YouTube, the world's largest video-sharing platform, has finally announced its plans to distribute podcasts through its music streaming service, YouTube Music.
Google recently divulged that YouTube Music and Premium
subscribership has grown to a record 80 million users, and the company said
that it would be investing more in its subscription services going forward.
We’re starting to see tangible evidence of that investment after YouTube
executive Kai Chuk spilled the beans on plans to incorporate podcasts into
YouTube Music.
Speaking at the Hot Pod Summit during the On Air Fest in Los
Angeles today, Chuk, YouTube’s head of podcasting, revealed that the company
plans to bring podcasts to YouTube Music “in the near future” (via The Verge).
In reference to YouTube’s massive existing library of video-form podcasts, Chuk
explained that “If someone wants to watch a podcast, we have a solution. If
someone wants to listen to a podcast only, we should have a great experience
for that as well.”
This news comes just days after YouTube added an
experimental feature for creators to make audio-only podcasts in YouTube Studio
that feature a still image instead of video. At the time, we speculated that
Google Podcasts functionality was being shifted to the YouTube Music platform
after other signs that the dedicated Podcasts app was being shut down.
Chuk seems to have confirmed this strategy, adding that
audio-only shows will receive a podcast badge for easy identification and that
users will be able to listen to podcasts in the background on YouTube Music’s
free tier at the expense of hearing ads.
These new capabilities will go a long way towards helping
YouTube Music reach feature parity with Spotify, which still reigns supreme in
the digital music space. YouTube’s 80 million subscribers, while impressive,
are topped by Apple Music’s 88 million paid users and completely dwarfed by
Spotify’s subscribership of 200 million.
Spotify famously inked an exclusive deal with major podcaster Joe Rogan last year, and that was after it dethroned Apple as the platform with the highest podcast listenership, so Google definitely has some catching up to do here.
While YouTube is entering the market relatively late, the
platform's massive user base could give it an edge over competitors to attract users
who are looking for a more convenient and streamlined listening experience.
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