Apple Will Be Bringing Changes To Podcast Listeners And Podcast Creators In Summer 2019
Apple is finally making some awaited changes to their podcast system. At least some changes will be welcomed by many; others will come with challenges for podcast creators. In this post, we will summarize all the changes Apple is going to make in regards to podcasting. Further, will we talk about their new, dedicated podcasting app.
The New Apple Podcasts App
Apple will disconnect podcasts from iTunes and plans to roll out a new app called Apple Podcasts. This new app is supposed to be available to the general public this fall.
Apple will grant early access to the app to Apple developers starting from June 2019.
If you cannot wait until fall to try the new app, there is another way. Apple has a
Beta Software Program which will grant you access to the new app starting this summer.
Changes to Apple Podcast Search
In the past, the discoverability of podcast shows in Apple’s search was not tremendous and appeared a bit random at times. With the upcoming updates, Apple has announced to roll out some changes to their search and to help podcast discoverability.
One of the new features is an updated integration of search to help people find shows they might enjoy. Finding shows based on the category and contributor tags will be new additions to the apple podcast search. Apple calls this: discoverability via topics and people.
Another search-related feature to be implemented will be discoverability by provided transcripts. That said, this feature will be offered first to the most popular shows. Eventually, it then is supposed to trickle down to the less elite podcasts.
Generally, I like the idea to help visually impaired people find the podcasts they search for. However, I personally disapprove on the elitist approach to give big shows an advantage in discoverability over smaller shows.
How the changes to search will affect us all and if they will help the end-user remains to be seen. I
f the implementations will result in a push for big shows only, many smaller podcasts will potentially be left behind.
Apple’s Podcast Updates – Podcast Category Changes & Podcast Feed Changes 2019
With the updates coming in summer 2019, Apple will also make changes to categories. You as a podcaster might want to have a closer look at the upcoming changes to be made for podcast categories. That said, there will be no changes resulting in existing tags to become empty tags for their removal of apple’s index.
So what are the changes coming to Podcasting categories?
New Podcasting Categories Implemented In Summer 2019 | Podcast Category Updates For The Podcasting Directory
Apple will be implementing a few new categories to the system that have not existed before:
Fiction, History, and True Crime. Upon that, dozens of subcategories will be added to these new top-level-categories. For e.g.
Fiction > Drama
Renamed Podcasting Categories In 2019
Apple will be making changes to categories that already exist and will be updating the naming this summer. Apple promises to re-map top-level and sub-categories to the new naming conventions upon launch.
Discontinued Podcasting Categories In 2019
Apple will discontinue a few categories for podcasts. The adeemed categories will only be sub-categories. Your podcasting show will remain in the same top-level category but lose its sub-category value.
It will be your responsibility to check if a new sub-category might apply to your show!
When Will You Be Able To Make Changes To Your Podcasting Feed? | Podcast Feed Changes?
You can make changes to your podcast’s feed by now, and they will apply already to Apple’s new guidelines. That said, if you are not in control of how your feed is created, you are out of luck for now. You will have to contact them and to wait for them to implement the changes to their systems. These are the disadvantages of relying on a third party to create and to host your RSS feed.
An Overview Of All Available Apple Podcast Categories Changes & Podcast Feed Updates In 2019:
