Google currently has two different apps that cater to users’ audio needs. One is YouTube Music which is for music streaming and another is Google Podcasts which is for podcasts. While this looks like a good thing at first glance, it is not an ideal user experience for someone who likes listening to both music and podcasts. This seems to be the reason Google has now decided to offer a more seamless user experience by merging the two apps. It is making YouTube Music a single destination for all your audio needs.
Google Podcasts to Merge With YouTube Music in 2024
In an official blog post, YouTube has announced Google Podcasts application will shut down in 2024. This would mark the end of life for the application that debuted first on Android in 2018. It allows users to listen to podcasts for free and also offers personalized recommendations. It further makes it easier to keep track of in-progress and new episodes of your favourite podcasts.
It added that all podcast features will merge with YouTube Music. It means users will be able to enjoy podcasts directly from the popular music streaming app. This is not exactly a new move as the company already allows US-based users to listen to podcasts on YouTube Music without any paid membership.
The post revealed that 23% of weekly podcast listeners in the United States picked YouTube and only 4% picked Google Podcasts as their preferred podcast listening service. It is a vital reason the team decided to shut down the app and merge it with the Music app. The good news is YouTube will expand Podcasts in YouTube Music globally before the end of the year.
The team will also help Podcasts users in their migration to the YouTube Music app. This will include a simple migration tool and the ability to add podcast RSS feeds to their YouTube Music library, including shows not currently hosted by YouTube. Users will also be able to download an OPML file of their podcast subscriptions if they wish to switch to some other platform instead of YouTube Music.
It has not been revealed when these migration tools will become available. It says these tools will be released only when they are ready. The goal is to make the migration process as simple and easy as possible. YouTube is not the first company to offer a single app for both music and podcast needs. One of its biggest rivals Spotify also offers a similar functionality.
