Apple Launches Affiliate Program for Podcasts Subscriptions - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Apple Launches Affiliate Program for Podcasts Subscriptions

Apple has announced a new affiliate program for its upcoming Apple Podcasts Subscriptions platform that will allow users to earn a commission when a podcast link they share leads to a new subscriber.

Apple Podcasts iOS 14 5
Launching this month, Apple Podcast Subscriptions will allow users to subscribe to podcasts to receive perks, such as an ad-free listening experience, early access to episodes, and exclusive episodes.

The affiliate program pays a 50% commission for clicked links that lead to a subscription. For example, for a link to a podcast subscription that costs $10, the user would earn $5 in equivalent commissions. Apple says the payment scales globally based on the local market price.

Users who apply to the program are provided with a token that identifies their affiliate account when they publish a link to a paid-for podcast. This token aggregates all revenue generated through the user's affiliate links and pays out the commission earned with 30 days.

Apple's wording suggests that the affiliate program is geared towards podcast creators, however anyone can sign up to it and generate revenue using affiliate links.

Apple's existing affiliate programs cover content and subscriptions tied to the iTunes Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Books. To apply to the podcast affiliate initiative, visit the Apple Services Performance Partner Program.

Popular Stories

Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra: Pre-Orders and Release Date

Thursday July 30, 2026 6:12 am PDT by
Apple has yet to reveal when the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be announced and released, but the dates usually follow a familiar pattern. Labor Day is September 7 this year. The last time the holiday fell on that day was in 2020, but the iPhone event that year was delayed until October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, the last time Labor Day was on September 7 in a normal year was in ...
Apple Event Logo

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:39 am PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system that is essentially a mix of tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a report this week, he said the operating system will feature a grid of icons, widgets, and apps, along with customizable clock faces. The new software platform is intended for Apple's long-rumored smart home hub. With built-in facial recognition,...
Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

iPhone 18 Pro: Twelve Changes Coming to Apple's Next Flagship

Thursday July 30, 2026 3:43 am PDT by
We're less than two months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a dramatic change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year,...

Top Rated Comments

68 months ago
I can’t of think of anything more antithetical to podcasts than locking away certain content behind a paywall. Whether it’s Apple or Spotify or someone else, I hope this effort fails.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bwayne Avatar
68 months ago
Maybe it’s just me but I would never pay for a subscription to a podcast, let alone recommend it to a friend. There must be some terribly lonely people out there desperate for human interaction.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
68 months ago
50% commission? Complaints and/or lawsuits in 3... 2... 1...
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Macintosh IIvx Avatar
68 months ago

True. I was thinking in terms of Epic v. Apple, which seems to me at least like Epic complaining about Apple taking a 30% cut, where here Apple is taking a 50% cut...
I suppose. But previously this wasn't even something offered. I see it like, if someone came to you today and said, "Hey you can now make money by charging for this thing you couldn't previously charge for but you have to give me half." Would you say, "No, I'll keep giving it away free." or would you take any added money.

It's a funny thing about humans. We're far from rational. There's a great experiment where people are given $100 and have to choose how much of it they'll give to the other person. That other person can choose to accept the offer, or they can decline it and both people get nothing. Now, from an economic point of view, being offered anything is better than nothing at all, so they should accept the offer, no matter how small it is. $1 is still better than $0. But what numerous university studies found was that unless the offer was $50 and more, they were likely to reject the offer. People are more willing to hurt themselves if they believe the offer isn't "fair" than to take the financially beneficial offer. Humans are not at all rational and we don't act the way economics says we should/will.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Macintosh IIvx Avatar
68 months ago

50% commission? Complaints and/or lawsuits in 3... 2... 1...
From who? This is Apple giving part of what they'd normally make and giving it to those that help bring in more business. Amazon does the same. They take part of their normal cut and give up to 4% to those that refer buyers to their site. COUNTLESS other sites do it.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
68 months ago
50% of nothing is still nothing. I (for one) have been cancelling / consolidating subscriptions, I am definitely not adding them.

Death to a bank balance, by a thousand debits.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors