Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL YouTube Music users can now access podcasts through a dedicated tab — something Spotify Technology S.A. SPOT may not be entirely happy about.
What Happened: YouTube Music users in the U.S. can now listen to podcasts on the app with on-demand and offline streaming options that support background listening without requiring a Premium subscription.
“For those of you outside the United States, rest assured that we plan to bring podcasts in YouTube Music to other regions in the future,” the platform stated.
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YouTube Music’s dedicated podcast is available on its app for iOS, Android and the web, providing access to shows that were previously only available on the main YouTube app. Additionally, users will have the ability to switch between audio and video versions of a podcast.
Why It’s Important: With the inclusion of podcasts on YouTube Music, the service is expected to be more competitive against Spotify, which recently surpassed 500 million monthly active users, reported The Verge.
YouTube reported having around 80 million Music and Premium subscribers as of November last year, while Spotify boasts approximately 210 million paying users.
In January earlier this year, a survey result by Morning Consult suggested that 33% of U.S. adults prefer YouTube as their chosen podcast platform, followed by Spotify with 24% and Apple Inc. AAPL podcasts with a mere 12%.
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