RSS.Com: The Best Option For Indie Podcasters

Buried deep in the recesses of podcasting history is the tale that RSS played in the industry's ascension. Before RSS, early podcasts were primarily distributed through direct downloads from a creator's website or blog. The listener had to manually download new episodes, similar to how one would download a song or a document.

RSS was critical to the growth of podcasting because it provided an open, standardized way to distribute audio content automatically across different platforms and devices. This allowed creators to reach a wider audience by making it easy for various apps and directories to discover and deliver new episodes, creating a foundation for the entire industry to flourish. The open nature of RSS meant that anyone could create a podcast feed, and any application that supported the standard could read it. This broke down barriers to entry, fostering a diverse and decentralized ecosystem where listeners could use their preferred app to subscribe to podcasts from any creator. 

 RSS.com offers podcast hosting, analytics and monetization services that cater to everyone from beginners to experienced podcasters. Driven to facilitate the free flow of information, ideas, stories, and experiences through podcasts, RSS.com continues to break barriers in the world of podcasting by providing innovative services and intuitive tools. 

"Humanity has always been shaped by the power of stories; it is how we learn, grow, and navigate the world around us," says Alberto Betella, Co-founder of RSS.com.

When Ben Richardson acquired the RSS.com domain in 2013, he wasn’t thinking about podcasting at all. He was trying to save RSS feed readers after Google Reader shut down. But over time, something became clear: podcast listeners (and hosts!) kept asking questions about RSS feeds.

That observation led to a partnership with Alberto Betella, who had spent years building Podcast Generator, an open-source podcasting platform.

Together, Ben and Alberto launched RSS.com in January 2018 with a core belief: podcasting should remain open, accessible, and free from any single gatekeeper.

That’s where the RSS feed comes in, as it’s a powerful technology that makes podcasting truly independent. The RSS feed is the backbone of podcasting. 

Here’s why it matters:

Independence – No single gatekeeper can shut you down. Unlike social media platforms or streaming services that control your content and your audience, an RSS feed belongs to you. 

When listeners subscribe to your show, they’re subscribing to your feed, not a platform’s algorithm. You maintain control. You own the relationship with your audience.

Portability – One feed reaches every platform. You create an RSS feed once, submit it to directories like Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and your content flows freely to listeners everywhere. 

This open architecture means a podcast hosted anywhere can be heard everywhere.

Ownership – You own your audience, not a platform. Your subscriber list, your content, your distribution, all of it stays in your hands. 

No company can change the rules on you overnight or hold your audience hostage.

Longevity – Platforms come and go, but RSS remains open. 

Remember Google+? Vine? Even Twitter has transformed beyond recognition. 

RSS has been around since 1999, and will outlast whatever platform is trendy today because it’s not owned by anyone. It’s an open standard.

By the way, we’d be remiss if we didn’t share this warning: If you only publish on Spotify or YouTube without an RSS feed, you’re trapped in walled gardens. 

Your show exists only where they allow it. The day they change their terms, sunset a feature, or decide your content doesn’t fit their model, you could end up starting over from scratch.

This independence and portability unlock something powerful: the ability to speak directly to specific communities, no matter how small or scattered.

Radio has always been local, but only within the limits of geography and broadcast towers. Podcasting takes that same local voice and makes it borderless. A show recorded in a small town can be just as accessible to someone across the street as to someone across the ocean.

Consider these scenarios

– A counselor in Arizona creates a podcast about various mental health topics in her area to assist people that might not be able to get into her office to educate themselves. 

– A diaspora community maintains cultural connections across continents.

– Small business owners in the same industry, but different cities, share practical advice.

– Parents of children with a rare medical condition find each other and build support networks.

This is what RSS.com makes possible.

You don’t need a million listeners to make an impact. You need the right listeners. The ones who care deeply about what you have to say. The ones who find kinship in your voice.

RSS.com’s founding team understood this from the beginning. Alberto, working from Europe, and Ben, based in Texas, built their company across continents before ever meeting in person. 

Their diverse backgrounds (spanning real estate, technology, academia, and startups) informed a core principle: every voice deserves to be heard, and linguistic and cultural diversity strengthens the medium.

 The barrier to entry for podcasting should be low. That was Alberto’s vision when he created Podcast Generator in 2005, making it free and open-source. The same principle guides RSS.com today: powerful tools at an accessible price point that anyone can use.

When podcasting becomes accessible, local stories get told. Niche communities find their voice. Someone in a small town can reach listeners worldwide. A podcast about beekeeping in Vermont might find devoted fans in Australia. A show discussing regional cuisine might inspire food lovers across the globe.

All of this is possible because RSS.com keeps the medium open.

Celebrate the Open Web

 Greg Wasserman, who is the Chief Relationship Officer for RSS.com. observes: "When it comes to how RSS.com can help indie podcasters in ways that the big podcast networks can’t, or won’t, I think there’s actually a misconception at the heart of that question. 

It’s not so much a divide between indies and networks, because RSS.com actually has a network plan, where one account can host as many podcasts as they want, with tons of bells and whistles, such as a collaborator function, IAB-certified analytics, audio-to-video conversion technology, robust reporting, and more, with one low monthly price. Both indie podcasters and podcast networks can host their shows with RSS.com. While we don’t yet offer every single feature some large networks might require, we’re building toward that, and the core tools are already there for both groups."

Greg says: "Where RSS.com really stands out, though, is in giving creators, whether they’re indies or part of a network, easy, accessible ways to monetize. For example, with just 10 downloads a month, anyone can start using our programmatic ad solution and begin making money from their podcast. Plus, we offer a 70/30 revenue share split, so the majority of the revenue goes back to the creator. That’s better than a lot of other hosting companies that are still doing a 50/50 split."

Greg brings it all home with the company's mission.
"Our philosophy is about putting people over profit. We’re focused on providing more profit, more opportunities, and more solutions for indie creators, and also giving the same advantages to larger shows and networks. It’s about making podcasting accessible and rewarding for everyone. That’s how I see RSS.com really helping indie podcasters in a way that’s hard to find elsewhere."

"Now, at RSS.com as Head of Relationships, I get to bring it full circle, educating podcasters, creating partnerships across the ecosystem, and championing one of the largest hosting companies in the world. Along the way, I’ve guested on over 100 podcasts, and I’ll be hosting one soon to round out the journey."

Without it, podcasting would just be another walled garden. With it, podcasting remains one of the last truly open media on the internet.

If you’ve ever thought about starting a podcast, now’s the time. Your voice deserves to live freely and be shared with the world on your terms, not an algorithm’s.

 Greg observes: "When it comes to how RSS.com can help indie podcasters in ways that the big podcast networks can’t, or won’t, I think there’s actually a misconception at the heart of that question. It’s not so much a divide between indies and networks, because RSS.com actually has a network plan, where one account can host as many podcasts as they want, with tons of bells and whistles, such as a collaborator function, IAB-certified analytics, audio-to-video conversion technology, robust reporting, and more, with one low monthly price. Both indie podcasters and podcast networks can host their shows with RSS.com. While we don’t yet offer every single feature some large networks might require, we’re building toward that, and the core tools are already there for both groups."

Greg says: "Where RSS.com really stands out, though, is in giving creators, whether they’re indies or part of a network, easy, accessible ways to monetize. For example, with just 10 downloads a month, anyone can start using our programmatic ad solution and begin making money from their podcast. Plus, we offer a 70/30 revenue share split, so the majority of the revenue goes back to the creator. That’s better than a lot of other hosting companies that are still doing a 50/50 split."

In early October, RSS.com announced a new partnership with CodeADX, giving podcasters an additional way to generate revenue through affiliate marketing.With this collaboration, RSS.com creators of all sizes can now earn commissions by promoting brands and sharing unique promo codes with their audiences. 

This new offering complements RSS.com’s existing PAID (Programmatic Ads Inserted Dynamically) program, giving podcasters more freedom to monetize instantly, whether by enabling programmatic ads or by promoting hand-picked merchants.

“Finding, pitching, negotiating, and reporting take a lot of time and resources. With CodeADX, podcasters can skip all of that and still earn meaningful income regardless of audience size. Many are already earning more than they would on a traditional CPM basis, without the extra work. That is real value,” notes Greg Wasserman, Head of Relationships at RSS.com.

In other RSS enhancements, Over a year ago, RSS.com added support for the Podcasting 2.0 Location Tag. Since then, the standard has evolved with a major update, and so did they. You can now specify what place your podcast or episode is about, and where it was made.

The new version integrates beautifully with OpenStreetMap, the open, community-driven project that powers maps around the world. It's a perfect match for podcasting: both are open, collaborative, and built by passionate people who love sharing knowledge. RSS.com now stores not only the GPS coordinates but also the official OpenStreetMap ID.

Greg Wasserman brings it all home with the company's mission.
"Our philosophy is about putting people over profit. We’re focused on providing more profit, more opportunities, and more solutions for indie creators, and also giving the same advantages to larger shows and networks. It’s about making podcasting accessible and rewarding for everyone. That’s how I see RSS.com really helping indie podcasters in a way that’s hard to find elsewhere."