Spotify ventures into video podcasts with new test

Photo by Ashley Carman / The Verge

Spotify is testing a new video podcast feature in its app. It's using YouTube stars' Zane Hijazi and Heath Hussar's Zane and Heath: Unfiltered as its testing ground. According to a source close to Spotify, the global test will be showing up for 50% of the show's podcast listeners. It's available on three recent episodes (28 through 30), but there doesn't seem to be a visual cue to let the testers know that the podcast episode comes with a video. Even with the video playing, you can still lock your phone and continue listening to the audio of the podcast, which might be appealing to some users.

As The Verge reports, listeners will see the video footage at the bottom of their screen when they play the episodes. To see it in full screen, they can tap on the video. The experiment is still in its initial stages, but the source claims it is likely to come to more podcasts soon and "fast." The feature will be useful for programs from Spotify-owned The Ringer since the network uploads video podcasts like The Rewatchables to YouTube already.

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Drake tops Apple's 'Best of 2018' charts. Who else made the list?

Apple just released the 'Best of 2018' -- a global collection of top charts of all the amazing things we should see, play, and listen to. From podcasts to audiobooks and from music to apps and more we're definitely curious as to who made the lists and what will make great conversations at the holiday dinner party. Apps that topped the 'paid for' list shocked us included FaceTune, a retouching app to allows users to have flawless skin. Hey, guess it's cheaper than botox. Anyway, here's are the lists...

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Google has big plans for podcasts

Zack Reneau-Wedeen (Photo by @coletterobinson )

Aside from being able to listen to podcasts right from the search window, it looks like Google has so big plans for podcasts on its platform. There are three key features the company wants to hone in on in the coming years. None of these are real technologies yet but it does introduce to us what Google wants to happen with the medium. Google Podcasts Product Manager Zack Reneau-Wedeen (pictured above) said in the latest part of the five-part series on Pacific Content that they are working to “make these experiences possible.”

The three key things include instant transcription, lookahead scrubbing, and instant translation. With the help of artificial intelligence, Google will be able to “listen” to each podcast episode and transcribe these into a time-stamped document that can be searchable. Not only will this make it easier to jump to specific parts of a podcast but it will also help with searches on Google itself, so if you want to find something out, you might be directed to a podcast where that subject matter is being discussed. Lookahead scrubbing will work similar to what you can do with YouTube videos. With the help of the text transcription, you’ll be able to scrub ahead on podcasts and head straight into parts you want to listen to. And then Google also wants to bring instant translation to podcasts so that if English or whatever language the podcast is on, it’ll translate it into a language you understand. And with the help of AI, it might even be able to deliver that in the original voice tones of the podcasters.

Spotify tries for a more visual approach to podcasts and news

Spotify is host not just to the latest hits but is home to things like audiobooks and podcasts, too. The streaming service is looking to expand this often-overlooked segment with a new feature they’re calling Spotlight. With this feature, podcasts will come with visual components like text, videos, and images to provide more context to what you’re listening to. The streaming service has partnered with the likes of BuzzFeed News, Cheddar, Crooked Media, Gimlet Media, Genius, The Minefield Girl, Refinery29, Lenny Letter, and Uninterrupted to help launch this new feature. Some of its own original series will also get the treatment, including Secret Genius, Spotify Singles, RISE, and their new Viva Latino podcast. Spotlight is first launching in the US and will supposedly roll out in additional markets “in the near future.”