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Whether you listen to podcasts or not, something odd about them is worth appreciating. Podcasting has been one of the few digital information and entertainment areas not controlled by giant corporations.

This phase is coming to an end and there is now a battle to become the Big Tech Boss of podcasts.

last weeks Discussion featuring podcast host Joe Rogan He underlined that Spotify and other companies want to be the Netflix of podcasting. They dream of controlling both popular programs like Rogan’s show and the digital spot we’re listening to.

This comes at a time when tech geeks want to reshape the internet. less dictated by powerful companies – caught by the umbrella The term “Web3”This reality has already existed in podcasts and is fading. What happened to podcasts is a discouraging lesson that digital freedom can replace utopian ideals when the potential profits become too attractive.

Let me take a step back and explain why podcasts are a relatively free corner of digital life, and what we’ve gained and lost now that it’s changed.

Theoretically, anyone could make a podcast in their basement and then distribute it wherever people listen to podcasts. There is no set of rules that everyone must follow.

Maybe this doesn’t seem remarkable, but in a way it is. In most of the internet, Big Tech bouncers open doors.

Apple and (to a lesser extent) Google determine where we download apps, how we pay for them, and the features they include. Amazon effectively drives what millions of merchants and online shoppers do. The places where we form online communities are often controlled by superpowers like Facebook.

The largest group of people who listen to podcasts use the audio app that comes standard on iPhones, but Apple hasn’t been as involved in podcasts as it is in apps. Podcasts have been a rebellious but glorious freebie for everyone for a while.

There wasn’t a single moment when podcasting started to become more like a private nightclub. But Spotify’s decisions a few years ago started paying people hundreds of millions of dollars for exclusive rights. like rogan and podcast company Gimlet Media produced was when podcasts began to chart the same path as Netflix.

If you like Rogan, you can only listen to his show on Spotify. (Spotify bought two more podcast tech companies this week.) Interviews with fans or entrepreneurs of the true crime podcast series “My Favorite Murder” “How I built this” has to use Amazon’s music app to listen to the latest episodes.

Ashley Carman, writing about her podcasting job for The Verge, called 2021 “The year the platforms came to our ears,” with Facebook, YouTube, New York Times and Sirius XM shows he has bigger ambitions in podcasts, too.

And it happened because companies want our ears and our attention. “That changed when podcasting became a business strategy for these companies,” he said. Tatyana Cirisanoa music industry analyst and consultant to MIDiA Research.

Spotify has pretty much the same songs found in loads of other places online and has a hard time monetizing music. Podcasts, especially popular ones that people can only find on Spotify, could be the company’s ticket to lasting financial success. about 30 percent of Americans listen to podcasts every week and viewers and ad sales they are growing fast. Podcasts have become a cultural force. This is a tasty target for companies.

Strong companies with more control over podcasts have their benefits. It’s easier to find things you might like, as Amazon, Spotify, or YouTube may suggest options for you to explore. Spotify has smart podcast ideas Leveraging a mix of music and podcasts, including shows that combine songs with presenter jokes similar to radio DJ morning shows.

But it’s also a bummer to tame podcasts. As soon as something becomes popular and potentially lucrative enough, relatively unregulated digital services become a land grab for tech watchdogs. And with this land grab, we’re probably going to see a little less creative freedom.

Before you go …

• He wants to portray a faded American icon: My colleague Don Clark An in-depth look at Pat Gelsinger, CEO of the computer chip company Intel, which was instrumental in producing the technology we know. Gelsinger wants to help Intel regain lost ground in cutting-edge chips and Government funding to make the US a chip-making powerhouse again. No pressure.

• Your bionic eyes are another obsolete tool: The IEEE Spectrum reports on retinal technology implanted in people’s bodies and later abandoned by the manufacturer.

• Three former investment bankers named Cole, Steve and Sal He developed a system for booking hot New York restaurants months in advance and then distributed them (for free) to people on Telegram. they were caughtEater reported.

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