20 ms·

Google podcasts is shutting down

99 points by craig 3y ago

matthewfelgate 3y ago
When I first heard this news I started using https://pocketcasts.com/ https://pocketcasts.com/ which I have been very happy with. In case anyone else was looking for a Google Podcasts alternative.
forshow 3y ago
And the joke keeps on running
- ethbr1 3y ago
  [flagged]
- cptcobalt 3y ago
  [flagged]
- argiopetech 3y ago
  Yep, my first thought was, "Here we go again". Pity. I liked Podcasts.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
pelagicAustral 3y ago
I get a robot, sans one arm, and "Sorry, this page can't be found."
- eviks 3y ago
  and he's low on fuel
ilrwbwrkhv 3y ago
[flagged]
AISnakeOil 3y ago
[flagged]
vecplane 3y ago
YouTube is effectively a Google Podcasts platform already. Paying for YouTube Premium to avoid ads is some of the best money I spend each month. I wish I could do the same for Spotify podcast ads. I do pay for Spotify already to avoid ads in music, but I can't seem to avoid them for the Joe Rogan Experience.
- verdverm 3y ago
  The ads in podcasts is why I left Spotify. Doesn't really seem like premium when the main content I want from them still has ads
  - jtbayly 3y ago
    I also left Spotify because of podcasts. I did not want to listen to podcasts, and they couldn't get that through their heads, shoving it down my throat, advertising it to me, even though I paid for an ad-free experience. Drove me crazy, so I left.
    - frereubu 3y ago
      What did you switch to? I tried Tidal, loved the noticeably higher-quality audio, but there were two dealbreakers for me - no crossfade playback (for running) and no downloads to the desktop app (for travelling). I could just about have dealt with no downloads on the desktop app, but they actually removed the crossfade playback a while ago because, according to an official reply on their support forums "it didn't add to the customer experience", which to me seems like such a blatant lie to cover for something else like they found it difficult to do for some technical reason.
      - anotherhue 3y ago
        Apple music is less enshittifified for now. I'm enjoying not fighting a losing battle with Spotify PMs on every interaction. Seriously considering just getting a record player so I can get rid of these middle men though. It's too much.
2bluesc 3y ago
I remember thinking this shutdown was inevitable when they launched it... And never used it. Google has created a self fulfilling prophecy.
- deleted 3y ago
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verdverm 3y ago
This is a product consolidation more than a discontinuation
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 3y ago
  [flagged]
- rickdeckard 3y ago
  Depends on whether YT Music is considered a place for products to continue living or a place for products to put to rest. So far it seems to be where Google Media apps migrate their users to when they decide to retire a media service. ANY kind of media service...
  - verdverm 3y ago
    Yea, that's what consolidation means
    - rickdeckard 3y ago
      Then that's where the confusion is coming from. Because that's not what consolidation means.
      - verdverm 3y ago
        Google is consolidating their portfolio and allows you to migrate away if that is your choice
        rickdeckard 3y ago
        See, despite being common corporate speech, this is not what 'consolidation' means. 'Consolidation' means combining multiple things into a stronger whole. As said, it depends on whether one considers YT Music as a place for the podcasts product to continue living, or a place where customers of the product are suggested to go to "also find podcasts somehow". Considering that Google stops the product and "allows you to migrate away", they don't consolidate, they discontinue. If I have two horse carriages carrying people to different places and I decide to kill one horse and tell all its passengers to maybe check out the other horse, then I'm not 'consolidating' my horses, I discontinued the life of one of my products.
pelagicAustral 3y ago
"Google Podcasts is going away [...]" > https://www.theverge.com/23891397/google-podcasts-youtube-spotify-alternatives-pocket-casts https://www.theverge.com/23891397/google-podcasts-youtube-sp...
notRobot 3y ago
Open source alternative on Android: Antennapod: https://antennapod.org/ https://antennapod.org/ https://antennapod.org/download/ https://antennapod.org/download/ Available on Google Play and F-Droid. I switched to it many years ago anticipating this exact Google product shutdown, and I've been very happy with it :)
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- oaththrowaway 3y ago
  AntennaPod is what I use as well, but it does really kill my battery for whatever reason.
- bane 3y ago
  I've been using podcast addict for years. It's a glorious mess of an app that sort of reminds me of kitchen sink apps like calibre.
- tshannon 3y ago
  Unrelated, but does anyone have any good options for listening to a podcast with someone simultaneously? I know in spotify you can do shared listening sessions, but that requires a spotify premium subscription. Any good self hosted podcast streaming options, or other options that allow shared listening?
pvg 3y ago
Discussed at length a week or so ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38573378 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38573378 and a couple of months ago https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37659482 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37659482 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37664710 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37664710
- ChrisArchitect 3y ago
  And more https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=pastYear&page=0&prefix=false&query=%22google%20podcasts%22&sort=byPopularity&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=pastYear&page=0&prefix=fal...
dopeboy 3y ago
Damn, I just discovered it 4 days ago. It is excellent, with zero cruft. Looks like I'll need to use Apple Podcasts.
- smithza 3y ago
  There are better apps. You want one that supports library exports if/when they also "discontinue" their services. I use pocketcasts.
- iso8859-1 3y ago
  Don't use a big-tech solution. Podcasts were an open platform and you can keep it that way by using a open source application like AntennaPod.
- rchaud 3y ago
  AntennaPod on F-Droid is a simple no-nonsense podcast manager.
Cwizard 3y ago
Can anyone explain why? I see almost no downside in keeping it running? Infra costs must be minor, there is no licensing costs, it’s a simple app so I would assume very little developer cost. The upside is that Android can come with a ‘native’ podcast player. Just like iOS comes with a native player. A big downside with shutting it down is that it reinforces the idea that Google products are eventually killed so don’t rely on them.
- deleted 3y ago
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- kredd 3y ago
  Replaced by YouTube podcasts, feels like they’re consolidating all entertainment under YT brand.
- stuartd 3y ago
  Keeping it going requires engineering resources which I imagine they want to redeploy
- taeric 3y ago
  Google being a giant monorepo is almost certainly at play here. Maintenance costs are always high on products. But upgrades and constant progress on underlying technology is, itself, often a large part of the need for maintenance. Please don't take this as an argument against monorepo. It is a discussion point there, but even if you view this as largely negative, I assert a lot of these negatives come with the size of Google.
  - digging 3y ago
    I'm not against monorepos but this seems like such an obvious case of one being inappropriate. I'm very curious why it's important to G to maintain their products in a colossal monorepo. Obviously they have very smart people working on these issues, but they're also not infallible.
  - msm_ 3y ago
    Interesting, i've always considered monorepo to be a maintainability win. Your code doesn't rot (as much) because it's constantly rebuilt and tested. When someone improves some downstream code (for example makes some code faster or safer) you get the benefits immediately. And most importantly - you can do huge interface-breaking refactorings on the whole codebase at once, without versioning dance. For example you can remove a parameter from some function in the library and make sure all clients still work, atomically. I think this is a huge maintainability win - as long as you actually want to maintain something and not let it rot. But really, do you have a choice? Sooner or later someone finds a security bug in the code and you actually have to dig out the code and deploy an update.
CamelCaseName 3y ago
Broken link?
colesantiago 3y ago
[flagged]
worksonull 3y ago
Does that mean that they will merge podcasts into YouTube Music? I don't mind, one app instead of two, but ytmusic needs some UI work
- verdverm 3y ago
  The article states exactly this and also tells you how you can migrate your subscription to any other podcast platform
andyjohnson0 3y ago
The link is 404ing. Suggest https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/podcast-destination-on-youtube-music/ https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/podcast-destination-on-... instead.
deleted 3y ago
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deleted 3y ago
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- deleted 3y ago
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graypegg 3y ago
There's no good common category beyond just "sound media" for music and podcasts I think. They play together on radio obviously, but there's something weird to me about them sharing the same app. The sorting, filtering, playback controls, and presentation all feels like its too different. Seems to be the way the big tech music apps are going though.
tkiolp4 3y ago
Google as a brand is something I don’t trust anymore. - cloud? You’re far better at aws than gcp - email? Got my life-long gmail account blocked for no reason. I’m using icloud+ and custom domain now. I have a dummy gmail account just in case - drive? I don’t trust my gmail account so, I cannot trust drive either - search? Guilty. I’m still using it, but less and less - youtube? Annoying af with ads. I don’t bother with blockers - phones? Nexus 5 was great. It lasted me 4 good years. Nowadays if I want good quality I go to apple
- slipperlobster 3y ago
  Just wanna throw my hat in for an unsolicited Kagi recommendation. I switched almost a year ago, and it's been great.
  - digging 3y ago
    I'll second this, I can hardly recommend any subscription more than Kagi. Despite the numbers, I'm always surprised when someone still uses G search... it's drowned in ads and exploitative results. Kagi lets you modify the weights of individual sites or even block them, so you can filter out blogspam and clickbait sites instantly. Best of all, it even has a leaderboard for most-blocked and most-promoted domains so you can literally just go down the list of some of the worst sites and block them before you ever see them in a search result.
  - gentleman11 3y ago
    kagi is great. It's overpriced, but if you are willing to pay the premium for unlmimited searches (you run out really quickly or aviod doing searches otherwise with the normal plan), it's really good
    - slipperlobster 3y ago
      I don't know if it's overpriced, or if it is the sticker shock of _having to pay for search where almost everywhere else provides it for free_. I'd rather not pay, but I'd also rather pay and support something to get them to stick around long-term.
paxys 3y ago
The entire podcasts industry seems to be on a downward spiral. I feel like the days are numbered for Spotify's podcast dreams as well, looking at how little they are promoting them now in app or outside. What on earth happened? It was the hottest new thing in media, and then...everyone just collectively lost interest? Was it just the Covid bubble, or something else?
- verdverm 3y ago
  Making premium users listen to ads on podcasts was the primary reason I stopped using Spotify The podcasts I listen to are available on all the major platforms I think what we might be seeing is that the walled garden approach to content is not working out. People don't want to have to subscribe to a ton of services just to get access to a few pieces of unique content. There was a recent Disney+ thing to this effect recently too
- upon_drumhead 3y ago
  Their moat didn’t pay off. Pulling podcasts behind their paywall didn’t convert to subscribers nearly enough for it to justify the price in acquiring the source material. There are so many great podcasts that when gimlet shows went to Spotify, I missed them, but listened to other shows instead.
- master-lincoln 3y ago
  I feel like the issue is exactly that capitalists ruined it by making an industry out of it. Also if there is no rss feed I can subscribe to to get the releases, I don't consider it a podcast. So Spotify doesn't offer podcasts in my view...
  - rchaud 3y ago
    Capitalists want a return on their capital. Spotify committed the original sin of taking VC money, which has no endgame besides IPO'ing. And once you IPO, you're at the mercy of Wall St. They never made a sustainable business by licensing music, and thus see podcasts as free real estate they can monetize without having to bay Universal, Warner, Atlantic etc.
infamouscow 3y ago
It's fitting Podcast Index is eating big tech's lunch. https://podcastindex.org/ https://podcastindex.org/
tjpnz 3y ago
[flagged]
- pvg 3y ago
  If you think something is misflagged you can vouch for it.
  - tjpnz 3y ago
    I'm aware of that but am perplexed by the sheer volume of these compared to other articles.
    - pvg 3y ago
      The sheer volume of repetitive comments on such topics might have something to do with it.
- deleted 3y ago
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- verdverm 3y ago
  1. Talking about down votes and flagging is off topic and against the guidelines 2. They are mostly the same vacuous comments about Google kills this or Google bad and evil. It's tiring this is the immediate response to every story. Comments should enhance the conversation and come from curiosity, per the guidelines as well
tambourine_man 3y ago
Google is in such a downwards spiral these days. Either commit to your new endeavors or focus on your existing products. Instead, they keep randomly throwing things at the wall. No wonder it fails. It just hurts their brand.
- deleted 3y ago
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nerdjon 3y ago
While I am sure this is likely to push people towards YouTube premium subscriptions, I feel like Podcasts are unique in the way they are consumed that they need a dedicated app. Otherwise we end up with either a bloated YouTube app or an even more confusing "Youtube Podcasts" app (then YouTube music, YouTube videos, and YouTube whatever google decides to abandon next). Would be a good time for Apple to maybe advertise Apple Podcasts some more. Edit: Also why isnt this migration just done for you? So your data is there if/when you decide to try youtube podcasts.
- rickdeckard 3y ago
  > While I am sure this is likely to push people towards YouTube premium subscriptions I seriously wonder if anyone would really _PAY_ for the user experience of YT Music. It is one of the weirdest media apps I've used in a long time. Never fully fit for purpose, always "okay, somehow works".
  - dageshi 3y ago
    I'm betting there's weird licensing issues around music on youtube that means google has to have a separate app for it.
wing-_-nuts 3y ago
sigh I started using google podcasts because beyondPod started acting weird. Guess I'm going back because there's absolutely* no way I'm moving to youtube music given their ads.
devin 3y ago
OK, I'm done. I need to migrate my email from gmail. It's going to be long and arduous. Suggestions on providers? Before you ask: No, I do not want to host my own mail.
- frereubu 3y ago
  You'll probably hear this a lot on here, but I'm a happy Fastmail user.
  - kossae 3y ago
    Seconding Fastmail here. Everything just works for a reasonable price.
- nerdjon 3y ago
  I use iCloud for anything personal (been using it since MobileMe) and Amazon Workmail for anything professional.
  - afruitpie 3y ago
    iCloud also supports custom domains if you’re paying for iCloud storage. I use this since I was paying for storage anyway. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212514 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212514
    - nerdjon 3y ago
      How did I not know this…. That may be a project at some point to merge the 2. But it’s not a big deal to keep them separate I guess.
- deleted 3y ago
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- blendergeek 3y ago
  I recommend fastmail with a custom domain. By using your own domain (not self-hosting) you can migrate to a new provider should you decide you don't like fastmail.
benf76 3y ago
Big tech war on RSS / open protocols. Podcastindex.org is the future and response to this. Get off big tech support podcastapps.com
iambateman 3y ago
Google team, we need to talk. Your reputation has fallen among many developers for a lack of long-term commitment to anything. Could you please get your executives in a room and figure out everything else that needs to sunset in the next two years? It’s fine for a product to run its course but the endless paper cuts of sunsetting announcements is getting old. Once you figure out what needs to get cut, just make a big reset announcement and commit to supporting everything else for a decade. It will take a couple years for us to believe you but better late than never. Until then, we have to assume that everything is on the chopping block or at risk of 300% price increases. You can do better.
- deleted 3y ago
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- hiddencost 3y ago
  Executives have been busy chopping the company up for parts for years, coasting on Google's reputation to distract employees and users. The plan is to loot the place for as much and as long as possible as it crashes and burns.
maxglute 3y ago
Is youtube finally going to raise playback speed up to 3x from 2x? Feels like every popular podcast and audiobook player supports at least 3x now, it's not some niche feature. That alone makes youtube useless as a podcast platform for me. On the other hand, sponsorblocking podcasts... chefs kiss.
- pmichaud 3y ago
  There are browser extensions that let you do it, but yes, I agree, 2x isn't enough.
- deleted 3y ago
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throw7 3y ago
Migrate your podcast shows from Google Podcasts (US Only ): https://support.google.com/youtubemusic/thread/249139848?sjid=5065544417632287219-NA https://support.google.com/youtubemusic/thread/249139848?sji... I haven't decided where to migrate to, but it's definitely NOT Youtube Music.
deleted 3y ago
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crossroadsguy 3y ago
I think we will remember back podcasts as one of those nice things that we collectively didn't pay for. Hell, even Googles and Spotifies are giving up.
Glench 3y ago
[flagged]

99 points by craig 3y ago

When I first heard this news I started using https://pocketcasts.com/ https://pocketcasts.com/ which I have been very happy with. In case anyone else was looking for a Google Podcasts alternative.

forshow 3y ago

And the joke keeps on running

ethbr1 3y ago
[flagged]
cptcobalt 3y ago
[flagged]
argiopetech 3y ago
Yep, my first thought was, "Here we go again". Pity. I liked Podcasts.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

pelagicAustral 3y ago

I get a robot, sans one arm, and "Sorry, this page can't be found."

eviks 3y ago
and he's low on fuel

ilrwbwrkhv 3y ago

[flagged]

AISnakeOil 3y ago

[flagged]

vecplane 3y ago

YouTube is effectively a Google Podcasts platform already. Paying for YouTube Premium to avoid ads is some of the best money I spend each month. I wish I could do the same for Spotify podcast ads. I do pay for Spotify already to avoid ads in music, but I can't seem to avoid them for the Joe Rogan Experience.

verdverm 3y ago
The ads in podcasts is why I left Spotify. Doesn't really seem like premium when the main content I want from them still has ads
- jtbayly 3y ago
  I also left Spotify because of podcasts. I did not want to listen to podcasts, and they couldn't get that through their heads, shoving it down my throat, advertising it to me, even though I paid for an ad-free experience. Drove me crazy, so I left.
  - frereubu 3y ago
    What did you switch to? I tried Tidal, loved the noticeably higher-quality audio, but there were two dealbreakers for me - no crossfade playback (for running) and no downloads to the desktop app (for travelling). I could just about have dealt with no downloads on the desktop app, but they actually removed the crossfade playback a while ago because, according to an official reply on their support forums "it didn't add to the customer experience", which to me seems like such a blatant lie to cover for something else like they found it difficult to do for some technical reason.
    - anotherhue 3y ago
      Apple music is less enshittifified for now. I'm enjoying not fighting a losing battle with Spotify PMs on every interaction. Seriously considering just getting a record player so I can get rid of these middle men though. It's too much.

2bluesc 3y ago

I remember thinking this shutdown was inevitable when they launched it... And never used it. Google has created a self fulfilling prophecy.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

verdverm 3y ago

This is a product consolidation more than a discontinuation

2OEH8eoCRo0 3y ago
[flagged]
rickdeckard 3y ago
Depends on whether YT Music is considered a place for products to continue living or a place for products to put to rest. So far it seems to be where Google Media apps migrate their users to when they decide to retire a media service. ANY kind of media service...
- verdverm 3y ago
  Yea, that's what consolidation means
  - rickdeckard 3y ago
    Then that's where the confusion is coming from. Because that's not what consolidation means.
    - verdverm 3y ago
      Google is consolidating their portfolio and allows you to migrate away if that is your choice
      - rickdeckard 3y ago
        See, despite being common corporate speech, this is not what 'consolidation' means. 'Consolidation' means combining multiple things into a stronger whole. As said, it depends on whether one considers YT Music as a place for the podcasts product to continue living, or a place where customers of the product are suggested to go to "also find podcasts somehow". Considering that Google stops the product and "allows you to migrate away", they don't consolidate, they discontinue. If I have two horse carriages carrying people to different places and I decide to kill one horse and tell all its passengers to maybe check out the other horse, then I'm not 'consolidating' my horses, I discontinued the life of one of my products.

pelagicAustral 3y ago

"Google Podcasts is going away [...]" > https://www.theverge.com/23891397/google-podcasts-youtube-spotify-alternatives-pocket-casts https://www.theverge.com/23891397/google-podcasts-youtube-sp...

notRobot 3y ago

Open source alternative on Android: Antennapod: https://antennapod.org/ https://antennapod.org/ https://antennapod.org/download/ https://antennapod.org/download/ Available on Google Play and F-Droid. I switched to it many years ago anticipating this exact Google product shutdown, and I've been very happy with it :)

deleted 3y ago
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oaththrowaway 3y ago
AntennaPod is what I use as well, but it does really kill my battery for whatever reason.
bane 3y ago
I've been using podcast addict for years. It's a glorious mess of an app that sort of reminds me of kitchen sink apps like calibre.
tshannon 3y ago
Unrelated, but does anyone have any good options for listening to a podcast with someone simultaneously? I know in spotify you can do shared listening sessions, but that requires a spotify premium subscription. Any good self hosted podcast streaming options, or other options that allow shared listening?

pvg 3y ago

Discussed at length a week or so ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38573378 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38573378 and a couple of months ago https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37659482 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37659482 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37664710 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37664710

ChrisArchitect 3y ago
And more https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=pastYear&page=0&prefix=false&query=%22google%20podcasts%22&sort=byPopularity&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=pastYear&page=0&prefix=fal...

dopeboy 3y ago

Damn, I just discovered it 4 days ago. It is excellent, with zero cruft. Looks like I'll need to use Apple Podcasts.

smithza 3y ago
There are better apps. You want one that supports library exports if/when they also "discontinue" their services. I use pocketcasts.
iso8859-1 3y ago
Don't use a big-tech solution. Podcasts were an open platform and you can keep it that way by using a open source application like AntennaPod.
rchaud 3y ago
AntennaPod on F-Droid is a simple no-nonsense podcast manager.

Cwizard 3y ago

Can anyone explain why? I see almost no downside in keeping it running? Infra costs must be minor, there is no licensing costs, it’s a simple app so I would assume very little developer cost. The upside is that Android can come with a ‘native’ podcast player. Just like iOS comes with a native player. A big downside with shutting it down is that it reinforces the idea that Google products are eventually killed so don’t rely on them.

deleted 3y ago
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kredd 3y ago
Replaced by YouTube podcasts, feels like they’re consolidating all entertainment under YT brand.
stuartd 3y ago
Keeping it going requires engineering resources which I imagine they want to redeploy
taeric 3y ago
Google being a giant monorepo is almost certainly at play here. Maintenance costs are always high on products. But upgrades and constant progress on underlying technology is, itself, often a large part of the need for maintenance. Please don't take this as an argument against monorepo. It is a discussion point there, but even if you view this as largely negative, I assert a lot of these negatives come with the size of Google.
- digging 3y ago
  I'm not against monorepos but this seems like such an obvious case of one being inappropriate. I'm very curious why it's important to G to maintain their products in a colossal monorepo. Obviously they have very smart people working on these issues, but they're also not infallible.
- msm_ 3y ago
  Interesting, i've always considered monorepo to be a maintainability win. Your code doesn't rot (as much) because it's constantly rebuilt and tested. When someone improves some downstream code (for example makes some code faster or safer) you get the benefits immediately. And most importantly - you can do huge interface-breaking refactorings on the whole codebase at once, without versioning dance. For example you can remove a parameter from some function in the library and make sure all clients still work, atomically. I think this is a huge maintainability win - as long as you actually want to maintain something and not let it rot. But really, do you have a choice? Sooner or later someone finds a security bug in the code and you actually have to dig out the code and deploy an update.

CamelCaseName 3y ago

Broken link?

colesantiago 3y ago

[flagged]

worksonull 3y ago

Does that mean that they will merge podcasts into YouTube Music? I don't mind, one app instead of two, but ytmusic needs some UI work

verdverm 3y ago
The article states exactly this and also tells you how you can migrate your subscription to any other podcast platform

andyjohnson0 3y ago

The link is 404ing. Suggest https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/podcast-destination-on-youtube-music/ https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/podcast-destination-on-... instead.

deleted 3y ago

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deleted 3y ago
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graypegg 3y ago

There's no good common category beyond just "sound media" for music and podcasts I think. They play together on radio obviously, but there's something weird to me about them sharing the same app. The sorting, filtering, playback controls, and presentation all feels like its too different. Seems to be the way the big tech music apps are going though.

tkiolp4 3y ago

Google as a brand is something I don’t trust anymore. - cloud? You’re far better at aws than gcp - email? Got my life-long gmail account blocked for no reason. I’m using icloud+ and custom domain now. I have a dummy gmail account just in case - drive? I don’t trust my gmail account so, I cannot trust drive either - search? Guilty. I’m still using it, but less and less - youtube? Annoying af with ads. I don’t bother with blockers - phones? Nexus 5 was great. It lasted me 4 good years. Nowadays if I want good quality I go to apple

slipperlobster 3y ago
Just wanna throw my hat in for an unsolicited Kagi recommendation. I switched almost a year ago, and it's been great.
- digging 3y ago
  I'll second this, I can hardly recommend any subscription more than Kagi. Despite the numbers, I'm always surprised when someone still uses G search... it's drowned in ads and exploitative results. Kagi lets you modify the weights of individual sites or even block them, so you can filter out blogspam and clickbait sites instantly. Best of all, it even has a leaderboard for most-blocked and most-promoted domains so you can literally just go down the list of some of the worst sites and block them before you ever see them in a search result.
- gentleman11 3y ago
  kagi is great. It's overpriced, but if you are willing to pay the premium for unlmimited searches (you run out really quickly or aviod doing searches otherwise with the normal plan), it's really good
  - slipperlobster 3y ago
    I don't know if it's overpriced, or if it is the sticker shock of _having to pay for search where almost everywhere else provides it for free_. I'd rather not pay, but I'd also rather pay and support something to get them to stick around long-term.

paxys 3y ago

The entire podcasts industry seems to be on a downward spiral. I feel like the days are numbered for Spotify's podcast dreams as well, looking at how little they are promoting them now in app or outside. What on earth happened? It was the hottest new thing in media, and then...everyone just collectively lost interest? Was it just the Covid bubble, or something else?

verdverm 3y ago
Making premium users listen to ads on podcasts was the primary reason I stopped using Spotify The podcasts I listen to are available on all the major platforms I think what we might be seeing is that the walled garden approach to content is not working out. People don't want to have to subscribe to a ton of services just to get access to a few pieces of unique content. There was a recent Disney+ thing to this effect recently too
upon_drumhead 3y ago
Their moat didn’t pay off. Pulling podcasts behind their paywall didn’t convert to subscribers nearly enough for it to justify the price in acquiring the source material. There are so many great podcasts that when gimlet shows went to Spotify, I missed them, but listened to other shows instead.
master-lincoln 3y ago
I feel like the issue is exactly that capitalists ruined it by making an industry out of it. Also if there is no rss feed I can subscribe to to get the releases, I don't consider it a podcast. So Spotify doesn't offer podcasts in my view...
- rchaud 3y ago
  Capitalists want a return on their capital. Spotify committed the original sin of taking VC money, which has no endgame besides IPO'ing. And once you IPO, you're at the mercy of Wall St. They never made a sustainable business by licensing music, and thus see podcasts as free real estate they can monetize without having to bay Universal, Warner, Atlantic etc.

infamouscow 3y ago

It's fitting Podcast Index is eating big tech's lunch. https://podcastindex.org/ https://podcastindex.org/

tjpnz 3y ago

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pvg 3y ago
If you think something is misflagged you can vouch for it.
- tjpnz 3y ago
  I'm aware of that but am perplexed by the sheer volume of these compared to other articles.
  - pvg 3y ago
    The sheer volume of repetitive comments on such topics might have something to do with it.
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verdverm 3y ago
1. Talking about down votes and flagging is off topic and against the guidelines 2. They are mostly the same vacuous comments about Google kills this or Google bad and evil. It's tiring this is the immediate response to every story. Comments should enhance the conversation and come from curiosity, per the guidelines as well

tambourine_man 3y ago

Google is in such a downwards spiral these days. Either commit to your new endeavors or focus on your existing products. Instead, they keep randomly throwing things at the wall. No wonder it fails. It just hurts their brand.

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nerdjon 3y ago

While I am sure this is likely to push people towards YouTube premium subscriptions, I feel like Podcasts are unique in the way they are consumed that they need a dedicated app. Otherwise we end up with either a bloated YouTube app or an even more confusing "Youtube Podcasts" app (then YouTube music, YouTube videos, and YouTube whatever google decides to abandon next). Would be a good time for Apple to maybe advertise Apple Podcasts some more. Edit: Also why isnt this migration just done for you? So your data is there if/when you decide to try youtube podcasts.

rickdeckard 3y ago
> While I am sure this is likely to push people towards YouTube premium subscriptions I seriously wonder if anyone would really _PAY_ for the user experience of YT Music. It is one of the weirdest media apps I've used in a long time. Never fully fit for purpose, always "okay, somehow works".
- dageshi 3y ago
  I'm betting there's weird licensing issues around music on youtube that means google has to have a separate app for it.

wing-_-nuts 3y ago

sigh I started using google podcasts because beyondPod started acting weird. Guess I'm going back because there's absolutely* no way I'm moving to youtube music given their ads.

devin 3y ago

OK, I'm done. I need to migrate my email from gmail. It's going to be long and arduous. Suggestions on providers? Before you ask: No, I do not want to host my own mail.

frereubu 3y ago
You'll probably hear this a lot on here, but I'm a happy Fastmail user.
- kossae 3y ago
  Seconding Fastmail here. Everything just works for a reasonable price.
nerdjon 3y ago
I use iCloud for anything personal (been using it since MobileMe) and Amazon Workmail for anything professional.
- afruitpie 3y ago
  iCloud also supports custom domains if you’re paying for iCloud storage. I use this since I was paying for storage anyway. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212514 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212514
  - nerdjon 3y ago
    How did I not know this…. That may be a project at some point to merge the 2. But it’s not a big deal to keep them separate I guess.
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blendergeek 3y ago
I recommend fastmail with a custom domain. By using your own domain (not self-hosting) you can migrate to a new provider should you decide you don't like fastmail.

benf76 3y ago

Big tech war on RSS / open protocols. Podcastindex.org is the future and response to this. Get off big tech support podcastapps.com

iambateman 3y ago

Google team, we need to talk. Your reputation has fallen among many developers for a lack of long-term commitment to anything. Could you please get your executives in a room and figure out everything else that needs to sunset in the next two years? It’s fine for a product to run its course but the endless paper cuts of sunsetting announcements is getting old. Once you figure out what needs to get cut, just make a big reset announcement and commit to supporting everything else for a decade. It will take a couple years for us to believe you but better late than never. Until then, we have to assume that everything is on the chopping block or at risk of 300% price increases. You can do better.

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hiddencost 3y ago
Executives have been busy chopping the company up for parts for years, coasting on Google's reputation to distract employees and users. The plan is to loot the place for as much and as long as possible as it crashes and burns.

maxglute 3y ago

Is youtube finally going to raise playback speed up to 3x from 2x? Feels like every popular podcast and audiobook player supports at least 3x now, it's not some niche feature. That alone makes youtube useless as a podcast platform for me. On the other hand, sponsorblocking podcasts... chefs kiss.

pmichaud 3y ago
There are browser extensions that let you do it, but yes, I agree, 2x isn't enough.
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throw7 3y ago

Migrate your podcast shows from Google Podcasts (US Only ): https://support.google.com/youtubemusic/thread/249139848?sjid=5065544417632287219-NA https://support.google.com/youtubemusic/thread/249139848?sji... I haven't decided where to migrate to, but it's definitely NOT Youtube Music.

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crossroadsguy 3y ago

I think we will remember back podcasts as one of those nice things that we collectively didn't pay for. Hell, even Googles and Spotifies are giving up.

Glench 3y ago

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