by Apple is launching its new Delegated Delivery System to your Podcasts platform as a way for creators to easily manage and distribute their shows on select third-party platforms.
The purpose of this feature is essentially to help podcasters with operational overhead so they can focus solely on creating the best content possible. Delegated delivery allows creators to authorize a participating provider to deliver their shows to Apple Podcasts automatically.
The service will have a unique dashboard for each provider with the ability to schedule a launch, provide early access to premium users, or publish ad-free podcasts. Supported formats include WAV, FLAC, and MP3 files.
Podcast data, such as analytics and subscription reports, will not be provided to any of the participating platforms. The full list of providers that support Delegated Delivery has not been revealed, but Apple did mention a few.
Some of the participating platforms include ART19, Buzzsprout, and Libsyn. Apple recommends periodically reviewing your Hosting Providers Page for updates on if and when your host will support the feature.
And the best part is that delegated delivery is free for all creators on the platform. You don’t have to be a member of the Apple Podcasters program to post free shows, but you do have to be a member to post premium episodes. The proxy installment doesn’t have a specific release date, but it will be out sometime in the fall.
Along with delegated delivery, Apple quietly announced that podcast creators now you can offer annual plans to your audience in more than 170 countries and regions.
Analysis: Fighting for podcasts
The fight for the podcast market continues to heat up.
For the past year, Apple has been working to improve its lackluster podcast platform, which in the past was called “an unmitigated disaster”. For example, the company launched a new curation feature called Apple Podcast Subscriptions in June 2021 that allows people to subscribe to their favorite shows through official channels.
But it remains to be seen whether Apple can compete with its podcast rivals. Spotify has been steadily rolling out podcast-focused features for a while now, like freeing Video podcasts for creators in the US and UK.
YouTube also wants a piece of that cake, since recent reports indicate that you are looking to integrate podcast RSS feeds into your site. Hopefully, Apple isn’t too late to ride the podcast wave or it may continue to lag behind its rivals.
