CoinGeek Weekly Livestream episode 13: Castr puts audio on-chain with ‘infinite’ earning potential

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Before there was YouTube, iTunes and Spotify, people downloaded podcasts—which were basically radio shows people listened to on iPods or other MP3 players. If you happened to be one of those who listened to podcasts back then, you would know that it took time and effort to do so. Lucky for us today, that’s no longer the case. Thanks to the host of podcast platforms made available, anyone with a smart device can listen to a podcast in an instant.

Since its inception in 2004, podcasts have become more mainstream. Now, just about anyone can create and publish their own. “A lot of people don’t realize that these video streaming giants like YouTube or these platforms that we’re on right now, people are really spoiled because these software platforms ostensibly offer the service for free,” Castr CEO Josh Wiley tells Kurt Wuckert Jr.

Josh who has been podcasting on and off for over a decade isn’t quite happy with the way things are shaping in the podcasting world. “Podcasters are really used to, again, this peer to peer vision of the future and they’re also willing to put in payment or proof-of-work to host those files,” he comments.

In this episode of CoinGeek Weekly Livestream, Josh tells Kurt how upsetting it is for him to see high-profile podcasters delisted from platforms like iTunes and Poddy—something that wouldn’t have been possible back then. “Just as a fan of podcasting, it’s one of those avenues that didn’t really start to experience the heavy hand of censorship until a little bit later.”

To alleviate issues like censorship, Josh wanted to offer podcasters a sound solution. His idea: put audio files on-chain. His company website states, “By storing podcasts on the blockchain, the audio data uploaded on Castr provides censorship-resistance.” This means, the podcast remains on the ledger indefinitely.

After only 18 months, Josh’s idea became a reality. Castr is now the first on-chain podcasting service in the world operating under the Bitcoin SV blockchain, and the podcast upload portal is already making its presence felt. Castr hosts “This Podcast is Making Me Thirsty,” a well-received podcast where former cast members of the American television series “Seinfeld” dish out celebrity gossip. It’s one of the most popular podcasts on Castr at the moment, Josh says.

Can you profit on Castr? The answer is yes. Josh says podcasters can earn directly from their audience through cheers and discussion. Similar to Twetch, it adopts the concept of paid speech. Overall, Josh believes that what Castr is doing for consumable media is exciting. “We put audio on chain, and it’s earning potential is basically infinite into the future.”

Check out previous episodes of the CoinGeek Weekly Livestream on YouTube.