Breaker
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Breaker Upstream - The first premium podcast marketplace

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Breaker Upstream is the first open marketplace for podcasters to sell premium audio content directly to listeners. Podcasters of all sizes can now earn revenue without relying on advertising, making it easier for anyone to start a successful podcast.

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I hope to see more tools like this to support the podcast ecosystem and creators. I know the Breaker team likely won't make the direct comparison but this feels like a "Patreon for podcasters". If I had more time I'd love to create a personal podcast to experiment with this model... but for now my focus needs to remain on Product Hunt and the podcast we're launching soon. Disclaimer: I invested in Breaker last year.
A premium product hunt podcast could be interesting, curious how you would balance free content and paid premium (reminds me of stratechery). That's probably a model a lot of podcasters will have to figure out
As one of the podcasters partnering with Breaker on this, I don't mind comparing it directly. Realistically, this brings the idea of a supporting subscription much more directly to the user. This is dedicated to podcasts, and that makes the experience so much better. I already loved Breaker as my personal podcast player of choice (with no affiliation). This is going to help our audience have a more direct support model for the show with an excellent UX to support THEM.
very smart investment. Sidestepping the MAD Men
as a podcast host myself using Patreon, I would never expect to have to pay for a brand's (Product Hunt or any other) podcast, whether premium or not. Just look at 20khz—they drive a ton of exposure to their parent company (Defacto Sound) for free because they just make great content. Donating is optional.
interesting...I'd love to talk with you on Founders Talk if you're interested. Say hi or get in touch.
Love Breaker already, but this is a great differentiator and way to drive the audio industry forward. There are various revenue models aside from advertising in premium video content, why not in audio as well? I listen to and value podcasts at least as much as the video content I pay for on Netflix, Hulu, HBO, etc. That said, I don't know that any ONE podcast provides enough value to warrant the $4.99/mo. example shown above ($0.99/mo. might be more reasonable). There's a reason HBO doesn't charge $5/mo. per show, but rather $15/mo. for access to all their content. Maybe something more like Medium's model where you share revenue back to publishers based on consumption might make more sense from the consumer standpoint? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Just some thoughts. But great job and congrats on launching this, Breaker team!
Maker
Thanks! 💙 Breaker allows the podcaster to choose their price point, so they can experiment with what works best for them. Developer Tea is one of our launch partners. They have a large and loyal audience, so they're launching an ad-free version for $4.99/month. Over time we'll see how this model works out, but we think it's a great way for podcasters to be able to choose how to monetize their content.
What about purchasing individual episodes? Is/will that be an option? Not sure why sub's are all the rage these days for content...
Maker
Yes, individual episode purchase is another option that Breaker offers! Our launch partners 20 Minute Fitness and Fit Because are offering bonus premium episodes.
awesome! love that you guys offer audio versions of avod, svod, and tvod (aaod, saod, taod anyone?) for potentially the *same* content - that is so rare in the video world I work in...
Hunter
Super fan of Breaker () — and this approach is very timely. I've noticed a significant uptick in the number of ads being spliced into podcasts and... it's frankly ruining the format in many cases. Hopefully this approach will allow listeners to support their favorite shows and provide specific tooling for podcasters that general crowdfunding platforms like Patreon don't. My biggest worry is about the size of Breaker's audience... it's going to have to grow considerably to make this viable for producers. 🤞🏻
Also a super fan of Breaker (). I'm very excited about this podcast marketplace in the social community sense. This not only opens new doors for paying a subscription fee for ad-free podcasts, but can also be a place for publishers to sell any merchandise through in-app purchases or deeplinks to store pages. For example, Publishers can sell t-shirts, books, memorabilia, etc. within the podcast or user profile page. Or even a podcast about a new book coming out can highlight that product and link out to Amazon to pre-order/buy. Showcasing products and highlighting links that are used within podcast show notes can be great affiliate program. <- These type of formats can appeal to a ton of publishers that can bring in more users.
happy to see anything which helps the long tail of creators get paid!
Will the podcast host be able to create coupon codes for their audience? Could be an interesting way to use a content upgrade. Dope🚬🚬
Maker
The ability to have coupons didn't quite make it in before launch, but we hope to add it super soon. Were you thinking of it could be used as a percent discount or to offer a podcast/episode for free to certain people?
I was thinking of offering bonus and behind the scenes episodes for free. Having something to offer the user as an incentive to subscribe is a game changer.
Agree, loyalty means a lot nowadays
This is fantastic! Anything that furthers the podcast as a medium as great news. One question, when the user has purchased an episode or subscription are those episodes theirs for good? Can they be exported?
Maker
Thanks! When a user purchases an episode or subscription, it is available to them in the Breaker app and the Breaker website to listen to as much as they like. For security reasons, there's no way to export the audio.
Does this only work for the Breaker app?
Maker
You can listen to purchased podcasts and episodes in the Breaker app and on the Breaker website (when logged in).
I love breaker and the discoverability of awesome pods (I listen in Overcast though) and I like this direction and platform, but I find this is worrying for the podcast ecosystem. Any vendor or app lock-in makes the platform closed, which is not a good way forward for great podcast content or the ecosystem. Is there going to be a way on Breaker Upstream to for listeners of podcasts to purchase premium streams and listen on the app of their choice?
Maker
We're definitely thinking about these issues and we're also concerned about keeping purchased content private.

Love it

Pros:

Great idea!

Cons:

None

i supported this project
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