Google is shutting down Podcasts, here’s how to move your subscriptions to YouTube Music

Google Podcasts is shutting down on April 2, with the company transitioning users and subscriptions to YouTube Music. The move consolidates Google’s audio offerings under a single platform. Users have received emails with instructions on exporting their podcast subscriptions for transfer to YouTube Music.

A specific shutdown date for regions outside the United States has not been announced, but a global transition to YouTube Music is expected in 2024, enabling users to access both music and podcasts within one app. Initially, this transition will occur in the US, with plans to expand globally.

While the Google Podcasts app has over 500 million downloads on the Play Store, only 4% of users actually use it, as per an Edison report. In contrast, 23% prefer YouTube Music for podcast consumption. With this move, Google aims to streamline music content consumption into a single platform.

Users will have a grace period to switch to YouTube Music, but post-April 2nd, access to content via the Podcasts app will cease. To ease the transition, Google provides features like RSS feed integration in YouTube Music. Additionally, users can download OPML files to transfer subscriptions to other compatible podcast apps.

To transfer your subscriptions to YouTube Music, follow these steps:

Open the Google Podcasts app and navigate to the Home tab.

Locate the notification regarding the shutdown and select “Export Subscriptions.”

Choose “Export to YouTube Music” from the Export Subscriptions options.

Select a Gmail account when redirected to YouTube Music. Your subscriptions will then be transferred, although a slight delay might occur before all subscriptions appear.