My last post in this series was in April 2024, so I have not touched this topic in a while (although I have been writing about podcasting and some issues with WordPress podcast feeds). However, in the November 2024 issue of New York magazine, an article called “How YouTube Ate Podcasting” appeared, which sounds ominous, so let’s check it out…
The pull-quotes seems to be that podcasting is moving from audio to video:
A lot has changed for podcasting in two decades, but one shift is both underrecognized and obvious: It’s not really an audio medium anymore….YouTube, typically known as the go-to platform for video content, has risen to the top as the most popular service used for podcast listening in the U.S….The trend is more pronounced among younger listeners, Edison says, citing research from earlier this year, which found that “84 percent of Gen Z monthly podcast listeners … listen to or watch podcasts with a video component.”
So – younger “podcast listeners” are “watching” more “podcasts” instead of “listening” to “podcasts”. I am using “podcasts” in quotes here, because the podcasts in question are YouTube videos. However, they are discoverable in podcast apps like PocketCasts, and there are tutorials for how to construct a RSS feed URL for a YouTube channel.
Maybe part of the problem is in the creation part, says Chuck Shotton (via Dave Winer):
Posting a video to Youtube is infinitely easier for a lot of people than understanding how to publish a podcast. That’s really the gist of it. Any dingdong with a phone camera can be a YouTube star.
So, yes, recording a video and posting it to YouTube is a skill that many people have nowadays -but is that “eating podcasting”? Is that keeping people from creating new audio podcasts? No (using WordPress is pretty simple). Is that preventing people from listening to audio podcasts in the way that they have been? No. Is it providing an easier way for people to monetize their “podcasts” using the tools that YouTube has set up? Ah, now I think we are getting closer to the nut of “How YouTube Ate Podcasting” (see “Money makes the world go ’round“). People who want to make money from podcasts definitely could be moving to YouTube to do this, as well as other services (see chapters 57, 58, and 59). However, I think the thing to do is to make great things and find ways to innovate. Let’s get out there and compete people – come on!