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Popular podcast app Instacast now discontinued as parent company Vemedio runs out of money

Screen Shot 2015-06-14 at 11.05.09

Popular podcasting app Instacast for iOS and Mac is shutting down as the founders can no longer fund it or any of Vemedio’s other projects.

In an email sent to paid members, Martin Hering says that all of Vemedio’s products will be ‘discontinued’, with Instacast being the most well known app affected by this. The company says they will keep the servers up for as long as possible so current users will not be left with non-functional apps immediately.

Hering seems to imply that profitability issues are the cause as the email plainly states “I ran out of funds to keep the project going”. The company’s Twitter account is now private and vemedio.com now redirects to a simple ‘Discontinued’ page.

For current Instacast users, consider moving to Overcast or Pocket Casts, two good alternative podcast player clients for Apple’s platforms. Apple’s bundled Podcasts app is another option, of course.

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Comments

  1. Ben - 9 years ago

    And if you just want to play podcasts synced via iTunes there’s Harken for iPhone which can play any music or podcast in you library. Bit.ly/harkenforiphone

  2. danielbroad - 9 years ago

    As a colleague and competitor to Instacast i’m sorry to hear this – i wrote out my thoughts in a little more detail here – http://www.doradasoftware.com/blog/2015/6/14/its-tough-on-the-app-store

  3. alethomas - 9 years ago

    Very disappointing news.

  4. fofer - 9 years ago

    I’m a Pocket Casts user myself, but another good option is Downcasts: http://www.downcastapp.com

  5. Hands down, Instacast was my favorite podcast app. The ease with which I could move back and forth between devices was unmatched in the app world. I could start a podcast on my iPhone for a run and when I got home just pick up my iPad and continue it. I like my iPad Air 2 in the house because it’s a lot louder. Instacast was the single biggest reason I switched back to iPhone after leaving for Windows phone for a bit.

    I would have willingly paid more for Instacast if they had ever asked. Please publicize if Martin ever starts another podcast app because his synchronizing magic will be missed.

    • Leif (@gedankenreich) - 9 years ago

      You can do the same with PocketCasts, with the big difference that they sync between all major platforms. Android, iOS, Windows Phone and the Desktop browser.

      • Sven Paulsen - 9 years ago

        “the Desktop browser” is what I don’t like in this… Instacast had a native, fast and beautyful OS X app.

        I just don’t get why they did not ask for support or sponsoring. I would gladly pay more. Instacast was always top notch… even had an Apple Watch extension.

        Hipefully, they’ll release the source code so it can be patched to use CloudKit instead of their own Instacast Cloud. At least you could keep running the app then.

  6. Kevin Roa - 9 years ago

    No mention of Downcast the Best Podcast App in the Universe.

  7. thenet90 - 9 years ago

    Really sad to hear this. Instacast is my favourite podcast app, the syncing worked perfectly between devices. Usability became better from version to version, background downloading and support for chapters are awesome. I, and I think many others, would happily donate to keep this project alive!

  8. JoePa2624 - 9 years ago

    That’s sad to hear. I’ve always used Overcast and love it.

  9. Ren Jinshen Ryu - 9 years ago

    Sad. Was always relying on Instacast for all my podcasts during its heyday (version 1 and 2).

    Using Overcast these days because it’s simply the best.

    Pocket Casts is always a Android/Material Design app first, and while I use pocket casts on android because there is no alternative, I will never give money to the developer on iOS for his Android-first attitude.

    • Ben - 9 years ago

      Really? It looks like. a regular iOS app to me based on the app store screenshots.

      • nutmac - 9 years ago

        Another vote for Overcast. As far as sheer power and customization are concerned, Vercast is fairly lightweight. And playlist management is quit buggy.

        But its audio engine is simply phenomenal, freeing me from tinkering with playback speed or adjusting volume level between podcasts.

    • mike_ch (@mtc) - 9 years ago

      That’s a little unfair to Pocket Casts. They do make an effort to produce two distinct versions, while also keeping it at least somewhat familiar for people who use both simultaneously. And they have features worth paying for beyond the UX, such as a server backend that checks the dozens of feeds you might have subscribed to, so that you only need to submit one request to their backend server. It’s the difference between a self-run RSS app like NetNewsWire and a backend one like Feedly.

      I asked once if I could synch things across platforms, and was told they do have an employee with an iPhone and an Android tablet who syncs between them both. I do wish they’d hurry up and add pause removal to their iOS version like they did on Android, but I also understand that iOS has Overcast already while Android had nothing like smartspeed until Pocket Casts added it.

  10. RSSRadio Premium is drastically overlooked. Great app, tons of features, and the dev is always taking feedback and updating it.

  11. Mr Denis (@pixelsinner) - 9 years ago

    I was shocked this morning; I used Instacast for years, and preferred it over Overcast because of the Mac App. But that wasn’t all: I used Snowtape for years, and was excited to try out Snowflake that had just recently been launched… This is a sad day in deed…

  12. Kevin Kliman - 9 years ago

    sad. another good option RAUR for a free podcast app. raur.co/download

  13. This stinks, as it was my podcast app of choice. Ever since Marco Arment released Overcast, the Apple Blogosphere has all but ignored Instacast. I’m sure they’ll all be talking about Instacast now.

  14. Martin Leblanc - 8 years ago

    Omg that sucks …

  15. wunnspeed - 8 years ago

    Wow… somehow, I completely missed this an there was no customer notification whatsoever it seems. That sucks! I really liked Instacast and have found nothing to be anywhere near as good for being able to create a ‘playlist’ of podcasts to run while I work. Hopefully, someone will buy it and keep the program running.

  16. Jonas Feit - 8 years ago

    I believed everything I read here, until this weird and anachronistic falsehood: “Apple’s bundled Podcasts app is another option, of course.” An option for anyone who likes purple app icons, perhaps. Some readers might want an option to listen to podcasts, however.

  17. grgryrtn (@GeLiGeLu) - 8 years ago

    I’m a bit narked about the shutdown. Considering they forced me into an upgrade from 2 -> 3, and then didn’t inform me it was shutting down. I bought the app twice, on Mac and iOS, and it was pricey. So I don’t know where he was spunking the money. The apps still work, but can’t sign into the syncing. Why not just use iCloud from the start? You only need to sync subscriptions – not the actual data. That wouldn’t have taken up any iCloud space at all.

Author

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Benjamin Mayo

Benjamin develops iOS apps professionally and covers Apple news and rumors for 9to5Mac. Listen to Benjamin, every week, on the Happy Hour podcast. Check out his personal blog. Message Benjamin over email or Twitter.