Apple is considering launching a paid podcast subscription service, insiders told The Information late last week. The service would charge users to access exclusive podcasts or listen to content ad-free — it may also be bundled with other paid Apple services, including Apple Music and Apple TV+. The move would be a response to Spotify's significant acquisitions within the podcasting space and Amazon's recent acquisition of Wondery.

More:

• Apple also reportedly engaged in talks to acquire Wondery, a source told The Information.
• Apple has been slower than Spotify to wade into original podcasting content. Its first original, "The Zane Lowe Interview Series," premiered last year.
• The Information's Martin Peers speculates that "consumers used to free podcasts may rebel" if the industry follows the streaming media playbook of requiring a paid subscription to access the majority of content.
• Apple has been in contact with production companies about the potential service, though it's still possible that the tech giant may not proceed with the concept.

In related news, Citi analysts wrote in a note to clients that Spotify's major investments in the podcasting space are not resulting in more premium subscriptions to the service. Citi downgraded Spotify stock from neutral to sell and said it had not seen any evidence that Spotify's significant financial investments in podcasting were worth the expense. "If we were to see a material positive inflection in app downloads or Premium subs (from higher gross adds or materially lower churn)," the analysts said, "we would alter our view."

Spotify's investments in podcasting since 2019 (estimated):

• Gimlet Media — $200M
• Anchor — $140M
• Megaphone — $235M
• Joe Rogan — $100M

Sources: TechCrunch, The Verge, WSJ

Spotify is also paying unknown amounts to Barack and Michelle Obama, Kim Kardashian West, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for podcast content.

Axios is launching a new podcast series, "How It Happened," the first several episodes of which will detail President Trump's actions in the last few months of his presidency, from his COVID-19 recovery to the insurrection at the Capitol. A companion series, "Off The Rails," is being published on Axios.com. New episodes of the podcast will be released every Monday.

Axios has published detailed notes for the first four episodes of the podcast:

• Episode 1: A premeditated lie lit the fire — Trump had anticipated the election night "red mirage" and planned in advance to declare victory and the election results fraudulent.
• Episode 2: Barbarians at the Oval — Trump turns away from his staff and toward conspiracists who tell him what he wants to hear regarding the election.
• Episode 3: Descent into madness — Trump's outside lawyers go deeper through the looking glass, parroting increasingly bizarre theories in a desperate attempt to reverse Joe Biden's election win.
• Episode 4: Trump turns on Barr — The relationship between Trump and his attorney general had "quietly disintegrated" over the previous six months.

The series is hosted by Axios' national political reporter Jonathan Swan, who conducted a memorable interview with Trump over the summer.

Podcast listenership grew among all age groups between 2019 and 2020, though the amount of time spent listening to podcasts per week per person remained flat, according to a new survey from YouGov. For the first time in 2020, more than half of all individuals in the U.S. under 50 were listening to podcasts — the percentage is 60% for those between 18 and 34.

Individuals most often listen to podcasts while doing household chores, commuting to and from work, and while cooking.

Streaming video appeared to benefit more from pandemic-related lifestyle changes than podcasting, according to the survey. Weekly hours watching streaming video increased from 4.7 to 5.3 from 2019 to 2020, but weekly hours listening to podcasts remained static, 1.8 to 1.9.

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• The owners of Pocket Casts — NPR, New York Public Radio, and Chicago Public Media — are planning to sell the platform.
• Major podcasting platforms like Apple, Spotify, and Google are still hosting conspiracy theory, QAnon-connected podcasts on their platforms, according to Business Insider.
• Apple is designing Podcast and Music apps for the Microsoft Store.
• The 2021 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards are this Thursday at 9 p.m. ET. The event will stream live on YouTube and Facebook.
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