It-Alien, on Nov 7 2008, 11:33 AM, said:
I have a suggestion: I don't know how other similar podcasts work, as I never listen to them (I actually don't even know what exactly a podcast is), but I wonder if it would feasible to release the podcast in the form of a m3u playlist and each song (plus vocal intro) stored in a single MP3 file with artist info in the ID3 tags.
Didn't want to reply from work as I have Long Reply[TM] to provide.
Podcast is basically
on demand radioshow internet broadcast. The original purpose was to sync podcasts with your iPod. Basically a software (podcatcher) such as iTunes downloads the new shows automatically based on the RSS feed and automatically uploads them to your iPod when you connect the device (or in case of wifi devices, are in proximity of the computer). Since the file format is just plain MP3 nowadays you can use it with other devices other than ipod, including memory sticks for car stereo. Also many other podcatchers are available other than iTunes. For example I use winamp to sync my podcasts to my MP3 player.
So the idea is. Whenever I want to recharge my MP3 player, I stick it to my computer. While it's recharging it also updates my music with fresh radioshows and music.
Podcasts can also be listened directly from web page or in any MP3 software player.
Now, why I don't separate the tracks. There are many reasons.
1. Podcast players consider one 1 file per RSS entry. And most podcatchers download X latest shows. Usually the number being 5 or so. So it would leave some songs undownloaded.
2. I do seamless mixing (and maybe some beatmatching in the future) not all MP3 players support seamless playback.
3. Many people have their MP3 player on Shuffle, that would ruin the whole show or expect people to turn the shuffle off which is annoyance to listener which I don't want.
4. I discourage skipping. The point of Remixta is to introduce cool music you might not have heard before. If skipping is too easy, people might just skip to next track if they THINK the track is not that good.
5. Remixta, unlike it's predecessor Reselektor, carries a radioshow format. It's not only about the tracks, it's about the mix, about the things I say, (future) interviews and all that stuff. It's a soup, not a salad bar.
The alternative to what you might want is the Enhanced Podcast format by Apple. It basically contains "Chapter" information like DVD, allows skipping between chapters and custom titles for chapters. I may make enhanced podcast in future as alternative, but I can't make it the main thing as only iPod and some software players can play it.