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To this day, apps like Overcast and Pocket Casts rely on Apples podcast API to populate their inventories.
At this point, you could understandably ask: Why didnt Apple monetize podcasts from day one?
Heres how I see it: Frankly, there wasnt much to monetize in those early days.
The company even became the beneficiary of goodwill for its relatively impartial position.
The substance and stakes are now dramatically different, of course, as podcasting grows in popularity and profit.
We now have podcast millionaires and podcast celebrities.
The Bodega Boys are now on Showtime.
American presidential candidates are hitting podcasts like theyre the new roadside diner in Iowa.
And Apple now faces real competition for dominance over podcast distribution from entities eager to tap into monetization.
iTunes Podcasts) still drives somewhere between 50 percent to 60 percent of all listening.
(Also angling to meaningfully compete: fellow music-streaming service Pandora.)
