• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, June 10, 2021

In April, Apple announced plans to introduce its first podcast subscriptions in May.

That schedule was delayed — apparently due to a host of technical glitches experienced by creators after Apple made a backend update in preparation for the subscriptions, according to The Verge.

Now, Apple has announced that the subscriptions launch will take place June 15.

The subscriptions will allow creators to offer features including ad-free listening, access to additional content, and early or excusive access to new series.

Creators will pay Apple an annual $20 fee to participate, and set their own subscription prices. Apple will take 30% of the sub fee in the first year of a subscription, and 15% in each year following.

Meanwhile, in late April, rival Spotify launched its own podcast subscriptions.

The differences: Spotify isn’t taking a cut of creators’ fees, and there is no ability to subscribe in-app — which allows creators and subscribers to avoid Apple App Store fees. Spotify podcast subscribers instead have to navigate to an external Anchor webpage.