Syed Imran Haider 
YouTube has officially announced that it will add podcasts to its platform in the United States. These pods will be available for iOS, Android, and the web version of the music streaming service. Kai Chuk, the head of YouTube podcasting, announced the rollout earlier this year. The new update on YouTube Music is a handy feature for users to watch podcasts on the primary app, especially if they want to keep listening to them on the streaming service.
According to the company, podcasts will be available offline, on-demand, and in the background. Users can listen to them while casting and flawlessly switch between audio and videos on YouTube Music. A blog post by YouTube Music reveals a diverse podcast listening from its music listening experience where users require subscriptions like Premium and Music Premium to benefit from these features. The company believes the newest podcast listening goes with the podcast video experience on YouTube.
YouTube Music Podcasts
Users can access podcasts on YouTube Music whether or not they have purchased a Premium subscription. Paid subscribers may find sponsorship texts or host-read authorizations while listening to Podcasts on the music streaming service.
YouTube has rolled out the podcast update to all listeners on its platform in the United States gradually. It means YouTube Music users in other countries may not see the feature unless the company rolls it out further. While the company plans to make podcasts available to YouTube Music users besides the United States, it has not revealed any specific details regarding their launch.
The Home tab on the platform has a new tab labeled Podcasts. A touch or click of the mouse button will show your favorite and recommended podcasts. “Creators owning audio-only podcasts can use audiograms, upload a video with a still picture, or benefit from other lively audiovisual formats”, YouTube says. The company will soon provide podcast creators the option to upload their audio podcasts through RSS feeds to YouTube Music as well as to YouTube.
Unlike Spotify, YouTube does not plan to get into exclusive deals with podcasters. It is rather interested in combining the experience of podcast listening on audio and video. Interestingly, YouTube Music has also rolled out a sleep timer for songs, which can work wonders for quality-of-life enhancements.
Sleeper Time
YouTube has widely rolled out the sleep timer for songs. Users can see it at the bottom of the menu with 15 or 15 minutes, 60 minutes, and End of track. Users have already benefited from the sleep timer available on the Now Playing page of the podcast. It is visible there in the replacement of the repeat button at the right, whereas users can see the Playback speed at the left.
YouTube Music arranged a poll for users on what features they wish to see on the service. It gave choices, including a sleep timer, better recommendations, background play, and improved lyrics. The majority chose background play, though users are still for that feature to be available to users other than Canada. However, details regarding what Better Recommendations may involve are still vague as it looks more like a timeless improvement.
