Castbox Hosts Pirated Subscription Podcasts Despite Content Producers’ Complaints
The app Castbox is hosting (or pirating) subscription podcast episodes without compensating either the platforms on which they were produced or the content producers who made them. The creators of these exclusive podcasts say that despite complaining to the company that runs Castbox, the problem persists. As two anonymous sources told The Verge, dealing with Castbox about podcast subscription-based podcasts posted without permission are like a game of cat and mouse. Content producers report their pirated program on the platform, Castbox removes the podcast, and days later, there it is again.
O The Verge found the sports podcast Opposite Picks for free on Castbox; The Last Podcast On The Left, a show about horror, and The Joe Rogan Experience, which is exclusive to Spotify; all podcasts that can only be listened to by paying.
The problem is partly because podcasts tend to use private RSS feeds to distribute their paid content. RSS feeds are links made available to subscribed listeners, and can be easily posted to podcast apps like Apple Podcasts and Pocket Casts. With these RSS feeds, content producers don't have to manage their paid products across multiple services for each episode.
But anyone with a link to subscription-based content can post it to other platforms like Castbox or share it with friends. “That’s the good and the bad of openness,” said Justin Jackson, co-founder of podcast hosting service Transistor.fm. “The internet is amazing and allows us to post content everywhere, but restricting access to content is always going to be difficult.”
Solutions for podcast piracy
Slate's Supporting Cast offers a solution to the problem of pirated subscription podcasts: software that monitors private RSS feeds for suspicious activity, such as excessive downloads on what should be an individual feed.
Another way to prevent podcast piracy is to use text tags inserted into a podcast’s metadata. These tags allow podcast platforms to verify an RSS feed owner by checking their email address in the metadata, preventing anyone else from posting the content as their own. Another tag, “locked,” prevents platforms from importing a podcast, and a third tag instructs apps not to index a particular podcast.
As Transistor.fm's Jackson pointed out, Castbox's software is likely ignoring these verification tags for content being posted on its platform.
This problem with pirated RSS feeds and subscription podcasts could be an advantage for Apple and Spotify in this industry. Both companies are introducing their own systems de signature in their podcast apps, allowing users to subscribe to their favorite shows without leaving the platform.
Image: Habash Design/Pixabay
