What you need to know
- Google Podcasts is shutting down in 2024, and Google will offer a migration tool to help users migrate to YouTube Music.
- YouTube will also offer a tool that lets users download an OPML file of their show subscriptions, allowing them to upload it to other listening platforms.
- YouTube wants to make it easy to move your podcasts from Google Podcasts to YouTube Music, and it’ll release the tools and instructions when they’re ready.
Google Podcasts is going away next year, and the search giant wants everyone to listen to podcasts on YouTube Music instead.
Google announced in a blog post that it will discontinue Google Podcasts later in 2024 in an effort to to make YouTube Music a better place for podcast fans. Google Podcasts was launched in 2018 and offered a way for users to listen to a library of podcasts for free.
However, Podcasts was put in a tough spot in April, when Google started letting users in the U.S. listen to podcasts on YouTube Music for free. Podcasts in YouTube Music also offer features such as listening to podcasts offline and in the background, as well as switching between the audio and video versions.
To help with the transition, Google says it will help Podcasts users and podcasters move over to YouTube Music by providing migration tools and support. If you’re an existing user, you’ll be able to use a simple migration tool or add your podcast RSS feeds to YouTube Music. You can also download an OPML file of your show subscriptions and upload it to another podcast app, if you prefer.
For podcasters, Google is providing tools to create and analyze their podcasts. They can also upload their RSS feed to YouTube Music, so their podcasts will be available to everyone who already uses the service.
In the next few months, Google will ask you for feedback to make sure the transition process is as smooth as possible, and it plans to release clear instructions when the tools are ready. The search giant also promised that it will make podcasts available within YouTube Music globally before the end of 2023.
The latest move is a sign that Google is serious about bringing its fight to Spotify in the podcast race. YouTube Music is already one of the leading music streaming apps, so it’s got a good head start. Google hopes to make the platform the one-stop shop for all audio content, including podcasts.