Tech companies jumping on podcasting craze

Good quality wanted
Already, some podcasters are willing to pay for superior tools, according to Matt Galligan, who hosts a podcast called "The Spotlight" that promotes music from unsigned and little-known artists.

"If you don't have good audio quality, people won't listen to you," he said.

Podcast Alley is a typical Internet bootstrap operation, prized by fans of Internet "narrowcasting" not just for its podcast selection but also for free tools and tips.

Launched in November and featuring 4,100 podcasts, it has just one employee: founder Chris McIntyre, a 26-year-old programmer from Nashville, Tenn.

McIntyre says the number of podcasts has tripled in the past three months on his site and he's already begun selling enough ads to cover his expenses.

"Podcasts appeal to niche markets that can help advertisers zero in on their target audience," he said, adding that a podcast dedicated to endurance sports has received money from Gatorade for plugging the sports drink during the show.

In another sign that podcasting is attracting advertisers, Toyota has agreed to underwrite all the podcasts for Los Angeles-based radio station KCRW for six months in exchange for a 10-second mention in each of the shows, said Ruth Seymour, KCRW's general manager.

Apple on top
If anyone is positioned to win big on podcasting, it's Apple, which added an iPod directory that features more than 3,000 podcasts to the company's iTunes music-download site on June 28. Apple said more than a million podcasts were downloaded in the first two days the service was active.

With its marketing muscle and customer base — 16 million iPods sold — Apple has the clout and connections to strike deals to obtain music rights and collect licensing fees from podcasters wishing to become Web disc jockeys.

But it had better act fast.

NPR is negotiating with the music industry for podcasting rights as are other media companies, according to Seymour, whose station receives some of its programming from NPR.

She is eager for such a deal. Without one, KCRW is prevented from recording podcasts for shows that include music. That means fans of the popular "Morning Becomes Eclectic" must wait until music rights are obtained.

"The explosion for podcasting hasn't happened yet," said Seymour. "It takes off the second that someone gets the music rights."

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