YouTube has launched a Podcasts destination page on YouTube Music in the UK, which will provide an expansion as to how users can consume podcasts.

Users will have the ability to watch and listen to podcasts on YouTube Music without requiring a paid membership, pivoting between an audio and audiovisual experience with the ability to background listen on the go.

Audiences will also be able to background listen (listen even if the app is not open) to their favorite podcasts in YouTube Music and download episodes for offline consumption. These features are available to all users where podcasts have launched in YouTube Music. Background play was previously a feature exclusive to YouTube Premium which we’re now allowing free exclusively for podcasts.

Podcasts will be surfaced across a variety of options within YouTube Music – dedicated podcast discovery pages, search and filter capabilities and users will be able to create their own libraries.

YouTube is already a successful audio platform for music and podcasts, and with the launch of podcasts in YouTube Music, consumers can listen to their favorite podcasts on YouTube in a listen-centric experience. Creators can either upload audio content with a static image, with a dynamic image, or a full video. Later this year, we’ll offer support for creators to directly submit their RSS feeds to YouTube to distribute to audio podcasts.

Alison Lomax, YouTube UK Lead, said: “We’re thrilled to be launching podcast in the UK on YouTube Music. Podcasts have soared in popularity in recent years among all age groups, particularly Gen Z users, and there is clearly an appetite for this longer-form audio visual content. YouTube is a platform that thrives on community and finding your tribe, and podcasts will be another way of bringing like-minded people together to engage in the content they love. With long-form, Shorts, VOD and now podcasts, YouTube is cementing itself as the platform for multiformat creators and ushering in a new era of creativity on the platform.”