MacVoices #25323: Kirk McElhearn Takes Control of Apple Media Apps (2)

Our conversation with Kirk McElhern about Take Control of Apple Media Apps looks at the steady maturation of Apple's media apps—Music, TV, Books, and Podcasts—and why major changes are now rare. Kirk unpacks Apple Music's personalized stations and discovery, the "hits rise to the top" problem, and why many podcast pros still prefer Overcast despite Apple's transcripts. Plus: how Apple's services strategy nudges users toward subscriptions, and why managing your own library adds complexity. (Part 2)

MacVoices is supported by the 2025 MacVoices Holiday Gift Guides. Tech and more you want to give and get. Find out what the panels recommend at MacVoices.com/HolidayGiftGuide.

Show Notes:

Chapters:

[0:00] Personal radio vs "played-to-death" tracks
[1:14] Mixes: Essentials, Discovery, personal stations, Friends
[2:06] Genius: how recommendations evolved
[3:34] Weighting, hits, and eclectic listening problems
[5:20] Creating a radio station from an album/song
[6:31] Podcast app satisfaction and why Overcast wins
[10:09] Podcast transcripts and what Apple can do at scale
[11:35] Apple apps work best with Apple services
[13:06] Subscriptions, Apple One, and rotating streaming services
[15:04] iTunes/iPod history and the interface that mattered
[18:30] Continuity from SoundJam to today
[19:20] Splitting iTunes into separate apps: debate
[23:55] Who benefits most: people managing local libraries

Links:

Take Control of Apple Media Apps by Kirk McElhearn

Guests:

Kirk McElhearn writes about Macs, iPods, iTunes, books, music and more. He is a regular contributor to TidBITS, as well as several other web sites and magazines. He is an avid podcaster who's shows include The Next Track,. You can follow him on Twitter, and visit his personal web site, Kirkville.

Support:

Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon
http://patreon.com/macvoices

Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal

Connect:

Web:
http://macvoices.com

Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner
http://www.twitter.com/macvoices

Mastodon:
https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner

MacVoices Page on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/

MacVoices Group on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/

Subscribe:

Audio in iTunes
Video in iTunes

Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:

Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss
Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss