Google are retiring their podcast app in 2024 as they move content to YouTube Music.

Google have announced that they will be “discontinuing Google Podcasts” in 2024. The news comes after Google added podcasts to their YouTube Music streaming platform in the US earlier this year.

In less than a year podcasts have found a happy home in YouTube Music, with Google reporting that 23% of podcast users in the US say YouTube is their weekly go to, as opposed to just 4% for Google Podcasts.

Podcasts have become huge in recent years, with the latest data suggesting that thee are nearly 500 million worldwide podcast listeners. They’ve found their home on music streaming services, like Spotify, which has gradually seen a shift towards a more rounded audio platform than a music service.

With over 5 million podcasts now streaming on Spotify and included with both Free and Premium subscriptions, it has clearly become an integral part of the music streaming competition.

Google have been bolstering the podcast experience on YouTube Music, with auto-downloads now available on saved shows. Simply click on the cogs setting on a show you’ve saved and tap ‘Turn on auto-downloads’.

How to move your podcast library from Google Podcasts to YouTube Music

Whilst Podcasts on YouTube Music aren’t available everywhere yet, they plan to launch it globally by the end of the year. This ensures that users worldwide will have access to their favourite podcasts even after Google Podcasts shuts its doors.

YouTube Music will be launching a migration tool for users to take their podcasts from Google Podcasts and easily add them to YouTube Music. There will also be an option to download an OPML file of their show subscriptions if they’re looking to migrate elsewhere other than YouTube Music.

Google clarified: “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.”