In Podcast: David vs. Goliath at Business Week, Heather Green reports on the impact on independent podcasts of the Apple move four weeks ago opened iTunes to podcasts. Green relies on the iTunes rankings and while those figures speak for themselves, they do not include podcast traffic through many other outlets. To be fair Green notes this.
It is a David versus Goliath battle though, with larger companies having access to better production and promotion resources than the independents. This will challenge independent podcasters to create more cutting edge, relevant and valuable material.
Podcasting is a (relatively) new medium and needs to be treated as such by all involved. While independent producers have the challenge of resources, media giants face the challenge of being relevant to the podcast audience. Success will come to those who embrace the medium and take podcasts beyond a feint variation of what we can get today on radio or in the press. Take me to a new place and give me an experience I’ve not had before, beyond portability, and then you have something interesting.