December 25, 2025
Podcasts, patrons, and pitchforks
The Program 2025 annual review: How much money does an audio drama podcast make?
1M plays, fewer episodes, more patrons—and an “Apple tax” flame war
TLDR: The Program crossed 1M total plays even as 2025 downloads dipped, but Patreon support surged to 452 while Apple subs fell. Commenters celebrated indie monetization, bickered over Apple’s fees vs Patreon’s perks, and argued about AI in creative work—turning a stats post into a full‑blown culture clash.
The Program’s year-in-review dropped like a sci‑fi confession: fewer episodes, fewer downloads (140k in 2025 vs 170k in 2024), but the show crossed 1 million total plays and stacked more paying fans on Patreon (452!) while Apple Podcast subs slid to 64. Cue the comment section going full cinema. One fan summed up the vibe with a shiver: “Money, State, and God became fused into a single entity”—yeah, that’s the show’s premise, and commenters kept quoting it like a prophecy for Big Tech.
The crowd’s loudest cheer? The money math. Users were gobsmacked that an indie sci‑fi podcast turned roughly ~$30K CAD off 140k downloads—“quality over quantity” suddenly sounds like a business plan. Then everything turned spicy when the post roasted Apple’s cut. The “Apple tax” vs Patreon perks debate lit up: some cheered native Patreon chats and free-to-paid funnels; others asked if Apple Podcasts is even worth promoting anymore. One joker quipped that in 2025, Money, State, and God are named Apple, Patreon, and Discord—only now Patreon has native chats, so RIP Discord memes.
Meanwhile, an AI grenade rolled in: “Do you use AI to write?” Suddenly the room split—curious makers vs purity cops. Another thread asked if this indie alchemy scales at studios like Audible or Pushkin. Verdict from the crowd? The Program is winning hearts and wallets, even as downloads dip—because the lore hits, the extras keep coming, and the community feels seen.
Key Points
- •The Program recorded 140,000 downloads in 2025, down from 170,000 (2024) and 240,000 (2023), but surpassed 1 million lifetime downloads.
- •In 2025, the show released three regular episodes and expanded auxiliary content, totaling 4 public and 5 subscriber‑exclusive episodes.
- •Auxiliary releases included Program Shows of Accolade (volume two) and a new interview series, Decompiling The Program, for paid supporters.
- •Patreon membership grew to 452 paid and 471 free patrons; Apple Podcasts paid subscribers declined to 64.
- •Patreon introduced features such as native chats, unified creator identities, and “Quips,” reducing reliance on Discord; the creator cites Apple’s higher fees as a reason for prioritizing Patreon.