Preparations for podcast support are well underway
Google Podcasts is on its last legs, and YouTube has confirmed its intentions to take the mantle focusing freshly on long form content in YouTube Music. There isn’t yet any direct evidence of these moves on the YouTube Music app interface, but in-development code strings within the latest app update offer some insight into Google’s work towards supporting podcasts behind the scenes.
YouTube management says podcasts are coming “in the near future” for the US, and 9to5Google has spotted signs of that in version 5.48 of the YouTube Music app. Several text strings suggest users will be able to add podcasts to the playback queue just like they do songs. The content will also appear in the Library tab, sharing space with downloaded songs. This should further blur the distinction between music and podcasts, helping the new addition blend in like it was always a part of the app.
<string name=”add_to_queue_toast_episode”>Episode added to queue</string>
<string name=”play_next_toast_episode”>Episode will play next</string>
<string name=”library_episodes_shelf_title”>Episodes</string>
<string name=”offline_podcasts_shelf_title”>Podcasts</string>
<string name=”offline_episodes_detail_page_title”>Downloaded Episodes</string>
<string name=”offline_downloads_tracks_and_episodes_empty_state_text”>Music and podcasts you download will appear here</string>
A related change should also show up in the Settings menu, enabling playback of podcast videos as audio only, just like the existing toggle that disables music video playback, to prefer the album version of songs, instead. YouTube Music should also support features optimized for long-form content, like long countdowns with the sleep timer, right off the bat.
<string name=”sleep_timer”>Sleep timer</string>
<string name=”sleep_timer_hours_and_minutes_left”>Sleep timer u2022 %1$s %2$s left</string>
This podcast focus will also be evident in the YouTube Music app search bar, with the prompt text changing from “Search songs, albums, and artists” to “Search songs, artists, podcasts” when podcasts roll out.
To create a launch-day-ready library of streamable content, YouTube is already giving creators the required tools to convert playlists into shows via YouTube Studio. The big launch of podcasting content is near, and we are really excited to see how YouTube Music fares in this competitive landscape.
