Free Advice for Amazon
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With a few tweaks to Audible and Alexa, Amazon could own podcasts.
I’m a big podcast fan and listener. I started listening back in 2005, when you had to download standalone software to subscribe to feeds. These days, I use Apple’s built-in Podcasts app, but in the past, I’ve used Overcast, Downcast, PocketCasts, Stitcher, and probably a few others I’m forgetting.
It’s incredible that 24% of Americans listen to a podcast each month, given how difficult it is to find and share them. Discovery is completely broken. As I write this, SiriusXM has a market cap of 26 billion dollars, indicating that there’s a huge market for audio entertainment. And yet, I’m out of luck if I want to recommend an episode of Recode Decode or Bodega Boys to a less technical friend.
Also incredible is that one in six Americans owns a smart speaker. Alexa and Google Assistant are slugging it out in the battle to own the home, with Siri in a distant third. So far, the killer use cases for these devices are timers, music, and random simple questions. Soon, folks might primarily interact with their technology and the internet at large via smart speakers, and the tech giants are desperate to position themselves to take advantage of that shift if and when it happens.
Podcasts and smart speakers seem like a perfect match, and yet the experience of listening to podcasts on Alexa today is abysmal. By default, all Alexa can do is start playing the latest episode of a given podcast, from the beginning. Already heard this episode? Want to switch rooms? Want to continue listening from where you left off? Too bad. And this is just the simple in-home listening experience. The mobile experience is non-existent; those wishing to take their podcasts to go are out of luck.
Alexa’s podcast playing functionality is provided by TuneIn, which also serves as Alexa’s radio provider. The integration checks all of the boxes, but feels more like a demo than a thought out product.
Meanwhile, Amazon owns Audible, the Netflix of audiobooks. Amazon doesn’t release user metrics, but with 1.6 billion hours of audio downloaded in 2015, it’s safe to say that Audible is a juggernaut. In addition to audiobooks, Audible also contains a little known feature called Channels. Channels are essentially a set of curated exclusive podcasts, available only to Audible subscribers and Prime members. Audible is tightly integrated with Alexa. Alexa will remember your place in your audiobook or channel no matter what device you are listening from, be it smartphone or smart speaker.
So let’s get into my plan for Amazon’s podcast domination.
1. Rename Audible Channels to Podcasts
I can imagine Audible is trying to brand Channels as a premium experience, and doesn’t want to be associated with the free and sometimes low quality podcast content found on the open internet. I can also imagine that the vast majority of their users have never selected the Channels tab, because they have no idea what a Channel is. Channels must not see much adoption from word of mouth, as every time someone wants to recommend a Channel to a friend, they must also explain that, “It’s really just a podcast, but it’s called a Channel.” To describe Channels, Audible uses the term original audio series in all of their marketing. I’d guess there’s a rule at Audible headquarters requiring employees to put a dollar in a jar if they use the word podcast. Instead of viewing podcasting as a threat, as I’m sure they do, Audible needs to view podcasting as a user acquisition strategy.
2. Make Audible a Full-fledged Podcast Client
Audible should continue producing premium content for subscribers, but should also allow their apps to recommend, play, and subscribe to any podcast on the open internet. 76% of Americans don’t yet listen to podcasts. Imagine what it would do for Audible’s audiobook sales if those 76% of Americans suddenly had a reason to open Audible on a daily basis, even if they aren’t currently listening to an audiobook. Imagine if Audible ranked number one on Google for podcasts. Even in a world where smart speakers don’t exist, this is an obvious move for Audible.
3. Make Audible Alexa’s Default Podcast Player
Once Audible is a fully featured podcast client, Amazon can make it the default podcast client for Alexa, replacing TuneIn. For free, they’d have continuity across devices and platforms, providing the best smart speaker podcast listening experience. Alexa owners could and should be able to access premium Audible podcasts for free.
4. Make Podcasts Part of Alexa’s Brand
Amazon could then start marketing podcast listening as a primary use case for Alexa, driving up Alexa sales and adoption in the process. I can imagine a full-scale marketing blitz, featuring celebrity podcasters and guests, delivering the message: buy an Alexa and get easy access to tons of high-quality talk entertainment in your home for free. The uninitiated and curious would start to strongly associate Alexa with podcasts.
If Amazon were to pull all of this off, it could open up some interesting avenues for them as they expand into other segments of the distribution chain. Advertising and hosting immediately come to mind.
Selfishly, I want Amazon to do this just so my own podcast listening experience can be better. But from a business perspective, doesn’t it seem obvious?
