Google Podcasts to be discontinued in 2024 and migrated to YouTube Music

According to a statement from YouTube on Tuesday, the migration has been prompted by the need to leverage interactions on the platform by creating a one-stop destination for fans and podcasters to allow better podcast experiences.

"We’re living in the golden age of podcasts. We’ve seen creators and artists really embrace Podcasts on YouTube, and its incredible potential to boost audience growth across audio and video formats," said YouTube in the statement.

YouTube added that Google Podcasts users will be aided to seamlessly migrate their podcasts to the video platform as studies have already shown that about 23% of weekly podcast users in the US say YouTube is their most frequently used service, versus just 4% for Google Podcasts.

YouTube also assured that they will allow fans and podcasters ample time to make the transition.

For users, they will simply add podcast Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds to their YouTube Music library, including shows not currently hosted by YouTube. 

RSS feeds are web feeds that allow users to create their own customized eZine (electronic magazine) of the most up-to-date content for the topics and websites they are interested in.

"For those who prefer a different listening platform, the tools will also include an option to download an OPML file of their show subscriptions, which they can upload to an app that supports their import," said YouTube.

An Outline Processor Markup Language (OPML) file is used to exchange information between applications that run on different operating systems (OSs). 

Podcasters will be aided in providing robust creation and analytics tools, as well as RSS uploads, to allow users to easily access podcasts on YouTube Music everywhere.

"In the coming weeks and months, we'll gather feedback to make the migration process from Google Podcasts to YouTube Music as simple and easy as possible. Once we feel the migration tools are ready, we’ll release them along with clear guidelines on how they work," added YouTube.

Google Podcasts is an application developed by Google launched in June 2018 for Android and iOS devices.