YouTube is launching more features for its Music Hub, which will benefit podcasters. In the latest Release Notes video, YouTube Creator associate Rene Ritchie and YouTube’s Chief Product Officer Johanna Voolich discussed the current state of podcasting on YouTube and the company’s plans for podcasting.
A glimpse into the new features
A year ago, YouTube launched podcasts on YouTube Music, giving a platform to podcasters and their listeners without a paid subscription. To improve the podcasting experience, YouTube will roll out “several new features, including support for third-party RSS podcasts, updates to the Android Auto experience for easy in-car listening, enhanced download options, and customizable playlist sorting,” the blog post reads.
Creator Emily Baker also asked Voolich and Ritchie if YouTube would support “RSS out” capabilities for podcasts. The “RSS out” capability YouTube to generate RSS feed for podcast content. According to Voolich, “RSS out” is not yet supported on the platform but “RSS in” is supported.
Visual and “eyes optional” podcast content
Voolich and Ritchie also discussed YouTube’s improvement in recommendation and discovery algorithms. Voolich categorized two types of podcast content that get recommended to users. The first one is the visual content, such as highly produced shows where the audience can also enjoy the production together with the storytelling.
The second category is the “eyes optional” — the type of content that you can enjoy in the background while doing chores or driving. YouTube will bank on these categories to improve the algorithm and recommend content better. According to Voolich, YouTube’s discovery system is its greatest strength when it comes to supporting podcast content.
“We want YouTube Music to be that one-stop shop for all of your listening,” Voolich said.