Podcasters have lots of options today when it comes to hosting, which is really incredible considering how things were when Blubrry launched back in 2005. Having been in the space that long gives us a lot of perspective on the ease of which podcasters today can get their message out to the world versus how much more difficult it was five or ten years ago. If you hang out with any of our team members or listen to our podcast, you will quickly learn that we are podcasters first and foremost and very attuned to creator rights in regards to their content.
At Blubrry, we’re committed to providing top-notch services to podcasters. The products and services we provide allow those that use our services to launch their podcast in a way that allows them to control their brand, intellectual property, and of course their podcast feed. We are confident that, three or six months down the road, podcasters who sign on with our services will feel great about the choice they made to work with a company that respects those rights and makes it easy to retain ownership and control of their intellectual property.
By contrast, today we often get calls from podcasters who have realized they made some podcast service provider selection missteps when they launched their shows.
These run the full gambit, but for most, it’s the realization that they are building their show/brand on top of rented land and that they would much rather be promoting their own .com versus promoting the brand or vertical their show is on. With Google, today entering the scene with Google Podcasts the value of building your SEO for your own site is much more appealing than building the SEO of your host.
Today, podcasting is big business, with many models to choose from. While a few of our offerings are free, notably the PowerPress Plugin & basic Podcast Stats, most of our products and services – like hosting and pro stats – have subscription costs. While some podcast offerings out there today are attempting to forge new business models, our perspective in the space requires us to consider creators first and not risk our customers’ shows with business models we have seen come and go.
“Podcasting companies are more than a place to host your media,” explains Blubrry/RawVoice CEO Todd Cochrane. “At Blubrry, we have a diverse team that is involved in support, development, monetization and podcaster advocacy. We work behind the scenes with groups such as the IAB to make sure your podcast stats are IAB compliant. At the same time, we consistently maintain and update our infrastructure and continue to develop new and existing services.”
All this requires time, resources, and yes money – so if a company is providing you a service and not charging you for it, their business model necessitates generating significant revenue to pay salaries, benefits, infrastructure, rent and more. In that circumstance, the value you’re “trading” them is often not well defined, but may include access to and control of your content. We would argue that your content is far more valuable than what we charge you to host it and is, in fact, too valuable to trade away for access to “free” services.
A free podcast host might be a good fit for you if you’re testing out podcasting. However, keep in mind that a free service may restrict your ability to monetize your podcast yourself. You may not be able to access your own analytics, and if your host owns your feed, they may also insert their own ads or even remove your show without warning. The more control you give up of your content and where it lives, the more likely a change to the company’s business model or terms of service will negatively affect you.
At Blubrry we start with the simple premise that there are many benefits to podcasters owning and controlling their intellectual property, and we are committed to creating products and services that allow you to grow your show without our interference. It may not be free, but for those of us serious about building our brands, the cost is well worth paying.