Spotify is buying up all the popular podcasts and removing them from the commons in order to drive you to their platform.
Podcasts have somehow stayed open access, built on standards, and just (mostly) work. Moving them to a proprietary platform just so a few people (ie: not you) can make money is bad for everyone who isn't making money. (ie: you.)
@readsteven Honestly I was thrilled to see Joe Rogan disappear into the Spotify world, the less places that douchebag is audible the better.
@spacewizard Him specifically, I could not care less. But it's not just him. Spotify has been systematically buying up popular podcasts of every stripe. That's the problem.
@spacewizard I hear you. (I regret that the nine-figure payday will make even more middle-aged dudes think, "Me and my buddies have opinions too! We're going to start a podcast and be the next Joe Rogan!" There was already a superabundance of these.)
@readsteven It's a regrettable trend, and I've already ditched one formerly favorite podcast (Last Podcast on the Left) because they went Spotify-only in January.
That made me sad. This makes me happy.