra step of migrating the MP3 file into iTunes (at least, that's the case for me, since I use iTunes as my media player). If Apple is going to position iTunes as the podcatcher, the podcast aggregator, I should be able to get any of the 6,000-plus podcasts available.

    Todd Cochrane's "Tech Podcasters Network" is a profit venture, by the way. He's not only looking for people to notify him of their podcasts but to "join" the network, with various commitments associated with that membership.

    Shel Holtz | May 2005 | Concord, CA

  • 5.Listening to today's podcast, it strikes me that one issue here is preferential access (also the idea in your last response to my comment). I agree on that point. Being directly in iTunes is probably an advantage.

    Will this kind of centralized model work? Look at music sharing. Apple has hardly made a dent in that decentralized activity. Also, we keep on hearing about the downfall of mainstream media.

    People seem willing to go to great lengths to find content. Will word of mouth beat centralized distribution? That seems to be the question of our time.

    Bud Gibson | May 2005 | Ann Arbor, MI

  • 6.We could be missing some information about Apple's motives behind this. My guess is that they have some alterior motive. Apple seems to me to be a very planned, systematic company under Steve Jobs that tends to do things at their own pace.

    The only time I've seen Apple move quickly is when their reputation is at stake. For example, a needed software patch or bug that has caught the attention of mainstream media.

    This could be the first move in a larger chess match.

    Mike Bellina | May 2005 | New Jersey

Comment Form

« Back