Google launches ‘Migration’ Tool Before Podcast Shutdown in April 2024

The tech giant has launched a new tool that allows Google Podcast listeners to migrate their subscriptions from there to YouTube Music or export them for use in other podcast apps prior to the discontinuation of Google Podcasts in the US as early as April 2024.

“In the coming weeks, listeners will be able to access the migration tool through a banner at the top of their screen in Google Podcasts,” YouTube said in a blogpost on Thursday.

The company also mentioned that the “tool also has the option to export Google Podcasts subscriptions as an OPML file that can be uploaded to any other podcast app that supports uploads.”

YouTube also stated that they built this migration tool with both listeners and podcasters in mind.

The company stated that the majority of popular podcasts are already available on YouTube, and for podcasts that are not currently available on YouTube, listeners will be able to subscribe to the podcast’s RSS feed directly to their YouTube Music library.

It is planned that Google Podcasts will be available for podcast listening in the US until March 2024, and that subscribers will be able to migrate or export their subscriptions until July 2024. YouTube is also testing new generative AI features that will allow users to create music tracks using a simple text prompt or hum.

Lyria, the company’s most advanced music generation model to date, is what powers Dream Track, a recent experiment on YouTube Shorts from Google DeepMind.