YouTube today published an interview with Chief Product Officer Johanna Voolich about the platform and the “future of podcasts” at YouTube Music.
First of all, YouTube says, “We're paying close attention to this.”[s] It's about cultivating a vibrant podcast scene that caters to everyone. ”This is easy enough to believe, as his podcast has grown organically on YouTube, with the visual aspect becoming an almost exclusive differentiator.
This interview is an interesting one that shares how YouTube views podcasts and how it leans towards the video aspect, saying that podcasts are “not just great to listen to, but great to watch as well.” It is considered to be an “eye-optional experience”.
“…One of the things I’ve heard about podcasts on YouTube is that people actually like the visual element.”
Another big “secret sauce” is using existing recommendation systems to “help people discover something new or dig deeper into the things they love, while at the same time allowing podcasters to to reach new audiences that can only be found on . One thing YouTube encourages is having podcasters upload their entire catalogs.
To that end, YouTube has “revamped” itself. [its] Recommendation and discovery algorithms that make it easy for creators and listeners to discover new content through Watch Next, the YouTube homepage, and search.
Our Discovery system and Watch Next highlight topics, highlight creators, [and] You can highlight important themes already included in one podcast and recommend them in another.
Meanwhile, the goal is to make YouTube Music “the ultimate destination for podcasters and fans.” Specifically, YTM believes that her Google Podcasts users will have the “traditional” experience they are accustomed to.
“We want YouTube Music to be a one-stop shop for everyone.”
YTM is an “additional feature designed to improve the podcast consumption experience” by providing “users the flexibility to listen to their favorite podcasts without the need for a paid membership.” This is made possible through existing features built for music, including “background playback, downloads, and the unique ability to switch between audio and video formats.”
Additional YTM updates noted by YouTube include:
- “Support for Third-Party RSS Podcasts”: November 2023
- “Updates to the Android Auto experience make in-car listening easier.”
- “Enhanced Download Options”: Automatic downloads in March 2023
- “Customizable playlist sorting”: More options now available
Another thing we learned today is that YouTube doesn't currently have an RSS output feature (where you upload a show or episode to YouTube and Google generates an RSS feed for other podcast clients) on its roadmap. is.
I wish today's update had provided a concrete roadmap for what's coming to YouTube Music, especially ahead of Google Podcasts' international retirement in June. YTM continues to lack basic features that should have been added before Google Podcasts was no longer available to users, such as new episode notifications and played marks.
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