Half the podcasts in my queue have suddenly become paid subscriptions. Meanwhile the overall industry is losing listeners. Seems like a lousy business model to not offer a free with ads feed. What a bizarre trend.
I guess on the general topic of monetizing podcasts... How Did This Get Made was in town last night for a live show. Thought I might bring my son who's a movie buff.
The cheapest seats (ass-end back of the balcony) were $55. Priciest seats I saw were $125. Before fees. That was a REAL fast nope for me.
I absolutely want people to get paid for what they do. I'll sub to Patreons, I'll buy (also overpriced) merch, I'll deal with ad and sponsor breaks... But I will be fucked if I'm going to spend $70+ per person to see a live recording of a podcast.