Apps: Apple, which was in second-place last year, moved up to #1 spot this year. Spotify also saw an increase in score, and you’ll notice that both of these platforms have scored higher this year than last for many of the questions we asked.
Directories: Both Spotify and Apple see an increase in their score here, while Podcast Index remains steady. Apple scores lower than Spotify, potentially because of their requirement for approval (which is mostly instant these days) and the requirement for an Apple ID, which isn’t always smooth.
Insights: For insights, Google has lost a little score after removing some of the analytics available on the Google Podcasts platform. Apple has pulled away from Spotify, though, to get to be #1.
Monetization: After Apple announced and launched their paid subscriptions product in May 2021, its use by an increasing number of podcast creators may explain Apple’s higher scores here.
Overall: Apple [#1] as seen a significant increase in ranking from creators, though Spotify has also seen an increase in score.
Creator relations: Perhaps reflecting a lack of a large support team coupled with its growth, Podcast Index sees a drop here. The winner here, once more, is Apple, with a significant increase in ranking.
It’s very clear that creators are impressed with changed in Apple’s processes.
