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Comment by jjice | Hacker News Reader

The state of podcasting software is kind of sad now. The initial concept behind podcasts with RSS feeds was so neat and freeing, but podcasts have been reigned into private services due to user convenience and existing market share for audio. Having Spotify handle podcast management for me is great and it's handy but I would much rather have an agnostic app with inputs for RSS feeds. There are just so many podcasts that aren't available via an RSS feed anymore though, continuing to push us into private apps.

I guess I'm not helping but I literally can't for many podcasts now.

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> There are just so many podcasts that aren't available via an RSS feed anymore though

If I need a proprietary app to access a show's feed, then IMHO it should not be considered a podcast (and I refuse to listen to it).

That being said, I remain cautiously optimistic about the podcasting ecosystem. A huge number of high-quality shows remain freely available (and many shows sustain an independent revenue stream). Despite the creeping centralization, podcasting still feels very independent when compared to things like Youtube/Tiktok.

Huh? I use Apple Podcasts, and used Google Podcasts before I switched to iPhone. Haven't seen an issue like that. Everything I care about seems to be available on everything, and it's easy to add RSS feeds (e.g. from Patreon) in both apps. Maybe you should try using a less hostile app?

That doesn't refute the original point, though. Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts are products that embrace the open podcasting model. Spotify and Youtube Music do not, and these are the products that the original comment is referring to, where you are not able to add a subscription using an RSS feed.

> Maybe you should try using a less hostile app?

Great advice.

> Having Spotify handle podcast management for me is great and it's handy but I would much rather have an agnostic app with inputs for RSS feeds.

What about the Spotify app keeps you using it, even though (1) they're a parasitoid on the open podcasting ecosystem and (2) have successfully destroyed the original, open meanings of "podcast" and "podcasting"?

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