US-based podcast app Luminary launches today, vowing to prove listeners are willing to pay for podcasts.
The company, headed up by co-founder and CEO Matt Sacks, is rolling out across Australia, the US, the UK and Canada, and offers both a free and premium service.
“Luminary has made a major investment in technology to develop a free app that anyone can use to find and listen to the content they want to hear when they want to hear it, whether it’s a publicly available ad-supported show or a show on our premium network,” Sacks says.
Listeners can use the free, ad-supported service which provides hundreds of thousands of podcasts. Popular shows it hosts include Under the Skin with Russell Brand and Note to Self by WNYC’s Manoush Zomorodi.
However, Luminary is hoping that by offering original, exclusive shows for $7.99/month, from the likes of US comedian Trevor Noah, writer Lena Dunham and Australian Instragramer Celeste Barber, people will pay for podcasts which they’ve so far enjoyed for free.
While it offers more than 40 original shows to lure subscribers in, there are signs betting on an ad-free model could be tough ask for the company.
In a now deleted tweet, Luminary posted “Podcasts Don’t Need Ads” which was meet with anger from some followers, with one tweeting back they prefer hearing ads to listen to podcasts for free.
Recognising not everyone will jump at the opportunity to pay, Luminary responded with an acknowledgement that ads are “important” to podcasts.
We've heard you loud and clear. Ads are an important part of podcasting, and a subscription model can be too. We appreciate the conversation and believe that creators and listeners should have a choice.
— Luminary (@hearluminary) March 7, 2019
As it begins on its pursuit to build a subscription-based business model for podcasts, it’s meet with increasing competition from big players.
In February 2019, Spotify acquired podcast studio Gimlet and podcast creation app Anchor for a reported US$340 million. Later in March it also purchased a crime and mystery show-focused podcast network Parcast.
Spotify has made its desire to grow in the podcasting arena well-known in its goal to being the “world’s leading audio platform”.
Locally, both Ten and News Corp have also moved further into podcasting, showing there’s still a strong appetite for the content in Australia.
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