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Acast Redirect (Patreon)

Published:
2020-06-28 02:42:12
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

We're moving our Patreon Content to a new platform!!!


To get access to everything click here: https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/2480105 

Comments

Robert Groom

So the RSS feed is moving to acast, but will patron still receive posts with attached audio files? Will my info be shared with acast if I use the RSS feed only and not the link on this post? I don't like acast, they are an ad platform trying to take over the indie podcast market like Spotify, that's why I use patron to support creators. If my info is shared with them they will use it for marketing or sell it on and I will have to unsubscribe.

Robert Groom

Yeah, after reviewing it I'm out, shame.

Robert Groom

Adding an extra company into the chain besides patron, which is easy already really isn't easier.

scp_pod

Hey Robert, You brought up some very important points so I just wanted to take a moment to go over all of them. Privacy is a very important matter to me, and I want to be transparent about all of this. Furthermore, this is currently a opt-in beta we’re participating in, and if there is concern, or this platform becomes too much hassle to use, I’d be glad to switch back to Patreon. I’ll get into my reasoning why we joined the beta further down. First, the only data Acast will collect in this instance is: - View your public Patreon profile - View your email address - View your pledges And if you download an episode, it’ll count towards our downloads, (this also comes with broad anonymous location, and device data, I.e.: United States, iPhone - this is something that every podcast provider catalogues when an episode is downloaded) and something we’re currently not able to track via Patreon. Now, I’ve been Podcasting for four years, and I’ve used a few platforms, namely Libsyn, Acast, Anchor and Spreaker. I’m going to talk about the data I’m (creator) given, the data they *likely* have, how they (podcast providers) use it, how to further protect/anonymize your data, and *why* I chose to use Acast. When you download an episode of any podcast, your device is pinging a server and downloading that file (this has become a bit more obfuscated with the switch to streaming, but the general gist is still the same.) When your device pings that server, it takes a glimpse of you and gets your IP Number, Device Info, and Location Data. Similar to when you visit any website, the difference being Websites can leave cookies on you to help identify you online and target ads towards you - *currently* Podcasts cannot do this, though as you mentioned above, most podcasts hosts, like Acast and Anchor are moving in this direction. When you download an episode, I’m given a very broad snapshot of all of our listeners, I’m not able to see IP addresses, but Libsyn and Acast do offer a glimpse at: your nearest major city (i.e. Seattle, Denver, etc.) your device info (iPhone/Android/Browser/Alexa? And Spotify/YouTube/Apple Podcasts?). Right now I could look at Libsyn or Acast and tell you we had 6K in downloads yesterday, with 4K coming from the states, and maybe 500 of those listeners are in California. However, I have no way to know how many of them are using iPhones and listening on Spotify, but I do know that 5K are iPhones, and 3K are using Spotify. Companies like Libsyn (my favorite) very explicitly state upfront they will only ever provide this broad data. However, they are regardlessly collecting other data I’m not seeing, like your IP address, and I imagine other things too. This data is already being used to sell ads, though at this point it’s broad, in the future it may be more targeted akin to ads you’d see online. Right now, when that info is used to sell ads (and Libsyn, BluBerry, Spreaker, etc. all sell ads like Acast and Anchor) it’s usually along the lines of “SCP has 5K listeners in the USA, let’s give them Ad A, and let’s give their 3K UK listeners Ad B.” Currently, the only difference between Acast and Libsyn, is the presence of “Dynamic Ads,” you’re probably familiar with these, so I won’t go too into them, but I am glad to talk more about these if you’re interested. When Podcasts first started catching on all ads were baked in, ala old time radio (“This episode is brought to you by Blue Apron!”) now most podcatchers have moved to dynamic ads, akin to ads on YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, etc. that update over time, allowing creators to monetize their older episodes. Now, with how podcasts work, every time you download an episode, your device is pinging a server, for example: you download an ep at 3am, you might get a file with no ad on it, if you download at 6am, you get an ad, and if you download at 9am you get a different ad. All podcast platforms are moving in this direction, as it offers more money to be made. Acast and Anchor offer it’s up front, allowing people to host shows for free, in exchange for a cut of some of these ads. Other platforms like Megaphone and Libsyn put this feature behind an expensive paywall instead, but every platform has it at this point. To protect yourself: Unfortunately unless you live somewhere with proper privacy laws (most of the EU, and California is getting there) there isn't a way to properly opt out of giving these companies your info. Fortunetly, until someone invents a way to put a cookie on an audio file (currently impossible) they can only really get the broader data I mentioned above. Now, Podcast Catchers (Spotify, Apple Podcast, Acasts app) can collect a lot more data on you, so it is important to pick wisely. I use Spotify out of convenience and ease, but as far as privacy goes, Pocket Cast is a solid choice. *And* services like VPNs can also help further obfuscate and protect your identity. There's some good reliable ones out there I'd be glad to point you in the direction of. And lastly, onto your most important point, the indie podcast market. As I mentioned I've been doing this for just four short years, and I've seen drastic change, and I'm sure there's much more to come. YouTube provided a successful business model (anyone can upload anything, charge a cut of ads in return for free hosting) and podcast providers have started copying this model. It used to be you'd pay a fee to host your podcast, not unlike hosting a website, and companies like Libsyn would help you distribute it to Spotify, Apple, Google, etc. Now you're able to trade control and up front costs for free hosting and maybe a few ad bucks if your show gets enough downloads. Jon and I are proud to be apart of Bloody Disgusting, but BD is still a small company! We were able to sell more ads on our show at higher price points because we could guarantee X downloads across our 4 shows. Podcast Providers are now using dynamic ads to do exactly that across thousands of shows for millions of downloads, and everyone gets a cut. Truthfully, it's not my favorite model, (I prefer Libsyns practice) but the extra income allows Jon and I (and every podcast creator) to earn a little extra cash. You're absolutely right, Robert, folks like Acast and Anchor (owned by Spotify) are polluting the indie scene with ads, and it kinda sucks. But by far, we earn the most income from our Patreon, and the ads BD sells to movies and horror-content, the dynamic ads that Acast sell make up a small percent of our profits *BUT* using their dynamic ads allows BD to sell more ads directly to companies. We're extremely lucky to have a team that can sell ads for us while we create, but most other indies don't have that luxury. Heck, my first 5 shows I did almost everything! I didn't have time to sell ads!!! Acast has some good ethics, and while they do use your data to cater ads, I know they aren't selling it, like Libsyn they have some solid practices. And if that ever changes, we wouldn't be on their platform.

scp_pod
>>39435745

I actually forgot to hit this point in the larger piece I posted, but the reason we're even in this beta is to make it easier for folks to subscribe to the patreon feed and get the ad free and bonus episodes. Right now you have to manually input the feed, and only a small handful of podcasts hosts allow that, and there's some concern that number may dwindle. Through this beta we're able to include our private feed in additional apps, and it gives us a more robust back end platform when we're uploading episodes to organize the show and include links. BUT like I said in my longer comment, if it doesn't work out and there's concern for privacy, I'll absolutely be bringing it back to Patreon

Robert Groom

Thanks for your comprehensive reply, I understand where you are coming from. Its inevitable that with podcasts becoming more popular that commercial elements increase, I just hate what Spotify and Acast are doing, more so Spotify, where they are signing exclusivity deals as with Last Podcast on the left. I think first they will offer the beta, next they will say to creators why bother with Patreon, you can get your listeners to sub here, then it will be we will give you an extra cut you if are exclusive to our service. Then we will end up having to use different apps for different podcasts. Eventually people will stop listening, smaller creators will be pushed out and there will be 3 or 4 commercial platforms. Until someone comes up with another medium/format that takes over.

scp_pod

That is a totally valid concern, and already we've seen a few platforms push for the exclusivity. Stitcher for a long time, Luminary, and Spotify too. While I do think there will be some larger congregation around one platform over another (Spotify now makes up 2/3 of our downloads! Used to be Apple!) I *hope* that it never happens. Podcasts being free content with choice of platform is an essential part of their DNA, and Apple set some great standards by making it so decentralized, and for any one platform to rise over the other, they'd need to really get a grip on the Podcast Provider side of things. Until Libsyn and Megaphone shutdown, I don't think we'll ever see full exclusively. There's too much money to be made in hosting. And also thanks for taking the time to talk! Though there's not a lot of chatter about this, it's kinda a big deal!