Chances are, even if you listen to podcasts regularly, Until now, you didn’t know about the existence of Google Podcasts, a search engine platform in which we can navigate between multiple contents of this type, add new feeds via RSS, a feature that came to the service at the end of 2020, manage subscriptions and, of course, listen to them as well. Personally, while I’ll admit I’ve barely used it, I’ve always found it to be a well-designed tool with the features I need and a light, clean and cool design that debuted in mid-2021.

However, as I say never achieved much popularity, and as we already know, Google is one of those companies that does not hesitate to take restrictive measures, which for some time has given rise to the idea that the company is spreading It would not be long before the postponement of Google Podcasts. However, doing so at a time when this type of content is enormously popular would be a strategic misstep.

At the beginning of this year, however We’ve learned that podcasts are coming to YouTube Music soon, a movement that began in the United States in April of this year and took the first step in its international expansion three months later, in mid-July. Since then, of course, we’ve been waiting for further progress in this regard, so we’re waiting for it to arrive in new regions and markets to give us an indication of the pace at which Google is considering this expansion. And of course, we’ve also been wondering how it left Google Podcasts ever since.

Well, we don’t have to wonder anymore because Google has shared its plans in this regard and they are in line with what was expected. So as we can read on the official YouTube blog, Google will shut down Google Podcasts in 2024, offering users and creators the option to switch to YouTube Music if they choose. At the moment, however, no specific dates are given, nor whether this change will be implemented at the global level at the same time or, on the contrary, gradually.

We can read it in the publication Google has had much more success as a podcast platform with YouTube Music than with Google Podcasts (23% market share compared to 4% GP in the United States), which means that with this change the company can compete with other platforms in this market, such as Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Regarding the migration process, the site says this:

«We want to make sure we do it right and give fans and podcasters plenty of time to transition. For users, this means an easy migration tool and the ability to add podcast RSS feeds to your YouTube Music library, including shows not currently hosted by YouTube. For those who prefer a different listening platform, the tools will also include the ability to download an OPML file of their subscriptions that they can upload to an application that supports importing. For podcasters, this means providing robust creation and analysis tools, as well as RSS uploads, plus making their podcasts available wherever YouTube Music listeners already consume their favorite content: in the background, in the car, offline, and more.

In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be gathering feedback to make the process of migrating from Google Podcasts to YouTube Music as simple and easy as possible. Once we feel the migration tools are ready, we’ll publish them along with clear instructions on how they work.«

Although it never rains, as everyone likes, and therefore there are bound to be people who do not like this change, Personally, I think it’s a success on Google’s part.especially if this change does not cause restrictions on users in YouTube Music that were not present in Google Podcasts.