One of my favourite podcasts is being wrecked

Of course, I sound like a grumpy old man. I am a grumpy old man. But I’m very seriously considering abandoning one of my favorite podcasts, to which I’ve been listening for a very long time. The presenter has possibly the most mellifluous voice of any I listen to, maybe even of all those I don’t listen to. The stories she tells are usually beautifully crafted and terribly interesting, and although my appetite for true crime is limited, this podcast satisfies it perfectly.

And yet I’m thinking of unsubscribing.

Why? Because it has changed. The first thing I noticed was an increasing number of advertisements, each of which seem to be longer and longer. Very meta, some of those long advertisements tempt me to pay to get rid of the advertisements, which I suppose was the intention. I do find it hard to believe that paying subscribers make much of a contribution to the bottom line since moving from independence to a fully ad-supported network. So, more, longer ads must be essential.

Advertisements are easy enough to skip through. The latest problem for me is an excessive use of music beds that do absolutely nothing for the speakers I am struggling to listen to over the noodling. I’m not sure what’s going on. This is not deft scoring to underline emotional points or changes in the direction of the story. In fact, it seems to me that the music is being selected by a not very intelligent bot and for no good reason.

Will I unsubscribe? Not immediately, but I am very close. And if my socials keep telling me about brilliant episodes that I simply must listen to, well, then I will reconsider.