Google Podcasts has officially gone the way of Google Play Music and is now integrated directly into YouTube. As of April 2nd, Google Podcasts has ceased functioning in the United States.
Fortunately, there’s still time to transfer your subscription to another service. Until July, Google will let you use the Google Podcasts app to migrate your data to YouTube Music or your podcast app of choice.
Google Podcasts was first launched in 2018. Prior to release, podcasts were integrated with Google Play Music. When it launched, it was primarily focused on Google Assistant integration and using information gleaned from your listening habits to provide more personalized recommendations. The service has improved over time and has become one of the most popular podcast apps. 500 million downloads Only on Google Play Store.
In an announcement last year, Google explained why it was integrating Google Podcasts and YouTube Music.
“We look forward to helping Google Podcasts users migrate to podcasts on YouTube Music.” Google said in September In a blog post. “This is consistent with what listeners and podcasters are already doing, although approximately 23% of weekly podcast users in the U.S. say YouTube is the service they use most often, according to Edison. , and just 4% for Google Podcasts.”
Google Podcasts is officially coming google graveyard At the young age of 6. People outside the United States will have access to Google Podcasts for a while yet. The company hasn’t said when the rest of the world will lose access, but it will likely be sometime in 2024.
Here’s how to transfer your Google Podcasts subscription to another service.
You might want to export your podcast to YouTube Music.
How to transfer your Google Podcasts subscriptions
There are two ways to export your podcast subscriptions from Google Podcasts. The first is direct export to YouTube Music. Another allows you to download the subscription in his OPML format. You can then load that file into another podcast app and get a subscription. We will discuss both methods.
Export to YouTube Music
- Before you begin, be sure to download YouTube Music, open the app, and sign in with your Google account before continuing.
- Open Google Podcasts. A banner will appear at the top of the app’s home screen prompting you to export your subscription.
- Tap. Export subscription From the link in the banner.
- You can choose to export directly to YouTube Music or to another app. Tap. export Click the button to migrate your data to YouTube Music.
- YouTube Music will automatically open and display the podcast transfer screen.
- Tap. Transfer as… button. You should see your Google Account email address on the button.
- If you listen to a podcast hosted by a third-party server, Google will notify you that you’re adding an RSS feed instead of subscribing to the podcast directly.Tap Continue Continue.
- The transfer will be processed. If you listen to a lot of podcasts, please be patient as it may take a few minutes.
- Once complete, the app will take you to your podcast library where you can confirm that everything was successfully transferred.
Export to another podcast app
- Open Google Podcasts and find the banner that tells you to export your podcast.Tap Export subscription.
- On the next page, tap . download.
- You will be prompted to save the file to your Downloads folder.Tap keep To do so.
- For reference, Google names this file google-podcasts-subscriptions.opml By default.
- Open the podcast app you want to migrate your podcasts to.
- Go to that app’s settings and find where you can import your OPML file.
- Once located, use the app’s import tool to locate and import the OPML file saved by Google Podcasts in the previous step.
- Finally, check your library to make sure Google Podcasts transferred everything correctly.
Are YouTube Music podcasts free?
YouTube Music Podcast is free. According to Google, “listeners can enjoy podcasts on demand, offline, and in the background while casting with YouTube Music, seamlessly switching between audio and video versions. This podcast listening experience: It’s not the same listening experience that requires Premium or Music.” To enjoy some of these features, subscribe to Premium. ”
Why is Google shutting down Google Podcasts?
Initially, the move to separate Google Podcasts from Google Play Music mimicked Apple’s approach of having separate podcast and music streaming apps. At the time, Apple Podcasts was the most popular podcast app in the United States. 34% of US podcast listeners Use it. but, Spotify then took the throne is the top podcast app in the US, and Amazon has doubled its number of podcast listeners since 2021 with the same all-in-one strategy.
So while this looks like a classic case of Google doubling down, similar to Inbox by Gmail, Google’s integration of podcasts and YouTube Music could be driving the success of other companies in 2024. This will more closely emulate the existing method. In addition to audio podcasts, YouTube Music boasts video podcasts and access to YouTube, one of his favorites on the internet. biggest source of information Both music and podcast content.
What else should I know?
YouTube Music launches podcasts on its platform in April 2023 and fully integrated into the experience. You can search for podcasts the same way you search for music, and add podcasts to your library the same way. Although not as robust as a dedicated podcast app, it does have the ability to save podcasts for later use, download podcasts for offline listening, and enable automatic downloads so you can do it yourself later. No need to.
