You're gonna have to, if you want to hear it. When Ricky and his comedian buddies Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington (aka "The Village Idiot") launched their hilarious podcast in December, they flew to the top of the iTunes Top 100 list. Their first twelve episodes were sponsored by the Guardian, and therefore free to all of us. This time, their "second season" is going to be through Audible and the monthly subscription will cost at least $7 for four half-hour shows. You'll still be able to get the podcast through iTunes, you'll just have to pay for it the same way you pay for other Audible content like NPR'S This American Life and Fresh Air. By the way, there's a preview of the new season over at Gervais' website.

Obviously, this is a very big deal. This is the first podcast in iTunes to charge a subscription. While other podcasts are sponsored or get donations from listeners, this one will be the first to answer the question that so many business people want to know: will people pay for podcasts?

So... will you pay for Ricky Gervais' podcast?

[Thanks for the tip, Doc!]