Podcasters have a lot to thank Apple for since it has made their booming industry possible. However, they are getting frustrated with the tech giant lately due to some issues.
A report from the New York Times indicated that they believe the Cupertino, CA-based company is not responding quickly enough to their growth rate and continues to regard podcasting as a "free feature to help the company sell hardware."
Steve Jobs was the one who introduced the concept of the podcast in 2005. It is a long-form digital audio show which was later integrated into iTunes. Initially, it suffered a slow growth but in 2014, but its business finally exploded owing to the success of "Serial," the true-crime series.
Now, one in five Americans listens to a podcast every month. A number of shows even produce millions of advertising dollars since podcast networks are attractive to venture capitalists.
By current estimates, over 46 million Americans are listening to podcasts each month in 2015. This number is expected to increase to 57 million this year.
In response to their cry, Apple is holding discussions with creators of podcasts to map out the future of the medium and to allay their concerns with the way the tech giant is now supporting it.
"Interviews with over two dozen podcasters and people inside Apple reveal a variety of complaints," said The New York Times. "The problems, they say, could even open up an opportunity for a competitor," added the NYT.
One of the main concerns of podcasters is lack of data. In order to increase revenue from podcasts, more information is needed by hosts from their listeners to customize sponsorships and ads to their particular interests. Apple can provide this, unfortunately it doesn't.
Apple, according to the NYT, has two choices - to give additional support or ignore the problem completely which pose the risk of "losing its claim over a medium that owes its very name to the company."
