Should you submit your podcast to Google Play Music Podcast Portal?
The Terms of Service are pretty typical, which is to say, a bit troubling…
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Podcast Portal – Finally!
In this solo episode, I share my thoughts about whether to list your podcast(s) in the Google Play Music Podcast Portal.
In October, Google finally added podcasts to it's Google Play Music store, so android users will now have a more native way to discover and consume podcast content.
Sounds fantastic, right?
Not so fast.
Concerns about the Terms of Service
If you take the time to read the Terms of Service carefully, you may find some points that give you reason to rethink whether you'll submit your show to Google's service.
Google will download and host your content separately.
My big concerns relate mainly to the fact that Google is planning to download the contents of your RSS feed and host the material on their own servers, which means that, at least with respect to the hosted material, you're losing control of your feed, and of what your subscribers are seeing when they access what they think is your podcast.
You lose control of your feed.
If you, for some reason, need to remove an episode from your feed, it will nonetheless remain available to Google Play users, if they've previously downloaded that episode. So, if you're taking down material because of a legal threat, or you just don't like what you said… Too bad. Google still has a copy. And you can bet that it'll be indexed, and will turn up in *some* search results.
Requiring things the law doesn't.
Another point of concern is that Google is seemingly imposing a requirement that goes beyond what the actual law requires. Specifically, Google expects you to warrant and represent that you have permission to use the name, likeness, etc., of every person you so much as mention in your show. Even if you don't have a legal obligation to get that permission. (it's legal in most instances to mention a person by name within the content of a media program like a podcast. What's not legal is using that person's name or likeness for commercial purposes.) Google is taking things farther than the law requires, and it's doing so in a way that can have a chilling effect on free speech.
Google wants to use your content in its advertising and promotion, and that's commercial… So if they do so in a way that infringes the rights of someone you mention or show in your podcast, they'll expect you to take the heat.
More concerns. Listen to the episode
Now, I've just scratched the surface in these show notes. There are a few more points that raised my eyebrows… So give this episode a listen.
Read the Terms of Service for yourself.
And if you're interested in reading these Terms of Service for yourself (which you should), visit:
https://play.google.com/music/podcasts/publish
Click “Get Started” and proceed as though you're going to publish your feed. You'll be prompted to accept the terms. Read carefully.
For convenience, Here is a PDF version
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