The future of free podcast hosting is part 4 of my future of podcasting miniseries. (Pts 1, 2, & 3)In the future, free hosting for podcast media files will be a viable option. I base that prediction on one deciding factor: Spotify is going to do it. But I don't think everybody will switch to free. This is not meant to be a doom-and-gloom prediction. This is a coming reality that can be adapted to. YouTube’s free model certainly caused many of the other video hosting companies to shut their doors. But not all of them.Hosting companies will have to adapt their business models to help podcasters make better content. Companies like Auphonic , Alitu, and Auxbus are already doing this today. More will come, making it not just easier to assemble and piece together audio, but to actually improve the quality of the episode. With Spotify lowering the barrier to entry...