Google introduced this morning it is going to be shutting down its Google Podcasts app later in 2024 as a part of its broader transition to maneuver its streaming listeners over to YouTube Music. The corporate earlier this 12 months introduced YouTube Music would start supporting podcasts within the U.S., which is able to develop globally by year-end, and extra just lately mentioned it was including the power for podcasters to add their RSS feeds to YouTube additionally by year-end.
Right now, Google says it plans on additional growing its funding within the podcast expertise on YouTube Music and making it extra of a vacation spot for podcast followers with options centered on discovery, group, and switching between audio podcasts and video. The latter is one thing rival Spotify has additionally been engaged on with its rollout of video podcast help to creators worldwide final 12 months together with group options like Q&As and polls.
Nevertheless, to make YouTube Music the brand new residence for podcasts, meaning transferring customers away from the present providing, Google Podcasts. The corporate notes this plan displays how individuals are already listening. In accordance with Edison, about 23% of weekly podcast customers within the U.S. say YouTube is their most steadily used service versus simply 4% for Google Podcasts.
To assist customers with the transition to YouTube Music, the corporate will supply Google Podcast customers a migration device and the power so as to add podcast RSS feeds to their YouTube Music library, together with exhibits that aren’t presently hosted by YouTube — one thing it had introduced final month was within the works. These migration instruments aren’t but out there however will likely be labored on within the coming weeks and months earlier than being rolled out to all customers.
As well as, Google may also help the choice to obtain an OPML file of their present subscriptions from Google Podcasts, which they’ll add to any app that helps importing in the event that they don’t wish to transfer to YouTube Music.
“We all know this transition will take time, however these efforts will enable us to construct an incredible product and a single vacation spot that rewards creators and artists and supplies followers with the most effective Podcasts expertise,” a YouTube blog post explained. “For now, nothing is altering and followers will proceed to have entry to YouTube, YouTube Music, and Google Podcasts. We’re dedicated to being clear in speaking future modifications with our customers and podcasters and may have extra to share about this course of within the coming months,” it mentioned.
Google has been slowly shifting customers away from older merchandise in its effort to make YouTube Music extra of a competitor to Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and others. In 2020, YouTube Music supplied an identical transition technique to maneuver music listeners away from Google Play Music forward of its shutdown that 12 months. Nevertheless, podcasts have a harder product as a result of so many customers flip to YouTube itself to take heed to podcasts, to not the devoted Google Podcasts app. In the meantime, YouTube Music hasn’t been able to help podcasts till extra just lately.
The transfer will go away solely Apple among the many main gamers that hasn’t consolidated music and podcasts right into a single vacation spot, as Spotify, Amazon and Pandora all supply each kinds of audio of their flagship purposes.
