Google Podcasts shutdown: creators to migrate to YouTube Music before July

Google is planning to shut down its podcast platform, Google Podcasts, in June. In an email to users, Google informed users of its podcasts platform that they have until mid-June to export their list of followed podcasts to an alternative before the app is shut down.

In a new email to users, Google advised creators to migrate their podcasts to music streaming platform YouTube Music or to download an OPML file of their subscriptions, which they can upload to another app. “After June 23, 2024, you will no longer be able to listen to podcasts in Google Podcasts,” the email says.

Recall that Google announced in September last year that it would discontinue the Google Podcasts app in 2024. Before then, Google Podcasts had more than 500 million installs on Android to be one the most widely used podcast streaming apps globally.

 The company cited a statistic from Edison Research that said about 23 per cent of podcast listeners in the US say YouTube is their primary podcast platform, compared to 4 per cent for Google Podcasts.

Tech giant, Google said the decision to kill the app was part of a shift towards its YouTube platform for streaming videos, music and, now increasingly, podcast content. For those who miss the in-app pop-ups, Google will offer users additional time to save their subscriptions by allowing them to use the app’s export feature through July 2024.

This indicates that despite podcasts being an audio-first medium, Google plans to introduce YouTube into the podcast race using what it does best: video. Hence, YouTube says it has made changes to the YouTube Music app to better support audio-centric content.

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Above other things, the team believes that video can provide extra value to a podcast.

“The second way we think about podcasts is [as an] eyes-optional experience. So, stuff that’s great to hear and listen to, but also can be great to watch as well”, YouTube’s Chief Product Officer, Johanna Voolich explained in an interview published by YouTube.

Again, leaning into its strengths, YouTube thinks the platform’s experience in building algorithms will come in handy when serving suggested podcasts to users. “YouTube’s secret sauce is our recommendations,” said YouTube Creator Liaison, Rene Ritchie in a blog post.

“They help people discover something new or go deeper on what they love while helping podcasters reach new audiences only found on YouTube”, she adds.

However, industry observers believe that YouTube Music still has a long way to go to compete favourably in an already fiercely competitive space. The platform still lacks essential podcast features such as new episode notifications and mark-as-played indicators, some said.

Recall that in 2020, YouTube Music offered a similar transition strategy to move music listeners away from Google Play Music ahead of its shutdown that same year. However, the Google Podcasts app continued to be maintained for years because YouTube Music wasn’t ready to support podcasts until recently. By the end of 2023, YouTube Music was able to support podcasts globally, and, by February, they could upload their RSS feeds, too.

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A clean design and simple approach have made Google’s own Podcasts app a popular choice for streaming podcasts, with around half a billion users downloading the app on Android devices. Even weeks before being shut down, the app has kept a solid 4.3 rating on the Play Store.

Google is renowned for closing down services that it deems unsuccessful. And, the Google Podcasts app joins a long list of its apps to have been “sunset,” such as gaming platform Stadia, chat app Hangouts and email client Inbox. Some critics have expressed fear in Google’s ability to keep great ideas alive and have wondered if Google Podcast users will be willing to pay a subscription to use the $10 subscription-based YouTube Music.