YouTube Music is reportedly working on adding support for podcasts “in the near future.” YouTube’s head of podcasting, Kai Chuk, confirmed the news at Hot Pod Summit.
While there are dedicated podcast apps in the market, many users prefer to listen to their favorite podcasts on YouTube. The well-known podcasters also share the video version of their podcasts on the Google-owned video-sharing app and enjoy the monetization. However, you might soon be able to listen to podcasts on YouTube Music.
The music streaming platform currently hosts some of the world’s most famous artists, and its library is filled with over 60 million tracks. This library could soon be richer with podcasts. Google challenged Spotify’s dominance in the music industry by launching YouTube Music, and now it wants to target the podcast business.
According to Chuk, YouTube Music allows for free ad-supported background listening to podcasts with “enhanced library tools.”
YouTube Music brings podcasts to challenge Spotify
Spotify could establish itself in the podcast market by hosting popular podcasters like Joe Rogan. While Google says it has yet no plan to add exclusive shows or licensed originals to YouTube Music, it seems like a competitive advantage to sign publishing deals with famous podcasters.
“If someone wants to watch a podcast, we have a solution,” Chuk added. “If someone wants to listen to a podcast only, we should have a great experience for that as well.”
Chuk and Steve McLendon, Google’s product lead for podcasting, say their goal of adding podcast support to YouTube Music is to make great tools for show creators. Additionally, their success is defined by whether creators find it successful and helpful. “We’re just focused on the YouTube users and ecosystem and bringing podcasts into that fold,” Chuk said.
Spotify currently has over 200 million paid subscribers. YouTube Music could also surpass 80 million Music and Premium subscribers globally. While there’s a big gap between platforms in terms of user reach, YouTube Music can certainly challenge Spotify in the coming years by relying on YouTube’s 2.6 billion user base.
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Source: ndroidheadlines.com