What a private podcast is and who it is for

A public podcast has an open RSS feed: anyone who knows the address can subscribe and the show appears in directories. It is for getting known.

In a private podcast each person gets their own address, valid only for them. They open it in the podcast app they already use and find the episodes next to the other shows they follow.

When you give someone access, Fonaria creates a feed address with a unique code. The episodes are the same for everyone; the address is different for each person. That gives you three things a public feed does not:

• Individual access: each address belongs to one person.
• Revocation: when a subscription ends you switch off that address and the feed stops responding, without touching the others.
• Different timing for each person: the same catalogue can open up in stages, starting from each listener’s sign-up.

Many people already listen to podcasts in the car, at the gym or while walking. A private podcast fits into that moment without asking them to open a website or remember a password.

The app does the rest: offline downloads, playback speed, resuming where they left off.

Anything that makes sense to listen to and that you want to keep for a group of people:

• Audio courses: lessons become episodes to follow in order.
• Coaching and memberships: an audio channel reserved for members.
• Free content in exchange for an email, with the option to move on to paid content.
• Updates and material for people who have already bought.

With Fonaria you put access on sale and get paid into your own Stripe account. You pay a fixed subscription plus a 10%, 7% or 5% commission depending on the plan: the pricing page has the full breakdown and a calculator.