The new one is being released to users in the United States and there are plans to bring it to other regions; Google Podcasts hasn’t had news in years
YouTube has become home to many podcasters, who put videos of their recordings on the platform. Therefore, nothing is more natural than transferring this content to YouTube Music, as the music is streamed on the platform. This is beginning to materialize.
Google has started releasing YouTube Music podcasts for US users. It’s not available to everyone, as the rollout will be gradual.
According to a company post on the YouTube Music Help Community, podcasts can be downloaded and played in the background. You can also turn off the video and keep the audio only.
These options will be available to all users, not just YouTube Music Premium or YouTube Premium subscribers.
This is very important. Those who use YouTube without registering cannot turn off the screen and continue listening to a video, for example. The same thing happens with YouTube Music: those who don’t pay can just listen to music while the screen is on.
For those outside the US, there’s good news: YouTube plans to put YouTube Music podcasts in other regions as well.
Moving podcasts to YouTube Music has been in the works for months
The first indications that YouTube is preparing to give podcasts special attention came in August 2022.
Also in the US, a page dedicated to the format has been created at youtube.com/podcasts. Here in Brazil, it is unreachable.
Another sign that a migration is about to happen is the abandonment of the Google Podcasts app. As of December 2020, it only receives bug fixes and performance improvements on both Android and iOS.
The format also disappeared from Google search results in February 2023. Previously, when searching for a podcast, episodes appeared in a circle, and you could listen to them directly from the search links.
Many of YouTube Music’s competitors — like Spotify, Deezer, and Amazon Music, to name a few — have podcasts on their platform. Google Music Play itself had this option.
By embracing podcasts, YouTube’s music streaming has caught up with its competitors — with the advantage of being the darling of many content producers.
With information: Ars TechnicaAnd Youtube
YouTube Music gains support for podcasts, with background playback
“Friendly zombie fanatic. Analyst. Coffee buff. Professional music specialist. Communicator.”
