Podcasts Coming to Google Play Music Tomorrow

Google Play logoIt’s been almost six months since Google announced it would be adding podcasts to its Google Play Music service. Since then, a limited number of podcasts have trickled out thru the platform. It now appears that Google will officially launch the podcasting side of Google Play Music on Monday, April 18th. The launch date was discovered as part of an internal NPR e-mail that was leaked to the public. The date hasn’t been confirmed by Google representatives.

The internal NPR message allegedly contains this statement:

Google will launch podcasts on Android and other platforms next Monday, April 18, inside of Google Play Music, a streaming service similar to Apple Music. Please note: this information is embargoed and should not be shared or promoted externally until Monday. NPR has worked with Google to ensure that public radio is represented in the Google Play environment.

Given NPR’s monolithic presence in the podcast space, it seems logical that the organization would want to be prepared for the launch of a new platform carrying its programs. That gives some legitimacy to the nature of the e-mail. Considering how cagey Google has been about its entrance into podcasting, it’s hard to say what this information will mean for all podcasters.

If you haven’t yet submitted your own podcast to the Google Play Music directory, you can do so here.

Podcasts Officially Coming to Google Play

Google Play logoIt’s the message we’ve been waiting to hear… forever. Google has made an official announcement that the company will add podcasts to its Google Play service. I guess the years of incessant nagging on behalf of the podcasting community, or the undeniable push of the so-called “podcast resurgence” were finally too much for the search engine giant to continue to ignore our happy medium.

Full implementation of podcasting in Google Play is still a few months away. Following the path of another noteworthy service that recently got into podcasting, Google Play is already working with a handful of content providers:

  • 5by5
  • Dan Carlin
  • Dave Ramsey
  • Earwolf
  • Feral Audio
  • Gimlet Media
  • HBO
  • Head Gum
  • HowStuffWorks
  • Loud Speakers Network
  • Nerdist/Legendary
  • Public Radio International
  • Radiotopia/PRX
  • Sideshow Network
  • Slate/Panoply
  • StarTalk Radio
  • This Week in Tech
  • Tim Ferriss

But unlike that other service, Google is accepting submissions from any and all podcasters thru its Podcast Portal. In order to submit a show, you’ll need a working RSS 2.0 feed that also contains valid iTunes tags. (The submission form suggests either <itunes> OR <googleplay> tags for a few specific fields. If your podcast feed was accepted and is working with iTunes now, you should be fine.)

I submitted my podcast feed earlier today and it was accepted without issue. Now the feed awaits approval by the Google gods. Some podcasters have reported errors while submitting feeds. There’s no official support information yet for the submission process so it’s hard to say what’s causing those errors. Regardless, many users have found that waiting a few minutes and trying again has resulted in a successful submission.