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Businesses The Almighty Buck Apple

Apple Podcasts To Stop Using 'Subscribe' (podnews.net) 49

Posted by msmash from the subtle-changes dept.
A small change with a big impact: no more "subscribe: as podcasting moves to "follow." From a report: Apple Podcasts will no longer use the word "subscribe" in a few weeks. Listeners will be invited to "follow" their favourite podcasts instead. The new wording will be in iOS 14.5, which should be released later this month (and is available in beta). We expect Apple to communicate further with creators, and listeners, when this version of iOS is released. This seemingly small change could dramatically affect the industry. Tom Webster from Edison Research says 47% of people who don't currently listen to podcasts think that 'subscribing' to a podcast will cost money, describing it as a stone in the shoe of podcasting's growth run. He tells Podnews: "Today, Apple, Spotify, and YouTube are the three most widely used services to play podcasts, and now the word Subscribe means 'automatically download for free' in exactly none of them. Podcasters will have no choice but to adapt their language accordingly or risk confusing listeners."
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Apple Podcasts To Stop Using 'Subscribe' More

Apple Podcasts To Stop Using 'Subscribe'

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  • Tom Webster from Edison Research says 47% of people who don't currently listen to podcasts think that 'subscribing' to a podcast will cost money, describing it as a stone in the shoe of podcasting's growth run.

    Open source podcast. Click to listen.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Tom Webster from Edison Research says 47% of people who don't currently listen to podcasts think that 'subscribing' to a podcast will cost money, describing it as a stone in the shoe of podcasting's growth run.

      Did they ask whether any of those people care? Honestly if they're going to change the naming conventions maybe start with changing 'podcast' to something less silly sounding?

  • There is a legal issue with the word "subscribe" which Apple doesn't want to deal with. The word "follow" probably doesn't have the associated legal risks of the word "subscribe".

    • Nope. Otherwise YouTube would run into the same issue.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Sebby ( 238625 )

      There is a legal issue with the word "subscribe" which Apple doesn't want to deal with. The word "follow" probably doesn't have the associated legal risks of the word "subscribe".

      And what legal issue would that be?

      And frankly, I call B.S. on the whole argument that 'subscribe' means "pay money" - anyone that's ever gotten a SPAM message instructing them to "unsubscribe" to stop getting them knows damn well it doesn't always imply fees.

      • And what legal issue would that be?

        And frankly, I call B.S. on the whole argument that 'subscribe' means "pay money"

        There are laws regarding media that specifically mention "subscribers". I publish a small online "newspaper". The municipalities I serve are actively forbidden from publishing public notices (which are required by law) in my paper because less than 50% of my subscriptions are paid.

        I publish for free, and the only "subscriptions" I have is an auto-generated "here's all the stories from the past week" e-mail that goes out on Sunday morning. It doesn't matter than I have a larger readership than the "newspa

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Sebby ( 238625 )

          Is it stupid? Absolutely.

          But it's still the law.

          I'd have to agree there.

          And given the various definitions of 'subscribe', it could probably be challenged (if one were so inclined).

    • And you have a link for your legal opinion/assertion?

    • Re: More likely explanation (Score:5, Funny)

      by OrangeTide ( 124937 ) on Friday March 12, 2021 @05:24PM (#61152404) Homepage Journal

      A cult doesn't have subscribers, it has followers.

    • In other exciting news, Apple to move to a marginally less polished silvery look on the rim of their next iPhone, and Apple to make the edges of some icons a little more rounded. In even further rivetting news, Apple blah blah Apple Apple Apple blah. Apple Apple blah. Blah blah Apple blah.

    • It's creative "wordsmithing" to not sound offensive to somebody.

  • and now the word Subscribe means 'automatically download for free' in exactly none of them.

    Yeah but the thing is to a lot of people, it didn't mean that before anyway!

    I think the wording change is probably good in that it will lead to a lot more people following podcasts, that would have been reluctant to "subscribe".

    Although I have to say, I would have thought subscribe would not be so confusing as so many people are used to YouTube where subscribe is free as well. But I always thought that was a bad use

    • Does Apple's Podcasts app automatically download the podcasts you're subscribed to? I wouldn't want that.
      On the app I use, Subscribe just means put on my list. It downloads an episode only when I tell it to.

      • Does Apple's Podcasts app automatically download the podcasts you're subscribed to?

        I don't really use it much so this is just from my examination of settings, but Apple Podcasts is pretty configurable around downloads. You can have auto-sync on or off, you can tell it how often to refresh, and if it should allow downloads over cell networks or not.

        Defaults are to sync podcasts automatically, but block downloads over cellular. When I opened it up it downloaded a few podcasts so I think if you've not used

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by imidan ( 559239 )
      As I was reading TFS, before I got to the part about why they were making this change, I wondered if it was because the word 'subscribe' may seem to have some connotation of financial cost. So, I can see it. I don't believe that I found it confusing, but I don't consume a lot of podcasts.

  • Probably planning on paid subscriptions (Score:5, Interesting)

    by arosenfield ( 998621 ) on Friday March 12, 2021 @03:30PM (#61152120)

    My guess, Apple is planning on adding paid subscriptions in the future and want to use the Subscribe verb strictly for that.

    YouTube has a similar problem: "subscribing" to a YouTube channel means following it, with no monetary cost. Then when they added paid memberships, the new verb is "Join", WTF? I saw the Join button on some channels and had no clue what it did, had to google it. They ought to follow Apple's lead and rename Subscribe -> Follow and Join -> Subscribe, but they're not going to do that (probably). So many videos that say "Smack that subscribe button" will be very quickly out-of-date.

  • I sure don't. Sitting and listening to people talk, audio-only, is something I only ever do in the car, and only ever on news stations.

  • I used it for years, since it was a simple but serviceable podcast client; but they kept hobbling it, removing more and more features until it became more trouble than it was worth.

    I moved to Pocket Casts, which was great - until the author decided he hated all other human beings.

    Now I'm using RSSRadio. Unlike my previous two apps, the author(s) of RSSRadio haven't yet managed to forget how the podcast ecosystem is supposed to function.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by cjmnews ( 672731 )

      Exactly. Once they killed off smart playlists in the Podcast app I left, and went to Overcast. Have not considered looking back at their terrible Podcast app.

      Now if I could get a music player that used smart playlists, and ignored all the follow artists and cloud located files, that would make me happy.

  • .. to add a zero followed by the local currency symbol in the text of the button. Nothing unambiguous about that and solves the problem of folks wondering if there is a cost.

  • The iBrainstorm (Score:3)

    by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Friday March 12, 2021 @03:42PM (#61152140)

    Sorry, but I prefer to be a subscriber. It more defines the relationship exactly as it should be. Follower, implies I have some pathetic need to chase after some PodHead like a lost puppy. Screw that.

    And nothing like change...for fucks sake? The hell was wrong, with subscriber? It's like people are sitting around smoking weed all day being paid to think up shit like thi..oh wait. This is Apple. Of course they are.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Dwedit ( 232252 )

      I blame Twitch, where "Subscribe" means pay $5.

    • The problem is right there IN THE SUMMARY: "Tom Webster from Edison Research says 47% of people who don't currently listen to podcasts think that 'subscribing' to a podcast will cost money..."

      That's nearly half! Changing the language means that audiences could potentially double, assuming that cost was the reason people weren't listening in the first place.

      There are precious few things that one subscribes to that don't cost money. Newspapers, MMOs, TV service—those are subscriptions that people are fa

      • The problem is right there IN THE SUMMARY: "Tom Webster from Edison Research says 47% of people who don't currently listen to podcasts think that 'subscribing' to a podcast will cost money..."

        That's nearly half! Changing the language means that audiences could potentially double, assuming that cost was the reason people weren't listening in the first place.

        Yes, or we could stop coddling adults like idiot children and learn to use Big Boy words. Like "free" along with "subscription." I promise people know what free means.

        In a world filled with an endless barrage of requests for your email address to your phone number, I'd say modern society us rather used to subscribing to things. Buy something online? They automatically subscribe you to their free email marketing service. To assume the masses get that confused over a single word, is simply stupid. In ot

  • I subscribe to new Podcasts so infrequently that if I didn't know they were changing the button I would have never noticed a difference.

  • Do I still have to mash the like button?

  • I think i know what's coming in the next big rxjs release...
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by jjaa ( 2041170 )
        Yup, "follow" looks like a safer word on the allowlist :p at least until something completely unrelated to tech happens in the world and "follow" will be too creepy or stalkery to be used in the open :p

  • Language choices. (Score:1, Funny)

    by Chas ( 5144 )

    Essentially this is pushing from the language of being a participant to being being a subject/accolyte in cult.

  • Looks like the word "subscribe" was deemed double ungood and had to be replaced.

  • "Buy" to "Rent"? Which is what we're actually doing when it comes to stuff in the iTunes Store.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Alumoi ( 1321661 )

      Erm..., no. You buy a license for the song, same with any software. You buy the right to listen (use) said song according to the license agreement. You don't own it.

  • "Follow" actually deliberately sounds like a cult term for a reason:

    https://youtu.be/leX541Dr2rU [youtu.be]

    It's just a bad, psychologically, as a drug carthel or church trying to get people hooked.

    Just look at a Twitch stream's comments about the streamer, for example. If you imagine this was a cult's service at their temple, it still fits, but becomes a lot creepier. Definitely not somehing you want your kids to obsess over. Or they will have a lot less of a life of their own, and waste it, living somebody else's.

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