As it competes with Apple and YouTube to become the go-to podcast streaming destination for customers, and in an effort to elevate its collection of audio and video podcasts to the same level as its music catalogue, Spotify on Wednesday unveiled a few new features aimed at giving podcasts a larger place in its app. The most noteworthy of them is a new Following feed.
In a blog post published yesterday, the platform revealed the new features, which, despite being little changes to Spotify’s user interface, let you find your next favourite episode and get closer to the podcasts you enjoy. Additionally, Spotify adds that “it gives them new ways to reach even more audiences around the globe,” giving creators an advantage.
According to the streaming giant, it will start suggesting podcasts on its home page and offer a following feed so you can keep up with the most recent episodes of your favourite programs. Additionally, new tools for podcast producers to suggest material and interact more effectively with their followers in comments will soon be made available on Spotify.
With the exception of one that Spotify claims would be “rolling out globally in the coming weeks,” the new features are already beginning to be made available to users. These are the three new tools to try out if you’re an avid podcast listener, or at least if you’re attempting to be one.
The relatively minor modifications are part of Spotify’s increasing efforts to compete with YouTube and Apple’s Podcasts app. In recent years, the latter has increased its podcast investment. For example, YouTube challenged Apple and Spotify this month by launching its own weekly best podcast list. In terms of what YouTube users prefer to watch, that figure shows some significant variations between the platforms.
By enabling all artists to contribute videos and rewarding them with incentives for popular shows through its Partner Program, Spotify has also made investments in video podcasts.
In the United States, where one-third of weekly podcast listeners choose the Google-owned service over Spotify or Apple, YouTube is still the best option despite these efforts.
According to Spotify, the new podcast suggestions on the Home tab have already begun to be made available to users worldwide, and preliminary reports indicate that more people are listening to, storing, and enjoying shows as a result.
Additionally, rather than requiring you to search the entire app, Spotify is launching a Following feed that will act as a specific location where you can view all of the most recent episodes published by the podcasts you follow. (You must hit the Podcasts button at the top of the app and then the Following button that shows up to its right in order to access this feature.)
A new tool that will soon be available to podcast makers will allow them to link to additional content that they mention in their episode and that is also available on Spotify, such as playlists, audiobooks, music, and other podcasts. This may be found on the episode page and will be accessible over the course of the following few weeks.
In a minor change, producers will be able to reply to fans using emoji reactions when they leave comments on their podcast pages on the app.
According to the firm, producers may still use their Spotify for producers account to choose whether or not to display comments on their program or episode sites.
Spotify is competing with companies like Apple Music and YouTube, which is currently the leading podcast platform in the United States, in the ongoing competition for the top podcast platform.
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