I've downloaded a fair few bits and pieces from Radio 4, and Desert Island Discs has an announcement saying that it will have even more truncated versions of the music than normal due to copyright / licensing issues.
Does that mean that downloading a Podcast from one of the music stations is going to mean even more more chat and less records?
I'd say little to none really. I get the 6 Music John Homes and its music free as is Dave Gorman's show on Absolute.
I listened to one, it had a short section of each track, and all the gasbaggery. They can keep it.
copyright law means they are not allowed to leave in the music
they only have them for shows with lots of chat
if you want the music then use iPlayer instead
As grievioustim says, and this has been the case for as long as the Beeb have been doing podcasts. A similar thing happens with tv series released on DVD, particularly American ones, where the music that was played in the original TV version is removed and (often poorer) alternative music put in, because licensing costs are too high for the DVD release. It's all down to copyright and licensing.