Just got some interesting news. Apparently Audible Wordcast account holders were informed today that Audible will shut down the service as of September 1, 2007. I must admit, this comes as no surprise to me. In fact, at a presentation just last week we discussed the general failure of “gateway” or “paid” podcast alternatives. Let’s face it, it is tough to sell your product when 99.9% of the market is providing their content for free.
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[…] I just read here that Audible WordCast will cease its services on the first day of September, 2007. Audible already sent announcement to their account holders although the details of closure has not been disclosed yet […]
[…] If you haven’t heard, Audible Wordcast is shutting down. While I agree with Michael Geohegan’s quick post mortem, I don’t completely agree with Rob Safuto’s. (I haven’t spoken with Rob in a while, so I’ll buy him a beer and share my perspective…) […]
[…] “Let’s face it, it is tough to sell your product when 99.9% of the market is providing their content for free,” notes podcasting pioneer Michael Geoghegan. […]
[…] We’ve been looking a lot for honest competitors for what verbr’s going to be offering. Perhaps the biggest one (at least as far as name recognition goes), Audible’s WordCast, is quitting in advance of our arrival. It appears that the mere threat of our existence has scared them and their proprietary privacy-invading DRM-laden format (at least as it’s applied to podcasts) right off the internet on or before September 1, 2007. To be fair, it likely didn’t have much to do with us, although I’ll continue to think otherwise if that’s alright with everyone. […]
Duh
This is what I told their reps and their CEO at the first Podcast Expo when they introduced it. I told them everyone else is offering it for free. Your not going to make it when the majority is doing another thing.
I’d have to disagree a little. I think their failure is based more off of the fact that they used a proprietary format and did not have a clear niche.
People are willing to pay for advice, and what better format to give that advice then a paid subscription model. Look at Motivational Speakers and Business Coaches for example.
There is a need for a good subscription based podcast model, understanding that it will never be the majority.
Take a look at http://re.verbr.com for more on the topic.