Agree with other comments that there is simply no specific replace for Soundcloud if you have a particular taste in electronic music. I've been a paying subscriber for years not bc i find the paid tier super compelling but bc i want them to not go under. Hope SC can find its way to sustainability
I highly recommend getting into Bandcamp if you haven't already. SoundCloud has proven over and over that when it comes to supporting indie artists versus selling out to the majors they will choose the latter, and ironically they still can't turn a profit. Meanwhile Bandcamp has been profitable for years, and you can discover and buy all kinds of great electronic music from the most obscure bedroom musicians to established names. I feel much happier giving my money to them, at least for now. (It remains to be seen if their new owners will mess it all up.)
The fact that this outcome occurred proves the board's resolve & determination (stubbornness?) but not much else.
some important questions:
- if Ilya had 4:2, why not just sit Sam down and work all this out in private?
- why has the board been completely unable to explain themselves to OAI employees? to the public?
- why not take a more neutral "parting ways" tone?
- latest reporting suggests that the board is doing this without any outside council (legal or professional network). it seems absolutely bonkers to risk funding sources eg MSFT on a decision like this.
Human character doesn't change that much, let's say that in his heart Sam is more of of a move fast and commercialize type of leader and Ilya doesn't want that. Do you think them sitting down and talking about it is really going to change things that much? People are who they are. If anything they've probably had these exact conversations many times already. Not every relationship is fixable, sometimes people are just incompatible.
As for the board's silence to the public, this should be obvious. Talking about their thinking/plans/reasons for firing Sam exposes them to all kinds of risk both legally and otherwise. The safe move is to stay quiet in public and continue talks with the relevant stakeholders (Microsoft, Sam + loyalists) in private
Very interesting, you've described me perfectly. Especially the amount of audible conversations. I actually talk outloud to myself quite a bit too when I'm trying to think through something.
A funny habit of mine is sometimes I'll go for a walk with my ear buds in (not playing anything) to give myself an 'excuse' to be having a conversation with myself
Some very obvious features are missing, but for a v1 launch the app runs smooth, feels clean, is easy to get started, and has a jovial early internet feel.
Meta will ship most every feature the average Twitter user would want in the next month or so and then it's game over.
Aside, it's amazing how Elon's antics over the last year (or many years) have somehow made Zuck seem both personable and competent
so agree here. i've used Pocketcasts and Spotify since my first smart phone. i have no philosophical opposition to Spotify acquiring exclusive content...whatever, play that game spotify. but end of the day, i want the best possible podcast experience, and you're not giving it to me. happy to keep them separate
Yep, same here in Australia. I never leave the house with more than my phone and I expect to tap & pay for absolutely everything. Even have cardless cash thru my bank's atm. and a digital license.
Visiting America feels like travelling back in time in this regard
> Apple has controlled the podcast industry through the iTunes podcast directory since day one.
> They ARE the podcast industry. And they’ve been open.
Hmmm is this really true? I've been listening to podcasts since 2012ish which puts me fairly early in the adoption curve and I've never used iTunes once (always been PocketCasts on Android).
Anyway, just another f'ing reason to NOT go all-in on Apple. Apple Podcasts kinda sucks? The few times I do use it as a directory to grab a link to send to a iOS-using friend, i just hate it. Search sucks, linking to a specific episode sucks, discoverability sucks.
I love my '22 M1 MBP I get from work, but it's the only Apple device I own. I just cannot stand this type of closed-system tactics, especially when their offering is so much worse than alternatives (don't get me started on iMessage or Safari)
>> They ARE the podcast industry. And they’ve been open.
>Hmmm is this really true?
They’ve accounted for the vast majority of podcast listeners since the early iPod days. It’s literally why they are called podcasts. They only dipped below 50% of listeners relatively recently.
Both podcasts and the term podcast predated Apple’s support of podcasts. The reason it was named as such was because iPods were the most popular listening device for podcasts.
