Apple Podcasts finally lets creators access follower metrics

Apple said Tuesday it’s rolling out a Podcasts update for creators, offering follower metrics and other features. That should help those who produce podcasts to monetize them, in part by tracking their audience through a variety of metrics.

Monetization: Apple Podcasts offers metrics to help creators track their audiences

As Apple Podcasts said in a press release, creators can now access information under the Analytics tab in Apple Podcasts Connect. There they can view followers per show and track followers across shows. The interface will display new followers gained over the last week, month, 60 days, and all time, and it will list metrics like time listened.

Jump Start initiative

Apple rolled out subscription podcasts in June, allowing creators to offer ad-free versions and subscriber-only content. Now the company adds support for podcast makers throughout the process in an initiative it’s calling “Jump Start.”

Apple said it designed the Jump Start feature to allow creators enrolled in the Apple Podcasters Program to request direct guidance from the PodApple Podcasts‌ team. In other words, it’s another way for people to jump start their subscriptions to better monetize their shows.

In addition, PodApple Podcasts‌ now accepts MP3 files for subscriber audio, as well as WAV and FLAC files. And creators can now customize their subscription banners with promotional messages for channels and shows.

Follower metrics will be available in PodApple Podcasts‌ Connect starting in April.