Slate Introduces Subscription Platform For Podcasters, Networks

New Platform

SLATE has unveiled a new platform allowing podcasters to offer their shows with a paywall for subscriptions.  SUPPORTING CAST is launching with two networks, CRITICAL FREQUENCY and 5BY5, and two independent podcasters, "BURN IT ALL DOWN" and "THE SPORTSCASTERS," as initial offerings using the platform, which is being introduced with an invite-only beta at supportingcast.fm and which works within most popular podcast players rather than necessitating the use of a separate app to access the paid content.

In a post at SLATE.COM, the publisher asserts that "we believe that some audio is worth paying for -- and perhaps there would be more podcasts worth paying for if there were a better a way to offer gated content." 

Acknowledging that the launch comes at a time when SPOTIFY and PANDORA are aggressively entering the podcast space, SLATE, which has offered its own subscription podcast plan, SLATE PLUS, for several years, warns that "if one of these walled gardens comes to dominate the market, it’s likely to share a small fraction of its revenue with podcast creators, just as FACEBOOK and GOOGLE share a very small proportion of the revenue they generate from content sites back to publishers.  We think that scenario would be bad for podcasters and bad for listeners."

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