Subscription podcasting is not a breakout success

But the Calm meditation app was supposed to pass $100 million in revenue last year. I’m intrigued by Knowable, a sort of audio MasterClass. The co-hosts of the Chapo Trap House podcast currently generate around $166,000 in revenue per month from their Patreon. And just today, Stratechery founder and analyst Ben Thompson launched a new podcast produ... See more

None on a Netflix scale, or even a Netflix-in-2005 scale.

Audio that’s interactive or transformative.

Audio that feels more like books, TV series, or movies.

Audio that’s part of a broader membership program or fan club, whether informational or entertainment.

Audio that’s valuable as a professional or educational resource, which encourages users to get their employer to pay for it, or consider an educational expense.

I’m more optimistic about paid audio content that’s differentiated from typical podcast concepts — and that can be successful on a smaller scale.

But podcasts remain relatively inexpensive to produce and unencumbered to distribute — and for almost everyone who listens, something they’ve only known as a free form of media.

This makes sense in television and film, where budgets can reach the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars; where expensive productions often look better and star a small handful of the best talent that are not “on staff” anywhere; and, crucially, where distribution has historically been controlled by paid gateways, like cable TV or streaming ser... See more