The tag line for Audible’s marketing pitch at the 2005 Expo was something to the effect of, “Podcasts are like hot air. Very powerful when harnessed.” Unfortunately the harness that Audible spoke of was a DRM wrapper that called home when you played a media file. Not good.

Their Audible Wordcast service did score an early coup, signing up the wildly popular Ricky Gervais podcast. Walls were erected, service fees were charged and on the podcast went. No one is really sure how many listeners stuck around to pay up to $1.95 per episode. You can now get Season 3 (what chutzpah to call six audio files a season) for the bargain price of $6.95.

It’s not about the money. A couple of bucks a week isn’t going to break anybody. Its about the fact that you pay for a file that sits in a locked box on your computer (or portable device) and its only playable under certain conditions. Didn’t I just buy the thing? And then it phones home like E.T. or something.

Don’t believe my words. Check the quote from the original Audible press release about WordCast.

“The business of advertising requires measurement that will stand up to a third-party audit, and AudibleWordcast will be the first “audit-ready” podcasting platform capable of measuring actual subscribers, not just file downloads. Audible’s TrueListener audience measurement system reports the metrics required by advertisers, which are determined audit ready through third-party media auditor, ImServices Group (http://www.imservicesgroup.com).”

You see the mistake here was that the execs at Audible only thought about one of the three parties involved in the transaction. I’m sure the advertisers loved this stuff. But what about podcast producers and their audiences?

It seems to me now (and I thought even then) that DRM and proprietary file formats are dealbreakers when it comes to podcasting. People will go for free with ads much more than they will go for pay with an invisible leash. At least they will when it comes to podcasts.

So how come the iTunes music store does so well? Ya know where I can find a non-DRM digital version of Billy Joel’s greatest hits? No, because you can’t buy one without DRM unless you get the CD. And even then you never know. People have an overwhelming choice in podcasting and 95% of the content is free and open. Makes competing tough if your selling a podcast in a box with a leash.

As a podcaster and an entrepreneur in the space it is in my best interest for things like Audible Wordcast to work. I’m sorry it didn’t. But it was messed up from the start. And someone who really knows the podcasting market could’ve told the good folks at Audible that before they went through all the trouble.

[via MWG Blog]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.