Back in February, Google announced that the company will soon start distributing podcasts through the YouTube Music platform, which will allow users to listen to the same podcasts that they watch on YouTube, even when their device is locked. Well, that feature is finally here, at least in the US. Google has announced that it is gradually rolling out support for podcasts to the YouTube Music app for Android in the United States.
When the new feature reaches the YouTube Music app on your Galaxy smartphone/tablet or any Android device, it will show a dedicated ‘Podcasts’ tab at the top of the Home page. Once you click on this section, you’ll be able to discover all the podcasts available on the platform. The app will categorize podcasts based on popularity and genre, and it will even recommend podcasts based on your interests.
Once you click on a podcast, YouTube Music will start playing it in the audio format. This new feature allows users to listen to podcasts in the same way they listen to songs, which is much more convenient than watching those podcasts on YouTube for many people. Since this feature is rolling out in phases, some users may get it before others. Google also says that it is working on bringing this feature to other regions.
Listening to podcasts on YouTube Music will not require any subscription
In the announcement post, Google says “This podcast listening experience is different from our music listening experience where you need a Premium or Music Premium subscription to enjoy some of these features”, suggesting that listening to podcasts on YouTube Music will not require any subscription. However, the company plans to soon introduce audio ads to podcasts on YouTube Music.
Earlier this month, Google also added the ‘Podcasts’ tab to channel pages on YouTube. This new section shows all the content that a creator marks as podcasts, which makes it easier for users to discover specific types of content. The same content that creators have marked as podcasts on YouTube will appear in YouTube Music’s podcasts section.
