All I can say is, "Wow".
Within the first 5 minutes, the conversation got interrupted and there was about 90 seconds worth of random commercials. There's already been a few more advertisements in this episode and I'm only 45 minutes into the hour and 50 minute airing.
The last episode I listened to, was long enough ago, that I've got to listen to over 200 installments. I went from listening every week to being squirreled by other people's audio; so three years later, I've got a lot to catch up on.
Which actually means half of what is in the list, I can automatically marked as played, because they're for "subscribers only".
There are people who pay to listen to the show with no advertisements, no interruptions, receive extra features, better information, and so forth. The Patreon fee is $3 a month for the basic level and goes up to $50 a month for true inclusivity - this is a small club; only 5 people belong, according to the Patreon page. All levels have option to "pay annually" and "save 10%".
Conversely, via Apple, the "premium" subscription is $4.99 a month or $59.99 a year. I think the difference is between the two services, outside of the "Listen Ad-free / Get Bonus Episodes / Listen First" option, is just that - you only get bonus episodes and no ads in Apple. Patreon adds merch, the ability to enter the closed off Facebook page, Youtube videos, exclusives no one else can get. Spotify on the other hand, based on just looking at the page, doesn't have an option to support? I could be wrong.
I like the show, but I can't afford the membership fee right now. On any platform. Therefore, in the Apple Podcast player, I'm sending the locked episodes to the vault.
This "significantly" cut down the episodes I need to listen to. Sure, I'm missing bonus content and 5-10 minutes more of the show, but some of the subscription episodes are aired with commercials, so it's not a big problem... except when a sentence is cut in half and some ad for another app chimes in. It's jarringly weird because then you forget what the person was talking about and hope you didn't miss anything else from what they were saying.
Happened to me with this episode I'm listening to; Shannon asked a question and the guest started answering. He was mid word and all of a sudden I got blasted with some advertisement. It was loud because it was just spliced in but whatever AI Apple uses. When the show came back on, it sounded like I missed something. I can't tell because I'm not a paying member.
I guess my point is, since I've noticed this is becoming common practice with other podcasts, "buyer beware" that you might get service interruptions in your audio when you least expect it.
It's not new because we're getting them on our television shows and video streaming services already. But now when you want to cut off the world for a little while and listen to an audio program that isn't on the radio, you're going to have to contend with timed sales pitches.
If you're into the supernatural, go check out "iNTO THE FRAY" because it's pretty interesting, if you ignore the advertisements. Shannon LeGro does a good job on this and it's worth listening to. If you don't want to hear it, you don't have to. I won't judge.
Until something happens in the universe shift, be safe and well.
Cheers;
See Also
- "iNTO THE FRAY RADIO - Encounters with the Paranormal" via Audible on Amazon
- "INTO THE FRAY" via Audible on Amazon - this seems like a side show, but not the actual podcast / subscribers version
- "iNTO THE FRAY RADIO - Encounters with the Paranormal" via Apple Podcasts
- "iNTO THE FRAY RADIO - Encounters with the Paranormal" via Spotify
- "Into The Fray Radio" official website
- "Into The Fray" via Patreon
