RSS.com has added video podcasting capability for Apple Podcasts with automatic ad placement. Creators receive "70 per cent of the revenue with no audience threshold," according to Podnews. The feature is live.
The bar for earning from video on Apple Podcasts has dropped to zero subscribers. RSS.com's announcement last week brought video podcasting to Apple Podcasts with automatic ad placement and a creator-friendly revenue share: 70 per cent to the creator, zero subscriber requirement.
The threshold matters in African podcast markets. Airtime reported in July that "engagement beats size in African podcast monetisation". Many shows have loyal, engaged listeners but struggle to meet audience minimums set by platforms in older markets. The removal of that barrier makes video monetisation available to shows that were locked out.
Podnews reported the feature as part of RSS.com's "Max" plan, which offers unlimited video and audio podcasts. Apple does not control the revenue share or audience threshold. That comes from RSS.com, the podcast hosting company that provides the integration. The 70 per cent split is higher than some competitors, and the zero-minimum rule stands apart. Spotify, by contrast, has not removed audience thresholds for audio monetisation and faces ongoing criticism over creator earnings in markets where advertising is the only revenue source.
For African creators, the question is now whether audience size or engagement drives the algorithm on Apple's recommendation rail. That will determine whether the open threshold translates into discovery.