So, this hinges on advertisers not knowing their paid-for content is not being listened. If (as some folks predict) this things becomes a success and advertising industry hears about this; how do you think that the ‘buyers’ will feel and act? Sure, it’s not a direct one on one effect, but at industry level there will be less trust and more scepticism, probably less money. Now, will that help podcasters? Probably not (enough).
Another problem with the proposed model: even if we don’t do official contracts and approach it as donations, we (the main AntennaPod contributors) need to collect, manage and disperse money. One example: just finding out which podcasters would take donations and getting their payment details would already be a pain. No way I am (or I think any of us is) willing to take on the work needed for that.
Just remember that we’re volunteers and that our goal is not the widest adoption, but doing good for podcast listeners and the podcasting space at large. And there’s other areas that we can have a more positive impact.
Now, not to just be a no-sayer: there are other things that we can do. For example:
- Make donation options of podcasters (as noted in their feeds) more prominent
- Nudge users to donate to their favourite podcasts
- Invest time in initiatives that make it easier to donate to creators
- Implement support for the
podcast:valuetag (and integrated payments)