The Howard Stern Podcast Problem

Because podcasting is such a new, exciting, cutting
edge phenomena, many people are eager to get
connected, and hence the Howard Stern podcast.
Everyone wants to be part of the next big thing, but not
everyone is suited or ready to do so. The Howard Stern
Podcast was created and shown on iTunes, the Apple
company's music store. However, the podcast was never
updated, and the only clip ever provided didn't even
include Howard Stern. This has brought a lot of flack
down on Howard Stern, as well as Sirius Radio, which
broadcasts Stern. Many of these people would have
preferred to hear Stern when they wanted to, as a
podcast, and were disappointed that the feed was not
being used.

The Howard Stern podcast is probably an example of
some of the problems that can arise with podcasting. Its
new, and very hyped, so everyone wants to be a part of
it. However, the podcast is designed to be free. RSS
feeds are designed to easily distribute files, that can
then be redistributed and shared by the users who
download them. It would be close to impossible for a
podcaster to charge for their content. Either the
podcaster would have a small circle of people who
enjoy the feed, and very few who would want to pay for
it, or be very popular, as Stern is, and have the problem
of paying customers possibly redistributing the content
so others won't need to pay.