YouTube’s podcast guess simply bought greater. Final week, Google introduced that its standalone podcast app, Google Podcasts, will shut down in 2024. Since YouTube’s official podcast launch, this technique was anticipated, as Google Podcasts started rolling again a few of its podcast options whereas YouTube Music began providing extra. As an example, YouTube and YouTube Music now assist RSS feeds, together with personal feeds for subscription podcast content material — one thing that Spotify doesn’t but supply. As YouTube Music competes with different main streaming platforms to personal the podcasting viewers, it should be sure that it could efficiently migrate audiences and construct a platform for the following part of the podcast trade. 

The YouTube platform hole 

The following step in Google’s podcast technique is viewers migration. Based on a press launch, the corporate is gathering suggestions on how to make sure a easy migration, however we will look to its migration of Google Play Music customers to YouTube Music for instance. In that scenario, Google Play customers transferred their libraries to YouTube Music, and Google Play Limitless members have been routinely granted an equal YouTube Music or YouTube Premium subscription. However maybe the more difficult viewers shift is encouraging YouTube’s podcast audiences to make use of YouTube Music. 

Whereas YouTube Music and YouTube Premium collectively surpassed 80 million paid subscribers in 2022 — together with free trials — these platforms are miles behind YouTube, which has over two billion customers. YouTube is already the highest platform for accessing podcasts (53%) whereas 24% of shoppers use YouTube Music each week (MIDiA Analysis Client Survey Q2 2023). A key half in YouTube’s podcast rise was its popularisation of podcast movies, which launched the careers of many creators, most notably Joe Rogan. Because it stands, there may be not a devoted house for podcast movies on YouTube Music. Furthermore, YouTube’s discoverability is unmatched by different streaming platforms due to its potential to suggest content material that’s based mostly on a wide range of content material past simply music. So YouTube Music should present the identical stage of discoverability as its flagship platform, with a view to shut its personal platform hole. YouTube Music might even trial unique content material with some podcast creators to encourage customers to modify platforms.

Establishing the following part of podcasts

On the top of the podcast market growth, main platforms — particularly Spotify — invested in celeb and creator podcast offers to maximise their stake available in the market. YouTube is a pure podcast creator ecosystem and didn’t must combat for podcast creators in the identical means different platforms did. Now, because the funding part slows, platforms can deal with higher serving creators, which is able to, in flip, result in extra listeners. 

As YouTube Music’s podcasting arm develops, offering key analytics to podcast creators can assist carry extra voices to the platform. By internet hosting personal RSS feeds, YouTube Music might present essential podcast subscription information (much like Apple Podcasts) to assist creators perceive their paying prospects’ behaviour. Furthermore, YouTube Music might supply ad-free podcast listening as a part of its platform subscription, like Amazon Music, and amplify its aggressive edge in opposition to Spotify. Moreover, this might assist form the following part of the podcast market that’s much less reliant on promoting, which revolves closely across the outdated podcast obtain metric. Whereas YouTube Music is including automated downloads for podcasts, a obtain doesn’t equal a pay attention. Because the podcast format blurs throughout codecs and platforms, measuring listeners in time spent and engagement will higher seize the present’s viewers, which in flip, leads to higher promoting offers. YouTube already has a bonus in viewers engagement via feedback and stay chats, which could possibly be integrated into its new podcast expertise on the YouTube Music app. Podcasts needn’t be an isolating expertise, and the extra that YouTube Music can facilitate this, the higher.