Should listeners be charged for podcasts?

Should listeners be charged for podcasts?

Danny Kelly (Podcaster) gives expert video advice on: Should podcasts be made with an international audience in mind?; Should listeners be charged for podcasts?; Are podcasts the future of radio?

People have come to expect virtually anything on the internet - with the exception of those two great wings, pornography and financial advice - to be free. We are moving to a time when people will start to charge small amounts for these podcasts. It is entertainment, after all. Ricky Gervais made a small fortune charging for his, but people have got to be absolutely honest. Unless you're making an absolutely premium product, charging for it is a huge leap. If you take a rule of thumb - if you're thinking about doing it yourself, and you've got an audience, you might think 50% of those will pay one dollar a week to hear it. It's more like 10%, if you're lucky. People are rightly careful with their money. They've had to earn it. It wasn't given to them. It didn't grow on a tree. You will see more and more podcasts being charged for, but they will have to be the very best ones. They will be - there's no other way for it. That's the way things work. Once you start to charge for things, you're out of business if you're not good.