Voxmedia Wire

The upgrade to iTunes 4.9 on June 29 gave millions of iPod owners and iTunes customers a simple way to search for and subscribe to podcasts without any other software. Apple counted more than 1 million podcast subscriptions through iTunes in the first two days alone, according to a company press release. Still, the switch came suddenly and without warning, turning a long list of mom-and-pop online audiocasters into overnight sensations, crashing servers across the nation and minting new internet stars in a way not seen since the early days of blogging.

iTunes Mints Podcasting Stars (Wired News)

In the three weeks since Apple Computer thrilled the community of homegrown-radio-show producers by making it easy for millions of Web users to download their programs, the little guys have gotten squished. And they’re the ones who started it… Shortly after the iTunes software update was released, I calculated that 47 of its most popular podcasts were produced by what some call “independents.” That number now is 31, and it’s dropping.

Podcasting’s ‘indies’ are losing ground (Frank Barnako/MarketWatch)

Mainstream media companies are starting to dominate podcasts — topping in popularity the quirky independents that created the trendy online radio genre. Podcasts from ESPN, CNN, ABC News and the TV show Queer Eye are among the most popular this week on iTunes, Apple’s download site. That’s a huge change. Until recently, podcasts were largely pirate-radio-style broadcasts, often produced by one person on a home PC. Now, podcasts are anchored by such staid celebrities as Rush Limbaugh and Ted Koppel.

Podcasting goes from indie to mainstream overnight (USA Today)

Until last week, the Twin Cities’ Wanda Wisdom had enjoyed only marginal success with her podcast — a radio-like program offered online as a digital file for subscribers to download and put on their portable music players… Then came the June 28 “iTunes effect.” That’s when Apple Computer released a new version of its popular iTunes music-jukebox software with the built-in ability to locate and automatically download podcasts.

Podcasts get lift from ‘iTunes effect’

Apple CEO Steve Jobs delivered the keynote address at the company’s WorldWide Developers Conference today. Here is a transcript of the portion of his presentation relating to iPods, iTunes, and podcasting, courtesy Voxmedia.org:

“Now I’d like to give you an update on the iPod and our music efforts. You know, the iPod has really entered popular culture in America. You know that when you’re lucky enough to get on the cover of the New Yorker. So we were thrilled with that. And that’s reflected in iPod sales. This is the cumulative iPods sold, and at the end of last quarter, the end of March, we sold about 60 million iPods. And that’s also reflected in the ipod’s market share — of all types of MP3 players, including flash and hard drive, everything, 76 percent market share. So we’re thrilled with that. (more…)

Desperate to reach a more mobile audience, some newspapers are turning to podcasting. A growing number now offer Internet radio programs, sending stories from their pages to iPods and other players. Newspapers have traditionally been slow to adopt new technologies, like the Internet and blogging. Tired of playing catch-up, a small number are now embracing the latest digital media. They’re producing their own Internet radio shows, which are then downloaded and listened to via special subscription software called RSS.

Papers Turn to Podcasting, the Newest of Media (NPR)

ABC News and NBC News each plunged into the world of podcasting on Wednesday with plans to offer TV newscasts as on-demand audio programs over the Web. ABC News is now offering podcast versions of “Good Morning America,” “Nightline” and other programs via ABC News.com. The network is also creating several podcast-only shows… For its part, NBC plans to start podcasting hourly news updates from select cable and network programs in June. The podcasts will include highlights from prime time shows, including MSNBC’s “Hardball with Chris Matthews” and “Countdown with Keith Olbermann.”

ABC, NBC News launch news podcasts (ZDNet)

Apple Computer Inc. CEO Steve Jobs demonstrated a new version of iTunes here Sunday that adds a Podcast directory and one-click subscription… Apple plans to make it easy to find and subscribe to Podcasts via iTunes—it will take just a single click to subscribe to a Podcast once it has been located.

Apple’s Jobs Announces iTunes Podcast Support (eWEEK)

The personalized audio recordings, which can be heard on any digital music player, have given an outlet to marginalized experts and frustrated DJs alike. And media critic Jeff Jarvis says that’s the beauty of podcasting: Anyone can do it.

Come One, Come All: The Rise of Podcasting (NPR)

Podcasting does some disruptive things to the established way of doing broadcast radio. First of all it enables anyone to be a “caster”: no licence, no regulator, no formats. All that’s needed is some basic home computing equipment… Secondly, and even more disruptively, podcasting destroys the broadcast model of appointment making with the programmes: a podcast starts when the listener wants it too, not when scheduled by the broadcaster.

In Pod We Trust (BBC World Service)