Of course it was inevitable - the continued chase for podcast revenue. Once iTunes jumped in, followed by large corporations who started creating and distributing their own podcasts, it wouldn¡¯t be long before some one came up with the bright idea to cash in on the myriad of small, independent podcasters.

The challenge is to organize all of those podcasters, supply the advertising, collect the money and somehow split it up equitably. And apply this idea to a group as diverse as you¡¯ll ever find. In fact, the word ¡®group¡¯ is applied arbitrarily.

However, let¡¯s take a quick look at the players:

First there¡¯s Audible.com. In a recent press release, they outlined their strategy: ¡°..tools that enables podcasters to build multiple revenue streams around capabilities such as advertising management, dynamic ad-insertion, underwriting and secured transactions.¡±

Podtrac promises to "specialize in highly targeted podcast advertising, by precisely matching audience demographics and interests with the appropriate advertising for those listeners and viewers.¡± They also perform ¡°valuable third party measurement services of podcast circulation.¡±

Then there¡¯s Castfire, which ¡°allows content producers of audio and video to generate advertising revenue by seamlessly connecting them with media buyers and consumers.¡±

Podvertiser, which is launching in 2006, offers to ¡°enable you to generate revenue from the podcasts you love to create.¡± They do this by hosting your podcast, tracking it and inserting ads in it.

Fruitcast likens the challenge of adding advertising to podcasts similar to what Google¡¯s AdSense does. When you sign up for their service, each time a listener downloads the program, they¡¯ll automatically add a sponsor¡¯s message at the beginning or the end of the program.

I skimmed several of these programs and realize that there are pros and cons to all of them. The biggest gripe from podcasters about these systems seems to point to Audible.com because they're using a proprietary (closed) system, including their own audio format, and will charge for each download.

Paul Colligan of The Affiliate Guy, though, was quite enthusiastic about Audible.com's business model and was looking forward to having access to the statistics that Wordcast will generate.

"If you're podcasting with some sort of business model, and somebody's going to do the tracking and hosting and more important to do the customer support for you, this is a great, fabulous thing," said Paul.

Bloggers have generally weighed in heavily against Audible.com, though, so it¡¯ll be interesting to see where this whole thing goes.

If you¡¯re a podcaster and are looking for ways to generate a few dollars from your podcast, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s worth your time to take a look at these emerging technologies and services.

Tim 'Gonzo' Gordon shows you how to create professional, high-quality audio on your home computer. With 25+ years of radio production, writing and voice talent, Tim can show you how to set up a small pro studio and create audio for fun and profit. Subscribe to his free newsletter Digital Audio Bits. Learn how to podcast with Podcasting Adventures Online.