Apple Podcasts Premium Subscription, Podcast Channels Now Live: Everything You Need to Know

Apple Podcasts Subscriptions was announced in April, but its rollout was delayed due to technical issues.

By Tasneem Akolawala | Updated: 15 June 2021 17:28 IST

Apple Podcasts Premium Subscription, Podcast Channels Now Live: Everything You Need to Know

Podcast Channel allows creators to group their content together in categories

Highlights

Podcast creators can opt for freemium or paid models
Apple will offer 70 percent of subscription revenue to creators
Creators can decide on the pricing of the subscriptions

Apple Podcasts premium subscriptions and Podcast channels have now rolled out for all creators. The Apple Podcasts Subscriptions feature will enable them to activate paid subscriptions for shows and channels or free shows with additional episodes just for subscribers. The freemium model can also include other perks, like unedited footage, archives, and so on. These features were announced in April and rollout was expected to commence in the same month. However, that got delayed due to creators having issues with uploaded shows.

Apple sent out emails to creators earlier confirming that Apple Podcasts subscription and Podcast channels will be rolled out on June 15. The pricing for subscriptions will be decided by creators and they can pick between annual or monthly billing. Creators can decide whether they want to offer a free model with no payment, a freemium model that allows users to listen in for free and offer additional benefits for a charge. Podcast creators can also opt for a paid model that will require subscribers to pay for listening to content.

Creators will have to sign up for the Apple Podcasters Program to access the tools needed to manage premium subscriptions and that costs Rs. 1,799 per year in India and $19.99 in the US. Podcast creators can sign up via the Apple Podcasts Connect website. There are no other requirements such as having a minimum number of subscribers, so anyone can start using these new features.

What’s Most Exciting With iOS 15, macOS Monterey? We Discuss

Creators can decide a fee for their content, a slice of which will go to Apple. They can decide whether they want to offer sample episodes or free trials for subscribers to make a better purchase decision. Alongside subscriptions, Apple Podcasts also get channels, with both paid and free options. With channels, podcast creators can group their content with a unique logo, artwork, and description.

With Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, podcast creators receive 70 percent of the subscription price at each billing cycle, minus applicable taxes. After a subscriber accumulates one year of paid service, the net revenue increases to 85 percent of the subscription price, minus applicable taxes. Other podcast revenue — including any ads — will be received by the creator in full.

We dive into all things WWDC — iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, watchOS 8 and more — this week on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.