To celebrate 10 years of Creator Weekly, I’m sharing tech highlights from 2015 that still resonate 10 years later. This update was for the week ending July 4, 2015.
And then in June 2005 Apple added podcasts to iTunes and built a directory of
podcasts in the Apple Music Store. They also promoted podcast creation in
the Garage Band audio editing software.
Ten years ago this week the Apple Music streaming service launched and Apple celebrated 10 years of popular podcasting.
A Decade of Popular Podcasts
Podcasts aren't new. Most of the content isn't so different from radio news
and talk shows. Digital downloads of episodic content were
available for some shows
starting in the late 90s (or even before if you dive into the
discussions on the Wikipedia article about the history of podcasting).
But Apple popularized the format. The popular iPod audio player combined with
the popularity of blogging and easy-to-use audio production tools
came together to encourage people to create their own shows. The term "podcast" is a
combination of iPod and broadcast, underlining Apple's importance to the
format.
Podcasts exploded in popularity for listeners and creators. Apple marks that
as the birth of podcasts.
Instead of purchasing individual songs, a subscription covered all the music streams you would want to listen to. But you wouldn't own any of it.
But in 2015 the 10-year anniversary of podcasts was overshadowed by
music.
Instead of purchasing individual songs, a subscription covered all the music streams you would want to listen to. But you wouldn't own any of it.
It had human-curated playlists and "radio stations" with DJs selecting
tunes.
And it even included a sort of social network. Apple Music Connect let
music artists share lyrics, photos, and videos which fans could
comment on.
It would compete with other music streaming services like Spotify, which
was already popular, and YouTube Music, which would launch later in
2015.
It did not then (and does not now) include podcasts, which would continue
to be managed by the separate Apple Podcasts app and iTunes.
The View from 2025
A decade on, Apple Music and Apple Podcasts are still going strong, in
part because they are well integrated into the Apple ecosystem.
To celebrate 10 years of Apple Music they are
opening a new state-of-the-art studio space in Los Angeles, "a creative home for the next decade of music."
But while Apple is celebrating 20 years of podcasting, listeners are
turning elsewhere. Currently
YouTube and Spotify
are where most US users listen to podcasts.
And Spotify has the most paid music streaming subscribers by far, with
YouTube Music gaining
on Apple Music's subscriber base.
In 2023 Apple allowed users to
connect their Apple Music subscription to Apple Podcasts,
opening up access to premium audio content.
Perhaps Apple should consider combining podcasts with Apple Music, making it
more like Spotify and YouTube where both audio and video podcasts, plus
streaming music, are available.
References
Apple Podcasts
Apple Newsroom, 28 June 2005:
Apple Takes Podcasting Mainstream
Apple Podcasts for Creators, 28 June 2025 (Internet Archive)
Apple Podcasts, 28 June 2025:
20 Years, 20 Podcasts We Love
Apple Music
Apple Music, 1 July 2015 (Internet Archive)
Apple Music, 30 June 2025 (Internet Archive)
Apple Newsroom, 8 June 2025: Introducing Apple Music — All The Ways You Love Music. All in One Place.
Apple Music, 30 June 2025 (Internet Archive)
Apple Newsroom, 8 June 2025: Introducing Apple Music — All The Ways You Love Music. All in One Place.
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